Nissan Rogue vs Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport

The 2025 Nissan Rogue is one of the main players in the highly competitive compact SUV segment. Ever since the first Rogue went on sale for the 2008 model year, Nissan has made sure to constantly update and improve what’s now the automaker’s best-selling model in North America.

For the 2025 model year, the Rogue gets a little off-road bravado added to its winning recipe. The Rogue Rock Creek trim is equipped with adventure gear like all-terrain tires, a tubular roof rack, a surround-view camera system, and hill descent control. It also has trim-specific exterior design touches like red trim pieces on the alloy wheels and front grille and “Rock Creek” badges on the front seats. Nissan’s ProPilot Assist 2.1 highway driving assist system is also newly available on the Rogue.

Verdict: With its reasonable price tag and impressive array of comfort features and tech touches, the Rogue is aimed right at the heart of the compact SUV segment. This year’s improvements add a little more polish to the Rogue, particularly with the outdoorsy Rock Creek model and latest generation of Nissan’s hands-free highway driving technology. This is an extremely well-rounded choice, though not everything is perfect.

Volkswagen's efforts to grow its appeal in North America have developed over a long process of trial and error, but VW showed it finally understood this continent’s tastes when it launched the Atlas three-row crossover SUV. And because not everyone needs three rows, VW followed up the standard Atlas with the two-row Cross Sport for the 2020 model year. Both versions get a significant refresh for 2024.

The 2024 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport gets most of the same updates as its three-row sibling, including different styling, more standard features, and the discontinuation of its six-cylinder engine option in favour of a more powerful turbocharged four-cylinder engine. These changes are aimed at making the Cross Sport more competitive against other midsize crossovers like the Chevrolet Blazer and Honda Passport, the aged Ford Edge and Nissan Murano, and the more truck-like Jeep Grand Cherokee.

In Canada, the 2024 Atlas Cross Sport lineup includes Comfortline, Highline, and Execline trim levels. We drove the U.S. equivalent of the range-topping Execline for this review.