According to
2008 Nissan Rogue Road Test Car Reviews - The Car Connection
In the Rogue, Nissan's 2.5-liter in-line four-cylinder turns in a competitive 170 horsepower and 175 lb-ft torque. (Rogues sold with California emissions make 167 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque.) The engine's willing enough, and its power curve matches well with the kind of in-town driving it's destined for. With better noise damping than in the Sentra sedan, which uses the same engine, the four-cylinder Rogue sounds sweet enough to hear every day, if not as purely joyous as the CR-V's four.
When it comes to the transmission, Nissan's done as well as any carmaker can with the CVT. With the available paddle shifters, the Rogue's CVT gets tweaked to offer six simulated gears - programmed in, they're like more like favorite radio stations to the electronically controlled transmission than like real gears. The problems with the Rogue CVT are common to all of these transmissions. They seem to create more engine noise since, by design, they aim for the most efficient power point in the rev range; and they feel unresponsive and dull as they slide through an infinite set of ratios. There's no snick-snick pleasure in shifting the Rogue, and unless you're using the optional paddles, no right-now shift control.
The CVT's benefit to the Rogue is the drivetrain's fuel economy. Under the EPA's new fuel-economy tests, the Rogue ranks in a 22/27 mpg with front-drive models, 21/26 mpg for all-wheel-drive models. Nissan predicts that will put it ahead of the RAV4 and CR-V.
The all-wheel drive offered in the Rogue is a savvy system that splits power equally front to rear as it's accelerating from a stop. On the road, it rolls in essentially front-drive mode, with only minimal power at the rear wheels. The system uses wheel sensors to judge when the rear wheels need more power for traction, and when to apply less power to keep the Rogue from spinning.
Now that's great news!