Image source: Nissan North America

Nissan’s Rogue compact crossover SUV rose to the top of the sales charts in its segment with a formula of providing value to customers. The newly unveiled 2021 Rogue boasts a slightly different take on the value equation, by packing impressive standard and optional technology into a mainstream family vehicle that would previously have required shoppers to move up to pricier premium-brand offerings.

‘Rogue is our best selling vehicle in the U.S. today, so this might be Nissan’s most significant redesign ever,” noted Jared Haslam, Nissan North America’s vice president of product planning.

Image source: Nissan North America

Probably the most impressive aspect of the 2021 Rogue is Nissan’s decision to include its Nissan Safety Shield 360 suite of safety technologies as standard equipment on all Rogues. That includes automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, high beam assist and rear automatic braking. Additionally, all Rogue models include Intelligent Driver Alertness technology, Rear Door Alert and ten air bags.

Nissan’s ProPilot Assist adaptive cruise control system can navigate stop-and-go traffic (with stops as long as 30 seconds), handling acceleration, braking and steering. The company describes the 2021 Rogue’s ProPilot Assist system as enhanced over previous systems with better radar and camera detection performance, for smoother braking, better steering assist and improved detection when the Rogue is cut off by other traffic. The camera now identifies speed limit signs to adjust the cruising speed up or down correspondingly.

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Image source: Nissan North America

To make the Rogue a family-friendly minivan alternative for small families, Nissan has included features like a smart key fob that lets drivers unlock doors with just a touch of the door handle on any of the Rogue’s four doors rather than just the driver’s door. The rear doors flip open nearly 90 degrees to make it easier to get a child safety seat in or out, and the hatch can be opened using the available motion sensor that opens the tailgate with a kicking gesture at the rear bumper.

Another premium-class touch for the Rogue is the pull-up sun shades that are built into the rear doors’ window sills, along with available three-zone automatic climate control that permits different temperatures for each of the front row seats, plus a different setting for the back seat.

There are tech features for kids of all ages, such as the 15-watt wireless smartphone charger and wireless Apple CarPlay. The Rogue includes both USB-A and USB-C outlets for connectivity and charging.

For 2021, Rogue offers an optional full-color 10.8-inch head-up display along with its 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster (a 7.0-inch digital instrument panel is standard equipment on non-HUD models) and central 9.0-inch infotainment touch screen display.

There is also a car beneath all this technology, so there’s a 181-horsepower direct-injected 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine matched to a continuously variable transmission. The engine is rated at 11 horsepower more than that of the outgoing model and features details like mirror cylinder bore coating, variable displacement oil pump, and variable intake valve timing.

The optional all-wheel drive system features five drive modes: Standard, Eco, Sport, Off-Road, and Snow. A new electrohydraulic clutch for the all-wheel drive system controls rear-wheel torque more accurately and responds more quickly to front wheel slippage.

The 2021 Rogue will reach Nissan dealers in the fall of 2020.

Dan Carney is a Design News senior editor, covering automotive technology, engineering and design, especially emerging electric vehicle and autonomous technologies.