Preview: We’ve Seen the 2026 Nissan Rogue Plug-in Hybrid Before

The biggest difference between the Rogue and Outlander PHEVs is in their exterior styling, so if you find the blingy chrome on the front end of the Mitsubishi to be a bit garish, Nissan has the version for you. While we haven’t gotten a chance to look at them head-to-head in person just yet, even the infotainment systems in the press photos have similar onscreen layouts. We also expect the third row to be an extreme squeeze suitable only for smaller children, as is the case in the Outlander PHEV. 

Alternatively, perhaps you like dealing with one dealership over the other, or one dealer offers a better package of incentives and extras at the time of purchase. Mitsubishi’s dealership network isn’t as robust as Nissan’s, too, and can make it tougher to handle recalls and repairs. With a car this similar to its twin, it’s worth looking at both models to know for sure unless you really have a make-or-break opinion about that chrome up front. 

What we do know is that the current-generation Outlander PHEV is a competitive SUV. It’s pleasant to drive and intuitive to use, and it fared well enough in our tests to earn a CR Recommended badge. Its 38 miles of all-electric range are competitive with most PHEVs in its segment. Although none of them come close to the 50 miles offered by the RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid, that’s still enough to handle most commutes. 

That being said, we weren’t big fans of the Outlander PHEV’s unusually quick steering rack when we tested it, finding that it didn’t seem to suit a family SUV. We also thought its ride quality was a tad stiff, even if it was an improvement over the standard Outlander’s. Its fuel economy once its battery gets depleted was unimpressive, too, because its 25 mpg was no improvement over the gasoline-only Outlander in Consumer Reports’ fuel economy tests.

There is one upside to a parts-bin or platform-shared special like this that often goes underappreciated, though. A vehicle with a drivetrain that’s been out for a while may not be the most exciting to read about from a technical standpoint, but it tends to have fewer problems than an all-new car upon release. 

The tastefully toned-down exterior has the biggest changes from the Mitsubishi version, replacing some of the larger chrome elements with black or extended body-colored panels. Black 20-inch wheels come standard, with the Platinum trim adding gloss-black roof rails. A black bar with “NISSAN” written across it connects the two taillights across the rear hatch as well. 

The Rogue PHEV also features all-LED exterior lighting, including the prominent stacks of lights at each edge of the front that look exactly like the Outlander PHEV’s. These may stand out a bit more depending on which color you get, because the prominent chrome elements connecting the grille and lights have been deleted, with Nissan opting to extend the body color and black from the grille to cover that space. 

Like the Outlander PHEV, the Rogue PHEV keeps many of its most-used audio, climate, and drive mode controls on physical buttons, switches, and knobs, bucking the trend of making an interior look more futuristic at the cost of usability. Standard features include a 9-inch center infotainment touchscreen, a 12.3-inch driver’s display, and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Nissan also used acoustically laminated front door glass to further isolate the cabin from outside noise. 

Upgrading to the Platinum trim adds a 10-inch head-up display, leather seats, and a nine-speaker Bose sound system.

Powering the Rogue PHEV is a 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder gasoline engine and a dual-motor hybrid system, which give it all-wheel drive. They take the place of a traditional transmission and directly power the Rogue PHEV’s wheels. All in all, the powertrain produces 248 hp and 332 lb.-ft. of torque, which is a nice bump in power over the standard Rogue’s 201 hp. 

The Rogue PHEV’s 20-kilowatt-hour battery gives it an all-electric range of 38 miles and a total range of 420 miles, per Nissan’s estimates. According to Nissan, the battery can charge from empty to full in 7.5 hours when hooked up to a Level 2 (240-volt, like most larger appliances use) charger. A Level 1 (120-volt, like a standard home electrical socket) charger is also included as standard equipment.

The only way to pay off the price difference between the regular Rogue and the PHEV is to plug it in. Nissan’s estimated 26 combined mpg is only 1 mpg more than the 25 mpg overall Consumer Reports saw when testing the non-hybrid Rogue. That means owners won’t save any significant cost savings at the pump.

In Consumer Reports’ fuel economy tests, the standard Rogue, the Outlander, and the Outlander PHEV with its battery depleted all got 25 mpg overall. Even then, the regular Rogue lags 2 to 3 mpg behind most of its competitors in fuel economy.

The Rogue PHEV has selectable drive modes for both terrain type and efficiency. EV, Save, and Charge modes tweak how much of the electric or gasoline engine is used. The “B” mode on the gear selector enables additional regenerative braking, which helps slow the SUV and feeds the braking energy it recaptures back into the hybrid system’s battery. 

Like the Nissan Leaf, the Rogue PHEV also has an “e-Step” mode that offers the maximum amount of regenerative braking available, but it stops just shy of being a true one-pedal driving system (where the regenerative braking level is turned up high enough to stop the car by lifting off the throttle pedal at lower speeds without having to hit the brake pedal). 

The Rogue PHEV includes the Nissan Safety Shield 360 suite of active safety and driver assistance features as standard, which includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic warning, reverse automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, and automatic high beams. 

Adaptive cruise control also comes standard, with Nissan’s ProPilot Assist active driving assistance system available on higher trims. ProPilot Assist can take over acceleration, steering, and braking on longer trips. 

A 360-degree surround-view camera with moving-object detection is available on the top trims.