UPDATE: More Seat Time and New Features for Nissan’s Rogue E-Power Hybrid

Update: Our first drive of a 2027 Nissan Rogue E-Power prototype took place at a Nissan test facility in Japan. This time, we drove an undisguised, closer-to-production prototype in the vacation community of Park City, Utah, and learned a few more details, including pricing and on-sale dates.

Nissan’s compact Rogue Hybrid SUV is all new for 2027, including a newish hybrid system called E-Power. We say newish because previous versions of E-Power power vehicles in other markets; in fact, we recently sampled it in the subcompact Qashqai. This new third-generation system has been tuned for larger, heavier vehicles like the Rogue.

Power comes from a 1.5-liter turbocharged I-3, which, though similar in size to the engine in the ICE Rogue, is entirely unrelated. The E-Power engine uses completely different components and is designed to run in a narrow rpm band because it has just one job: generate electricity to power the electric motors that turn the wheels.

The physical setup uses a power-split transmission, similar to hybrids from Toyota, Honda, and others. However, Nissan says the gasoline engine will only be used to generate electricity, with the wheels powered exclusively by an electric motor. (Such a system does allow the engine to be clutched directly to the wheels-Honda does just that in narrow, steady speed bands where direct mechanical power is more efficient than generating and consuming electricity-but Nissan says E-Power will not operate this way.) The Rogue hybrid will feature all-wheel drive courtesy of a separate electric motor that powers the rear axle. Total system output is 225 hp, and anticipated EPA fuel economy ratings are 40/36/38 mpg city/highway/combined.

During our latest drive, Nissan explained more aspects of the E-Power hybrid system and let us try them out. The most notable is one-pedal driving, in which lifting off the accelerator engages the regenerative brake, allowing the motors to generate electricity that recharges the battery and creates resistance. Most hybrids mix regenerative and friction braking, and many have a “B” (brake) mode that slows the car, but one-pedal driving is a feature commonly associated with electric cars; seeing it in a hybrid is a pleasant surprise. Deceleration isn’t as rapid as a full EV, but the Rogue Hybrid did bring itself to a full and gentle stop without us touching the brake pedal.

Speaking of gentle stops, turning off one-pedal driving enables the new Smooth Stop feature. Remember how when you first started driving, you made jerky stops because you didn’t know how to feather the pedal? Smooth Stop does that feathering for you. We’re not sure how useful this is; most drivers figure out how to stop the car smoothly after a few days of driving, and the Rogue E-Hybrid seems poised to create a new generation of drivers who don’t.

More useful is the new version of ProPilot Assist, Nissan’s adaptive cruise control and lane centering system, which has been updated for better tracking and to allow hands-free driving in slow-moving traffic.

What impressed us most about the Nissan Rogue E-Power hybrid was not any of these new features but rather the refinement of the powertrain. It’s exceptionally quiet and oh so smooth, the latter a real accomplishment considering that three-bangers are inherently rough runners.

We also learned more about the pricing and model lineup. The entry-level 2027 Rogue Hybrid will be the SV model, priced at $37,065, followed by the $39,065 SR and the $45,065 Platinum. The first Rogue Hybrids to arrive in dealerships this fall will be SR models with the Tech package, which adds larger screens, an improved bird’s-eye parking camera, ProPilot Assist, and a panoramic sunroof, bringing the price to $43,065. Nicer and lesser trim levels will follow in early 2027.

And what of the non-hybrid Rogue? The 2026 model will carry over to 2027 with the same styling, moving to the new body style for the 2028 model year.

Nissan admits not having hybrids in its North American lineup is a mistake that needs to be remedied ASAP. Having only internal combustion engines or pure EVs, in hindsight, was a miscalculation. It is not as if Nissan doesn’t know how to make hybrids-it has assorted hybrids for sale in other parts of the world, and Alliance partner Mitsubishi has plug-in hybrid technology already on sale in America that can be tapped.

The goal is to close the gap on hybrids in the U.S. over the next 24 months. The fourth-generation Rogue compact SUV goes into production in 2026 and will finally bring Nissan's e-Power hybrid setup stateside in early 2027 with dual motors for all-wheel drive.

