The Rogue is and has been Nissan’s best selling vehicle for quite a while, and for good reason: it’s a pretty excellent vehicle. This recently facelifted generation of Rogue has been well received for its handsome style, practicality, and being all-around easy to live with, whether it’s the base Rogue S or the luxuriously adorned Rogue Platinum. This time around, we’re looking at the newest addition to the family: the 2026 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek.
What’s new?
New to the Nissan Rogue for 2026 (in Canada at least – this rolled out in the US last year) is the Rock Creek package. It’s Nissan’s take on the rugged-chic movement that’s spread across the industry, and now matches the Honda CR-V Trailsport, Toyota RAV4 Woodland, Subaru Forester Wilderness, and the likes.
Looks the part
We gotta hand it to Nissan, this particular adventure-themed party-pack looks good, and is visually quite different from its more pedestrian brethren. The Rogue Rock Creek features a blacked out front fascia and badging and red accents to highlight the tubular roof rack and tow hooks – if you don’t look closely, you might not even notice they’re not actually tow hooks at all, but just painted trim. Chunky Falken Wildpeak A/T tires wrapped around “beadlock style” wheels complete the look, and our tester’s new Baja Storm paint sets it all off.
Interior & space
The interior of the Rogue Rock Creek isn’t much different, and that’s not a bad thing. The seats have embroidered Rock Creek logos and there’s some subtle red accents, but otherwise it’s the same well-appointed and well thought-out cabin we already liked. The Rock Creek is positioned just under the loaded Platinum model, so it’s got just about every option Nissan has in their arsenal, short of quilted leather and a sunroof – the latter being a wise omission given the standard roof rack.
There’s plenty of room for front and rear seating, the seats are excellent, and there’s a good amount of storage, especially under the tiered center console. Cargo space behind the rear seats is generous at 1,019 Litres of volume, and there is the aforementioned standard roof rack if expanded storage is needed. Materials and switchgear all feel top notch; it’s a small thing, but the turn signal stalk having zero tooling marks, flashing, or casting seams and satisfying surfaces goes a long way to helping the Rogue feel exceptionally well executed.
Tech & features
Some might call the tech in the Rogue dated, and those people would be wrong. Infotainment functions are handled by an 8-inch center screen, which is relatively small, but still perfectly usable and easy to live with. In lieu of added screen space seen on the fancier Platinum model, you get volume and tuning knobs on either side of the screen, a nice compliment to Rogue’s array of physical climate controls and shortcuts for essential functions.
One of the shortcuts is for the high-resolution surround view cameras, which are automatically triggered when the Rock Creek off-road drive mode is engaged, to help navigate trails, or curbs at Costco. The gauge cluster consists of real gauges, complete with needles and all, and a configurable display in the center. I’ve had a number of Nissan with digital gauges and larger screens; they don’t feel like an upgrade over this simple, user-friendly interface. The Rock Creek keeps the top-shelf Rogue’s ProPilot Assist 2.1 driver aids, with very effective adaptive-cruise control and lane tracing.
Powertrain & Efficiency
The Rogue is powered by Nissan’s 1.5L turbocharged three-cylinder engine, which produces 201 horsepower and 225 foot-pounds of torque; healthy for the segment. It’s augmented by Nissan’s incredibly clever variable compression ratio technology that boosts fuel efficiency, power, and helps the engine runs smoother as well. Being half of a V6, it does carry a unique exhaust note, one that’s slightly gruff, and well suited to the Rock Creek. Three cylinder engines are usually gutless compromises and nearly always quite coarse, and this little mill feels like neither.
Unfortunately it’s also not terribly efficient either. It’s certainly not bad by any stretch with an average observed fuel use of 10.2L/100km, but the effect of the big roof rack and knobby tires is noticeable. Otherwise it’s a competent powertrain, Nissan’s updated continuously variable transmission feels perfectly adequate and responds well, and all wheel drive is standard, naturally.
Ride & handling
The Rogue Rock Creek drives well, if uninspired. It rides very comfortably, is easy-breezy to drive, and the steering is just connected enough to inspire some confidence. Your ears are well disconnected from the experience, as the cabin is thoroughly insulated from noise of any kind, whether it be from the engine, road, or wind. Being that it doesn’t have a sunroof, any additional wind noise that may be generated by the roof rack goes unnoticed – an issue other soft-roaders struggle with.
The transmission’s shift paddles are responsive and when combined with the Rogue’s sport mode, can do a convincing job of pretending to be interesting, but it’s really well suited to just being a comfy commuter – one that wouldn’t look or feel out of place on a gravel road, in the case of the Rock Creek.
Money
The 2026 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek rings in at $41,398. They all come close to loaded with effectively zero options beyond color; our tester’s $250 Baja Storm paint brings our tester to $41,648. This sharply undercuts Honda’s CR-V Trailsport and is very close to the last Toyota RAV4 Woodland we tested; the Toyota may offer a hybrid powertrain, but the Nissan is much more nicely equipped.
Wrap it up
It’s well priced, looks the part, and with its roof rack, terrain modes, and proper all-terrain tires, is just tough enough to handle a snowbank or mild trail with ease. None of the soft-road packages on any of these compact crossovers are built to do any real form of battle; the type of crawling they’re built for is crawling through rush hour traffic. The 2026 Nissan Rogue Rock Creek is still just as good at the things we already liked it for, and well suited for all of life’s little adventures.
