2025 Nissan Rogue Dials In On The Psuedo Off-Roader Trend With Rock Creek Edition
The Rock Creek isn’t much more than an appearance package with upgraded tires.
Off-road packages have become a popular way for families to feel confident about tackling those shopping center parking lots in their SUVs. But in reality, taking these things off the pavement won’t go very smoothly. Nevertheless, Nissan is now jumping the rather deceiving soft-roader bandwagon with a new Rock Creek trim for the Rogue, which takes after the larger Pathfinder Rock Creek with butched-up looks and a slew of off-road-focused features.
The Rock Creek distinguishes itself from other Rogues with a scary-looking gloss black finish for the front end, along with a trio of silver-painted trim elements on the grille. Nissan has also added Lava Red accents for the front bumper, standard roof rack, and exterior branding. The crossover rides on 17-inch black wheels with a hint of red, wrapped in 235/65R-17 Falken Wild Peak all-terrain tires. There are also side mirrors in gloss black, along with an exterior color palette consisting of Everest White, Super Black, Boulder Gray, and Baja Storm.
Inside, the Rock Creek features water-repellent leatherette seating with Lava Red stitching and Rock Creek emblems, along with heated front seats and a 12-volt outlet in the trunk. The SUV’s camera system also adds an Off-Road View that’s actually quite handy––at speeds of up to 12 mph, it activates to help drivers steer clear from obstacles. There’s also a hill-descent control feature, and an optional package adds a heated steering wheel, wireless charger, auto-dimming rearview mirror, and ambient lighting for the cabin.
For 2025, the entire Rogue lineup benefits from the addition of ProPilot Assist 2.1, which is optional on the SL and Platinum trims and features a hands-free driving feature for single-lane highways where the vehicle handles acceleration, steering, and braking on its own. The SV and Rock Creek trims stick with the standard version of ProPilot Assist, which limits things to adaptive cruise control and steering assist. The SL and Platinum build on those features with extra assistance from the built-in navigation system.
The SL and Platinum trims also receive a new surround-view camera system with a 3D rotation feature, and buyers can also opt for the Technology package for a wide 176-degree front-facing view and an Invisible Hood View. The latter of which uses the aforementioned camera system to display a view of the road that the Rogue’s engine bay would otherwise block.
The 2025 Nissan Rogue will hit dealers later this summer, with pricing to be announced closer to the model’s release. We expect the Rock Creek edition to be priced at the higher end of the trim lineup.
Image Credits: Nissan
Mitsubishi Mirage Reports Surprising Jump In Sales During The First Half Of 2024
Is America hungry for cheaper cars?
Mitsubishi is currently formulating a plan to renew its appeal in North America, but until some fresh metal enters the lineup, its showrooms remain stale. Interestingly, the automaker has just released its sales data for the first half of 2024, and the tiny Mirage has proven to be an unlikely hero for the brand despite its aging platform and sluggish powertrain.
But even with its many shortcomings, the subcompact car’s crucial redeeming quality is its price––the $16,695 sticker for the 2024 Mirage makes it among the cheapest vehicles on sale in North America, second only to the Nissan Versa, and we think that’s exactly why sales have risen by a whopping 146% compared to last year’s second quarter. To break that down even further, sales for the Mirage hatchback have risen by 243.4%, and the Mirage G4 sedan has climbed 70.3%. For the first half in total, Mitsubishi has managed to move 9,862 units, which represents an 85.5% increase over the 5,316 units sold during the first half of 2023. That means the Mirage is on track to beat last year’s total of 13,220 sales, which was its worst during its entire decade-long run.
While the Mirage is indeed one of the most budget-friendly offerings you can find in the new car market, there’s a reason for that. Under the hood sits a dimunitive 1.2 liter three-cylinder engine pumping out a measly 76 hp and 74 lb-ft of torque, and the subcompact car has also been riding on the same underlying platform since 2011. Though a series of refreshes in 2015 and 2019 have made an effort to keep things fresh, the future for the Mirage looks uncertain. The nameplate has already parted ways with Japan, and rumor has it that production for North America will come to an end around late 2025.
As for the rest of the lineup, sales reached a total of 22,727 units in the second quarter, which is a 7.6% decline compared to last year at this time. However, the entire first half of the year saw the automaker shift 51,130 units, which makes it Mitsubishi’s best first half since 2021.
Image Credits: Mitsubishi
Subaru Forester Retains Best-Selling Crown Amid Launch Of Redesigned Model
Meanwhile, demand for the WRX, BRZ, and Ascent has fallen flat.
While reports from the end of the first quarter brought troubling news for the Forester, Subaru has still managed to move 51.4% more units between January and June this year than it did during that same period last year. But there’s a catch––last year’s Forester remained on sale through the entire first quarter of the year, and didn’t give way to the redesigned model until the later months of spring. That means we still only have roughly a month of data to determine what buyers think of the crossover’s rather polarizing makeover.
But that’s not to say the new generation isn’t off to a decent start. Subaru sold 11,108 Forester units in the month of June alone, even despite that rush in demand for the previous-generation model during the first quarter. This represents a 4.1% increase over June of last year. In total, a whopping 92,849 units have been sold so far this year, making this Subaru’s best-selling model by far. But again, most of that 51.4% increase can be attributed to late examples of last year’s model.
The Crosstrek and Outback have also done well so far this year, with the Crosstrek selling 15,132 units in June alone and 79,500 units so far this year, while the Outback sold 16,853 units in June and a total of 81,703 units in the first half of this year. The electric Solterra has also reported a small boost in sales with 5,385 units sold, which represents a considerable 81.2% increase over last year’s 2,972 units.
However, some other models, including the WRX, BRZ, and Ascent, aren’t experiencing the same success. The BRZ, which shares its bones with the Toyota GR86, performed the worst in Subaru’s lineup, with a dismal 1,414 units sold so far this year representing a decrease of 43.7%. The WRX has also slipped 39.5% despite its debut just two years ago. Meanwhile, the Ascent was the only SUV to see a drop in sales, with a 15.7% drop compared to last year. That’s rather alarming for a vehicle competing in the highly-competitive three-row segment.
The rest of Subaru’s lineup isn’t faring much better. The Legacy, which will soon be departing, has decided to end things on a rather negative note, as it has declined 21% in terms of sales. The Impreza hatchback has also dropped by 22.8%, with this year’s 14,892 units falling thousands of units short of last year’s 19,291.
