2025 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek First Look: The Rogue-ish One
The Rock Creek off-road transformation is more mild than wild.
Nissan is expanding its Rock Creek Edition off-road treatment from the three-row Pathfinder SUV to the compact Rogue for 2025, just one year after upgrading the Rogue for 2024. Well, consider the Rock Creek an off-road-ish treatment—as on the Pathfinder, here it largely includes styling upgrades, a (functional) roof rack, and all-terrain tires. Also here, as on the Pathfinder, the net effect butches up the Rogue's appearance nicely, even if the Rock Creek enjoys the same mild 8.2 inches of ground clearance and the same approach, departure, and breakover angles as normal Rogue models.
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Rocks, Creeks, and More
Nissan says the Rock Creek's shocks are "off-road-tuned," though, and the Falken Wild Peak all-terrain tires are sized 235/65R17 for 17-inch wheels (tied for smallest in the Rogue family with the base S model). The only other off-road-friendly items on board are a 360-degree parking camera with a special "off-road" view mode—which essentially allows it to stay active at speeds up to 12 mph—"water-repellent" faux leather seats, and hill descent control.
The rest of the Rock Creek package consists of Lava Red (orange-ish) stitching on the seats and dashboard, "Rock Creek" embossed on the front seats, cool orange accents on the exterior, and the same tri-nostril grilletop vent setup found on the Pathfinder Rock Creek. Those 17-inch wheels get a matte-black finish with Lava Red accents, and the entire front fascia and door mirrors also wear gloss-black trim. The net effect is a Rogue with a five o'clock shadow and Lava Red jewelry.
Positioned in the middle of the Rogue lineup, above the S and SV but below the SL and Platinum, the Rock Creek gets the same 201-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine as every other Rogue, which is backed by a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and all-wheel drive. Its onboard equipment more closely mimics the SV's, with a smaller 8.0-inch touchscreen and no digital gauge cluster or Google Built-In functionality.
2025 Rogue Pricing
All trims of the 2025 Nissan Rogue are getting a modest price bump over last year. The Rock Creek being an obvious exception since this is its debut year. Besides the usual culprit of inflation, we reckon the price increase also comes from the ProPilot assist 2.1 software and upgraded 360-degree camera. The base Rogue S starting MSRP of $30,620 is $935 more than the 2024 S trim. Keeping the increase under $1,000 is appreciated. In the case of the new Rock Creek AWD trim, that will set you back $36,810. That makes the Rock Creek $1,285 less than the Toyota RAV4 TRD Off-Road but $650 more than the Honda CR-V EX-L AWD.
Anything Else?
Nissan isn't leaving the rest of the Rogue lineup alone for 2025, either. Up-level SL and Platinum trim levels will be available with the latest ProPilot Assist 2.1 hands-free driving system, which relies on pre-mapped highway data to allow drivers to remove their hands from the steering wheel entirely when the system is active. ProPilot Assist's hands-free operation is a step above the hands-on adaptive cruise control and self-steering lane-keep assist functions on the Rogue SV and Rock Creek's ProPilot Assist and the ProPilot Assist 1.1 standard on the SL and Platinum, which can adjust the Rogue's speed for curves and interchanges based on navigation data.
The 2025 Rogue SL and Platinum see some camera-related upgrades, as well. A new 3D function is added to the 360-degree Around View parking camera array, allowing users to virtually spin around their own Rogue to study its surroundings. And on Rogues with the available Technology package, the Around View setup adds a 176-degree "front wide" camera angle that helps drivers see around corners or when exiting blind driveways or parking garages, along with an "invisible hood" view that shows what's under the Rogue's nose to help avoid parking curb mishaps.
The 2025 Nissan Rogue family goes on sale later this summer, and pricing for it and the Rock Creek will be released closer to that time.
A lifelong car enthusiast, I stumbled into this line of work essentially by accident after discovering a job posting for an intern position at Car and Driver while at college. My start may have been a compelling alternative to working in a University of Michigan dining hall, but a decade and a half later, here I am reviewing cars; judging our Car, Truck, and Performance Vehicle of the Year contests; and shaping MotorTrend’s daily coverage of the automotive industry.
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