The 2027 Nissan Rogue Is Going Hybrid. But Not the Way You Think. (more illustrations from around the world)

It seems that every day brings new renders of the upcoming Nissan Rogue. As illustrators around the world are hard at work guessing what the next generation will look like.

Nissan had already given us a clue with a presentation last year, showing most of their upcoming models. More recently, we have seen quite a few spy shots of the real thing under camouflage.

The next-generation Nissan Rogue , sold as the Nissan X-Trail in Europe, is shaping up to be quite an update, even if it doesn’t look dramatically different at first glance.

Early illustrations already give us a good idea of what’s coming, and they closely match the camouflaged prototypes spotted during testing. The overall shape remains familiar, which is probably a smart move by Nissan. When a vehicle sells this well, a radical redesign can do more harm than good.

And the Rogue really sells.

Nissan moved nearly 250,000 units in the U.S. last year alone, making it the brand’s most important model. With numbers like that, there’s no need to reinvent the formula. A cleaner exterior, a more modern interior, and updated tech should be more than enough to keep it competitive with rivals like the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Hyundai Tucson.

But the real story is what’s happening under the hood.

For the first time in the U.S., the 2027 Rogue is expected to offer a hybrid variant using Nissan’s latest e-Power system. And it’s very different from what most people think of as a hybrid.

In this setup, the gasoline engine never actually drives the wheels. Instead, it acts purely as a generator, sending power to a battery, while an electric motor handles all the driving.

On paper, that means the Rogue should feel like an EV most of the time.

I recently spent time with this system in Europe, and the experience is… a bit unusual.

Most of the time, it behaves exactly like an electric vehicle, smooth, quiet, and instantly responsive. But then, without much warning, the gas engine kicks on to recharge the battery. The transition isn’t always seamless, and it can feel a little out of place.

You get the driving feel of an EV… while still burning gasoline.

Because of all the added hardware , engine, battery, and motor, fuel economy isn’t always dramatically better than more conventional hybrids like the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid or Honda CR-V Hybrid.

Which raises a fair question: what’s the point?

If you like how EVs drive, going fully electric arguably makes more sense. Range is improving, charging infrastructure is expanding, and ownership is getting easier and more affordable every year.

On the other hand, if you just want to be able to burn gas and “kinda” feel like you’re driving something electric, this might be for you.

That leaves e-Power in an interesting middle ground.

It’s designed for buyers who want the smooth, quiet feel of an EV but aren’t ready to commit to charging, whether that’s due to infrastructure, living situations, or plain fear of something new.

Whether that’s enough to win people over is still an open question.

But with a new Rogue on the way, we won’t have to wait long to find out.

Of all these illustrations above, which one woul dyou prefer?