While there will surely be a flood of headlines today making snarky cracks at the 2025 Rogue Rock Creek and the propensity of its target market to keep the thing firmly on pavement, we actually think it is a smart move by Nissan – with a dash of retro reference thrown in for good measure.
Anyone who asserts the most off-roading this Rock Creek is likely to perform is that gravel lot at the mall is exactly correct, of course. The likelihood of this model dipping anything more than a tentative toe off tarmac sits somewhere between slim and none – but that doesn’t blunt the fact that Nissan is wise to offer this variant. After all, Subaru offers a Wilderness trim on most of its models, GMC has the AT4 sub-brand, and Honda does the same with its TrailSport deal. While some of those machines are more capable off-highway than others, the overall intent is still the same.
Nissan is adding a Rock Creek trim to its Rogue for 2025, gifting a set of Falken Wildpeak all-terrains which is a stout tire in its own right. Other differences include the typical addition of a bold color (lava red, in this instance) peppered across the exterior but it is worth also mentioning that tripartite of silver rectangles on the upper edge of its grille. So styled, they are a clear throwback to the vents found on the leading edge of a hood on the first-gen Pathfinder; Nissan has been adding this nod to nostalgia on some other models but placing this highlight on the bread-and-butter Rogue moves it from the fringes to the mainstream. Good.
Elsewhere, look for trappings which have nothing to do with off-roading, such as heated front seats and an available wireless charging pad. The around-view monitor does add an off-road mode which includes an invisible hood view, a feature we recently tried on a corporate-cousin Infiniti and found it to be useful. All-wheel drive is standard on the Rock Creek and there are upgrades to the ProPilot Assist system. Under the hood is the company’s weirdo 1.5-liter variable-compression turbocharged three-banger making 201 horsepower and 225 lb-ft of torque.
[Images: Nissan]
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