Yo fellow Roguesters..Here in Vancouver, WA the local Nissan dealer just took delivery of a red SL with all the bells and whistles. They called us to come in and check it out. It was in their showroom so we couldn't take it for a test drive but we did give it a good once over in the show room under the lights. For reference, I'm a 40 year old male, 5 foot 10 inches and 190 pounds. I sat in the rear passenger seat first and it was a bit tight getting in however the passenger front seat was ALL the way back and I had about an inch or so knee room. Getting back out from the rear was easier, and the height of the floorpan was just right for my frame. Much easier than on my 1999 Isuzu Rodeo, of which you have to twist and turn to get out of it's rear doors. My wife sat in the drivers seat and moved it all the way forward, leaving nearly two feet of leg room for the drivers side rear seat! I enjoyed the rear seat for it's firmness and even leaned forward to wrap my arms around the back of the passenger seat to rest against while the salesman gave us the rundown. I have a pinched nerve in my right leg that normaly goes to sleep within minutes of sitting on wimpy chairs and seats and It didn't bother me at all. I went around to the drivers side and slid in..oh dear..I tell you what: I enjoyed the six way power seat with power lumbar support! Oh yeah! I've never had a car with that kind of powered motion! The handsfree intelligent gizmo is interesting and I wasn't used to it as I accidently asked the salesman for the key so I could power up the iggy (ignition) and open the sunroof. Now I'm even more hooked. One touch open and one touch close for the sunroof, and one touch open/close for the moon roof. The temperature inside the dealer was 72 (keep in mind it was in the showroom and the temp displays "outside" temp..) and right when I opened the sunroof, I felt the air escape and it felt cooler. I have an extremely senstative sense of smell and am very accutely aware of humidity and temperature (the heat or cold doesn't bother me, but I can sense it's changes and extremes) changes and I know it let the mugginess out of the interior a split second after I opened the sunroof all the way. Power mirrors with timed heater. Check. Power Xenon adjustable headlights. Check. Big honking glove box. Check. Trip computer and full steering wheel controls. Check. She had it all, and she was base MSRP of $21,500 with $4,000 in options and a destination of $750 with some other added on things like floor mats and what not and another 3 grand markup for "free oil changes for life" and "Theft". The total asking price was a few hundred over 30 grand. As much as I loved sitting in the Rogue and playing with the controls, I can't see spending 30 G's for the Rogue. If demand is strong enough as Nissan predicted, then they will no doubt see a healthy profit but I'm the kind of guy that goes in a works a deal and I can't see spending and extra five thousand. The Toyota Rav4 V6 retails for that amount right there and has 100 more horsepower and gets one or two miles per gallon better mileage so I hope Nissan didn't overestimate their new crossover. I would certainly take one for $25,500, and be quite happy, but not for $30+. This is an honest assement and is not meant to demean the vehicle. It's a nice rig, the silver roof racks and alloy wheels look very sharp and the interior is ver similiar the 350Z. I bet it drives real nice (the sales guys said they took it for a 'spin' and "it did about as good as the Murano") and I wouldn't doubt it. The trip computer had 8 miles on it and they saw 18 miles per gallon for their estimated mileage. I am guessing they gave it full throttle the whole time...but the paddle shifters were "fun" they said, but only if you want to over ride the transmission on steep hills or on curves during "spirited" driving. My wife and I talked it over after we left and if sales are such that we can get the copper orange alloy color in the SL AWD with all the premium packages, for the price we want, then a Rogue just could be in our future...Otherwise, congrats to the two new Rogue owners and good luck to all the rest here that are eagerly awaiting for them to arrive to their local showrooms! ~Mark

Thanks for the review Mark.

You are very descriptive.. which makes it entertaining to read.

I agree with your assessment of price.. $30k is too much for a Rogue. But I don't think it's quite fair to say it's a $30k price due to your inclusion of the $3,000 "free oil change for life and theft".. or whatever that is. That must be a local dealership gimmick. I think $27k is a more fair total.

I actually drove one last night myself at my local dealership. It was a loaded SL with AWD, but no sunroof and no leather. The price on the one I drove was $25,050. I think that's a great deal for this segment. The RAV4 is closer to $27k with similar options.. and $28500 with the V6 that gives that additional 100hp.

Here's to hoping supply outpaces demand and the dealerships start negotiating lower than MSRP. If I could get my hands on one for $23500.. I'd be hard pressed to pass on that deal.

Just a couple of comments. Regarding the mileage, it appears you're saying the RAV4 V-6 gets better mileage than the Rogue, which is incorrect. Be sure you're not looking at 2007 mileage estimates, which are based on different testing criteria than the 2008 estimates. If the Rogue was using the old criteria, its mileage estimates would be about 25/31.

Second, any dealer bold enough to charge a dealer markup or a "dealer options" package (such as "theft") these days would not get 2 minutes of my time. You have the luxury of 9 other dealers within about a 50-mile radius - I'd contact some of the others and get price quotes.

Thanks to the both of you for the positive comments. Regarding the 30K cost, yes, the local dealer is assessing a three thousand dollar markup beyond the official Nissan MSRP. I saw it listed off to the side of the window sticker and had "free oil" and something about "theft" protection listed. Dealers have been doing it for at least 30 years though. Here in my neck of the woods they like to call it a "Northwest Package" or some such. The Ford dealer down the street had F150's on their lot and I had to drop some sales guys from work off to trade in their old 150s for the new 150's. They all had similar markups. Some of them were running near 45 grand and still didn't have leather heated seats or sunroofs! Our company sales fleet has been using F150's for years, and 2 of the 5 brand new 150's have already had transmission failures. The sales staff doesn't haul anything...And asfor the Toyota, I was looking at the 2007 data at the US Government's site and they list the 4WD 6Cyl with 28 for the HWY. I realize the new standards take effect this year and the 2008 RAV isn't rated yet, but it's sure to drop to near the Rogue's numbers. I drive conservatively anyway so if I ended up with a Rogue, I know I would get better than what's listed on the window. Anyway, without the markup, we all can agree that the pimped out Rogue SL AWD is gonna be about mid 27's for MSRP, and the Toyota, last time I checked, was about 30G's, so what I was saying was that if the dealers don't budge on the markup (it seems my local dealer isn't the only one charging extra because of the interest/demand) then the Rogue is gonna cost 30G's which puts it right up with the 6Cyl Rav. Which can be used as ammo against the Nissan salesman if they say they won't remove the extra markup... I did note that in the Rogue's brochure (I took one from the dealer last night) it claims the Rogue has some kind of super low emissions. I don't know if Toyota can claim the same, as it may be an older engine series. I know the Nissan 3.5L engine has been listed as a top ten design for many moons now. And one last thing: Last night I had a vivid dream. I was driving a Rogue around at night through downtown Portland. I had tuned into "Heroes" on NBC and saw the introduction of the Rogue. It got some screen time..and dedicated commercials during the premiere last night. At least in my dreams, the Rogue is more fun to drive than it's good looks!

I got to sit in one today as well. It wasn't even preped yet as it still had the road grease protectors on it.

I am 6' 6" tall, with much of the height in the legs.

Head room was just workable (maybe a half an inch to spare), but at least I wasn't into the opening for the sunroof like I have been in some sedans. Leg room is about the same as the CRV, usable but long hauls will need the cruise control - there goes the gas milage.

Like most of the CUV class cars, they put in a wide center console and then shove the gas pedal right next to it. No chance of "go cart" style driving with the knees widely seperated.

Based on the one the dealer got, it might be a hard sell - UGLY Orange with grey interior. I am holding off for a red one with black leather.