One challenge will be explaining to customers what e-Power is, and why they should care and shell out money for a Nissan equipped with it.

So, What Is Nissan E-Power?

E-Power is a series hybrid where the gasoline engine acts as a generator, recharging the battery that feeds the electric motor that powers the wheels-the engine is not linked to the wheels. Unlike most hybrids, e-Power is 100 percent electric drive. Honda's current hybrid tech comes closest to this idea, operating as a series hybrid most of the time in the Civic, Accord, and CR-V hybrids, but the gas engine can be clutched into a direct drive to assist the front wheels when the system deems it more efficient to do so (typically under wide-open throttle or higher speeds). Again, Nissan won't do that here, committing fully to the series action.

The third-generation system was engineered to be more refined with less noise, vibration, and harshness as well as being more fuel efficient, especially at highway speeds, with fewer emissions. Engineers say the third generation has a 15 percent improvement in fuel efficiency at high speeds and 9 percent better overall than the second generation e-Power setup available elsewhere in the world.

We had a chance to drive the current second-generation e-Power system in a Nissan Qashqai (the equivalent of the subcompact Rogue Sport no longer offered here, as it is known outside the U.S.) and to compare it with the new third-generation system, also in a Qashqai prototype. The engine acting as the generator is a 1.5-liter turbocharged inline-three calibrated specifically for its role in the e-Power powertrain. It is different from the engine in the second generation and is part of a “five in one” system that combines the motor, battery, inverter, generator, and engine in one chassis, in a package that is slightly smaller and weighs less. Fewer parts also reduce cost.

The thermal management helps ensure the car is always trying to operate in the most efficient zone and stay in that state for a longer period of time-crucial for highway driving economy.

Nissan says the new system was engineered to drive like an EV-from which e-Power was initially derived, with instant and steady torque as opposed to a hybrid with peppy initial acceleration from, say, a small electric motor assisting the gas engine, then a slight lag as the torque fill from that small motor dies off, and then a power boost as the small gas engine picks up steam. The goal here was to eliminate delayed, non-linear, or otherwise unpleasant acceleration like other hybrids. Again, this is an area in which the Honda hybrid setup excels, as most of the time it's operating much the same way, with smooth, EV-like takeoffs and motivation around town, the engine purring away quietly in the background.

Driving the Latest E-Power Hybrid System

On our 2.3-mile drive at a Nissan test facility, we found the sensation of driving e-Power still feels like a hybrid, but it was not a bad thing as the transition was smooth and almost seamless. If we did not know better, we would have assumed the post-takeoff boost was the engine giving the wheels a bit more power.

In the second generation, there is the noticeable sound of acceleration from the powertrain. It was much quieter in the third generation which houses the powertrain in a more rigid structure. It is so much quieter that you become aware of road noise.

The current generation also felt a bit harsh on rough pavement. Here again, there is a distinct change. The new e-Power is much more refined over rough patches, feeing both stable and comfortable, with less vibration coming from the powertrain or the body of the vehicle. The solidity helped make it feel nimbler, as well.

The new system was engineered to cancel out as much vibration and noise as possible, with motor control to respond instantly and smoothly to acceleration input without vibration. Effort was also put into a smoother ride, for less dive and squat, especially in snow or on loose surfaces. The motor counters that in milliseconds for a flat drive that does not sink into the snow, says Shunichi Inamijima, corporate vice president of powertrain and EV engineering division.

There was a bit of body roll in the Qashqai, which is almost welcome: you feel like you are driving. The steering was a bit heavy in the Qashqai, unchanged in both the new and old cars.

We think that, with some refinements and perhaps a little more power, this e-Power system could slot nicely into the one-size-up Rogue, which is a popular SUV here in America (and the current version is our number-one-ranked compact SUV, even on the eve of its replacement and without hybrid power). The Rogue will be the first Nissan to bring e-Power to the U.S. but not the last. Expect it to roll out to other models, likely smaller ones like the Nissan Murano and next-generation Sentra, as opposed to something like the three-row Pathfinder because the system is not ideal for vehicles that are used for towing.