2021 Nissan Rogue Gets Three-Cylinder Power As Part Of Pilot Program

The 2021 Nissan Rogue gets a turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's FuelEconomy.gov site. Nissan isn't releasing much info about the new powertrain yet.

"Nissan regularly evaluates potential future technologies on existing models. We are planning a small pilot program with a potential new powertrain, utilizing the 2021 Nissan Rogue. We have nothing further to announce at this time," Nissan spokesperson Josh Clifton told Motor1.com.

Nissan didn't respond to additional questions about when this pilot program begins or who is going to be taking part in it.

According to the listing, the 1.5-liter engine is available throughout the Rogue lineup, including the range-topping Platinum grade. Buyers can get it with front- or all-wheel drive, and the listing suggests all of them get an eight-speed automatic. There are no details yet about the powertrain output.

The EPA filing shows that the base grade of the 1.5-liter Rogue getting 30 miles per gallon city, 37 mpg highway, and 33 mpg combined for the front-wheel-drive version. The all-wheel-drive layout has nearly the same numbers at 30 mpg city, 36 mpg highway, and 33 mpg combined.

The SL and Platinum grades have slightly different stats. With front-wheel drive, they get 30 mpg city, 36 mpg highway, and 32 mpg combined. The all-wheel-drive variant does 29 mpg city, 35 mpg highway, and 32 mpg combined.

The Rogue is currently only available with a naturally aspirated, 2.5-liter four-cylinder that produces 181 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque that runs through a CVT. At its best, the model gets 30 mpg combined, and the least fuel-efficient model does 28 mpg combined.

In 2020, the Rogue was Nissan's highest-volume product in the US. The company delivered 227,935 of them, which was almost 28 percent of the entire brand's 819,715 units for the year. Given how important the model is to the automaker, it makes sense to experiment with ways of making the Rogue even more popular.