Chet Heath 
2016 Nissan Rogue SUV S 4dr SUV (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
Not flashy, but still a good value at 6 months
 Nissan gave me the best price as a year-end leftover with $3500 of incentives and the Rogue is a good value for the money. The Mazda CX-5 was the most fun to drive, but the Rogue felt more solid. It seems a lot bigger inside. The Hundai SantaFe compares well, had much better visibility, but their pricing was poor. The Rogue was the easiest for a big man to get in and out of - the Honda was the worst. I like the Rogue's flexible storage and even made additional panels.  The seats are comfortable for a big man. My particular Rogue was made entirely in Japan (VIN starts with a "J") and I am expecting higher build quality without North American union labor. On the low end "S" model, the appearance option is money well spent; the tinted windows alone justify it.  On the downside: The visibility is poor; both of the rear side windows are tiny and the front window pillars, and mirrors dangerously block view of pedestrians leaving the curb on either side - especially for shorter drivers. A 180 degree front view camera might help. One saving grace is that the rear window seems to be a bit larger than competition, but the rear seat headrests need to be removed to take advantage of it. The entry level remote control key system that comes with the "S" model will let you lock yourself out of the car; have a key cut by a locksmith ($4) that can only open the door, and hide it for this situation. At least it will let you lock your wife's purse inside the car, when she doesn't want to carry it - the high end remote control key system will not lock with her key inside her purse. Another minor negative is that the radio is biased heavily in favor of Apple connectivity and the designers simply forgot that Android phones exist. Further in this vein: A USB stick with music is a common media element in all the brands, but Nissan seems to have limited the radio's ability to read one to 16GB - there is no discussion of it in the documentation and the Dealer does not know anything about it. The 3-year warranty seems short, but the dealer had a way to extend it to 6 years & 72 months for 16 dollars per month. Another, feature worth giving up one Starbucks per week is the XM radio. Absolutely addictive - but their plans are limited. You can't order channels "a la carte" on a vehicle radio and they don't offer a plan with just music and news - you have to take (pricey) sports and/or other channels that you don't want. Lastly, I wish the advanced safety options were available on all the levels - in reality, they cost thousands more than the listed option cost - just to get to a level where they are available.  Overall, my wife and family feel safe in this car, but my wife is less eager to drive it with the blind spots.- Update: Still, the absolute worst feature of the car is that you can lock yourself out of it easily. The low end keyless system allows you to close the door with the keys inside and does not warn you. If you then set the lock from the armrest (by habit), you can lock yourself out. As stated earlier, to fix this, I got a spare key, that will only open the door, and put it in my wallet. It won't start the car, but it will open it. Visibility is marginal: I added a 3" square convex mirror to the driver's side, and weatherproof 170 degree TV cameras on the passenger side and directly forward to resolve blind spots. The camera in the front allows accurate close parking up to a wall, or another vehicle. The pattern of the LED driving lights (only as viewed by the camera inside the front logo) conveniently changes as it gets within a minimum distance. The passenger side camera mounts under the right side mirror housing and the 7" led monitor fits perfectly below radio in the coin tray area. I made a fiberboard enclosure for it and it looks like it belongs there. All the parts were available from China through eBay for less than $50. The rear floor carpet has Rogue logo covers glued loosely to the carpet; they do this because the same car is sold under different names outside the US. These covers come off as soon as something heavy is rolled into the back. Unlike previous Nissans, the 12 volt receptacles all shut down about a minute after the car is shut off. This makes it pointless to try to charge a cellphone in the car overnight. I added a set of fused 12 volt outlet receptacles (connected to the battery directly) for $15 (eBay again). Also missing is a way for short women, like my wife, to pull down the rear hatch. I added a simple strap.  Don't they have short women in Japan? The horn also failed - but there are two of them. I assume Nissan will fix that at the 5000 mile oil-change. And the XM radio for the S package has a tiny station selector knob and it is difficult to resolve the nearly 300 stations without the manual dexterity of a safecracker. Overall, the car is still a good value, and it is only a few little omissions and annoyances that detract from what is otherwise a very flexible and affordable vehicle.