The newly revealed Rogue hybrid will use e-Power technology where the gas engine acts as a generator.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
Nissan revealed an all-new 2027 Rogue hybrid with “e-Power” technology last week at Nissan Motor’s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, and this one is significantly different from the plug-in hybrid Rogue we drove for the first time late last year.
In an effort to bring a PHEV to the market quickly, Nissan partnered with Mitsubishi to develop the 2026 Rogue PHEV, which is basically a rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
By contrast, this 2027 Rogue uses Nissan’s third-generation e-Power hybrid system that’s developed entirely in-house. While e-Power is new to Canada, previous generations have been used in other vehicles in Asia and Europe.
Since 2016, more than two million vehicles with “e-Power” technology have been sold in 68 countries.
While most traditional hybrids use the gas engine and electric motors to power the vehicle, Nissan’s e-Power system uses the electric motors to power the wheels; while the gas engine acts as a generator to charge the battery and motors. It’s fundamentally similar in concept to technology Honda is using for the new Prelude.
The 2027 Rogue hybrid will be powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine mated to dual electric motors and all-wheel drive. Many details, such as combined horsepower and torque, were not available. Nissan executives said the new Rogue hybrid is 20-per-cent more fuel efficient compared to the current gas-powered Rogue.
Similar to conventional hybrids, it can’t be plugged in.
Journalists look on as the 2027 Nissan Rogue hybrid is revealed in Yokohama, Japan in April, 2026.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
Christian Meunier, chairman of Nissan Americas, stands beside the new Rogue hybrid right after it was revealed in Yokohama, Japan in April, 2026.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
The new Rogue hybrid will be built at Nissan Motor Company’s Kyushu Plant in Japan. Nissan hasn’t said if production for the Canadian market will move to Nissan’s Smyrna assembly plant in Tennessee. The Pathfinder, Frontier and Murano are made in Tennessee for the the Canadian market.
“We need to build where we sell for the most majority, but at the same time we’re recognizing that with tariffs in Canada and the U.S. and political issues, we need to have more sourcing as much as we can,” said Christian Meunier, chairman of Nissan Americas after the new Rogue was unveiled at Nissan’s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan during a roundtable discussion with Canadian journalists last week. “We’re not completely blind to be able to bring cars from other parts of the world.”
We drove the 2027 Rogue hybrid e-Power back-to-back with the current generation 2026 gas-powered Rogue on a short test track at Grandrive, Nissan’s proving grounds in Oppama, Japan.
The newly revealed Nissan Rogue hybrid was camouflaged for our test drive at the proving grounds in Japan.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
Nissan covered the interior of the Rogue hybrid for our test drive as to not give much away.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
The first noticeable difference was the lack of cabin and engine noise in the hybrid. The current gas model seemed rough and harsh, especially while driving over the undulating portion of the track. Off the line, the hybrid was faster, acting more like an all-electric vehicle with instant torque and quick, smooth acceleration not expected of a hybrid.
On the new hybrid, the power has also been adjusted front‑to‑rear and side‑to‑side to maximize grip. As a result, when cornering on the track, it was well balanced with less body roll than the gas model. The new SUV also has regenerative braking with a full-stop feature and one-pedal driving.
There was no need to touch the brake pedal – simply lift your foot off the throttle and the vehicle slows down immediately. It even came to a full stop smoothly and easily. The system was designed to ease stress when driving in congested stop-and-go traffic and maximize efficiency.
Nissan Canada has a lot riding on the Rogue hybrid - it’s one of its top-selling vehicles. In 2025, Nissan sold 104,370 vehicles in Canada and Rogue accounted for 36,034 of them – nearly one third of Nissan sales in the country. While Rogue sales were up 10 per cent in 2025 versus 2024, 2026 is off to a slower start. In the first quarter, Nissan sold 25,758 vehicles – 9,119 were Rogues – that number was down 8.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Officials hope the 2027 Nissan Rogue hybrid with e-Power will boost sales when it arrives in Canadian dealerships in late October. It takes on hybrid competitors such as the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. Additional details on pricing and specifications will be shared closer to the launch date. A gas-only version of the Rogue will come out later.
The camouflaged Nissan Rogue hybrid next to the gas-powered version.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
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