It’s no secret that Nissan has been struggling in recent years with declining sales, losses and aging products. One of the biggest challenges for the brand in the US market has been the lack of any hybrid powertrains. This is especially true in the compact crossover segment which is the highest volume segment in this market led by the Toyota Rav4 which is exclusively hybrid and plug-in hybrid for 2026 and Honda CR-V of which more than half of sales are hybrid. A hybridized Rogue has been discussed for some time but it’s finally arriving in 2026 as essentially just a re-grilled Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid.

Nissan briefly offered a Rogue hybrid starting in 2017, but it had underwhelming performance and sold poorly. The overseas version of the Rogue which is badged as X-Trail offers Nissan’s series hybrid E-Power drivetrain and the next generation of this system is expected to arrive in North America in 2027. But for now, the Rogue is going to be available with a plug-in hybrid system developed by Nissan’s partners at Mitsubishi.

The current fourth-generation Outlander debuted in 2021 after Nissan and Renault invested in Mitsubishi and brought the brand into their alliance. It uses the same platform as the current Rogue and is dimensionally identical. The standard version uses the same 2.5-liter four-cylinder that the Rogue launched with before switching to a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder a couple of years ago. The PHEV has been a Mitsubishi exclusive until now.

Despite sharing a platform and most components, the Rogue PHEV is wearing the sheet metal of the Outlander rather than the design we’ve had on Rogues since 2021. The Rogue for North America is produced in Smyrna, TN while the Outlander is produced in Okazaki Japan. Earlier this year, Nissan confirmed that an all-new next-generation Rogue will begin production in Smyrna with the availability of the third-generation e-Power system. The Outlander-based Rogue PHEV will also continue in parallel with that model for some time so it wasn’t worth tooling up to build the PHEV with the existing body and a Nissan-themed upper grille and unique taillamps.

All of this is not necessarily a problem. The current Outlander/Rogue PHEV is overall fairly attractive, with its sculpted side and vertically stacked headlamps in the front. It retains the key functional features of the Rogue such as rear doors that open to nearly 90 degrees from the body for easy access to the back seat. It also brings along one dubious feature from the Outlander which is a third-row seat that is really too small for anyone but young children that should be in boosters anyway. Most owners are likely to just leave the third row folded to take advantage of the 30.8 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row (there is only 12.8 cubic feet with the third row up.

It has the same 9-inch infotainment touchscreen as the rest of the family although it appears to lack the Google built-in software that the gas Rogue has. The Platinum trim also adds a 10-inch head up display. There is support for wireless Apple Carplay and wired Android Auto phone projection. There are standard pull-up sunshades in the rear doors and a tri-zone climate control system. Nissan’s hands-on ProPilot Assist 1.1 is also standard on the PHEV to provide speed control and lane centering.

The plug-in powertrain uses a 131-hp 2.4-liter naturally aspirated Mitsubishi four-cylinder engine with a 114-hp electric motor for the front axle and a 134-hp rear axle motor. The motors provide 188 and 144 lb-ft of torque front and rear. There is also a 20-kWh lithium ion battery. In combined mode, the system puts out up to 248-hp and 332 lb-ft.

The Mitsubishi system can operate in three modes, electric only when the battery is charged, series hybrid with the engine only powering the front motor-generator to feed electricity to the battery and parallel hybrid with the engine and motors all feeding torque to the wheels depending on which clutches are engaged. With a full charge, the Rogue PHEV is rated at 38 miles of all electric range and once it’s depleted, the vehicle is rated at 26 mpg in standard hybrid mode.

One unique element of the Outlander plug-in hybrid that seems to have been left out for the Nissan is DC “fast charging”, something you don’t typically find on a PHEV. It’s not actually much of a loss though since it was limited to only 22-kW and used a CHAdeMO port on the Mitsubishi. AC charging is accomplished through a relatively modest 3.5-kW circuit which takes 6.5-hours to fully replenish the battery from a 240V wall charger. That’s fine for overnight charging at home, but less useful for a top-up while having lunch on a road trip.

There will be two trim levels, SL and Platinum although no pricing information is available yet. It will likely be similar to the Mitsubishi’s SEL and Platinum trims that go for $46,395 and $50,445 respectively plus $1,745 destination fee. We don’t yet know what the pricing will be for the 2026 Toyota Rav4 PHEVs, but those will offer more than 50 miles of electric range and more power. The 2026 Nissan Rogue PHEV isn’t necessarily the most compelling offering of its type, but it does at least provide the brand with an electrified offering in this segment, especially now that the Ariya is being discontinued in the US for 2026. Those that want a more affordable hybrid in this segment will have to wait for the new e-Power next year or go for a Rav4, CR-V, Ford Escape, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson or Mazda CX-50. The Honda, Ford, Kia and Hyundai are also offered as PHEVs.

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2026 Nissan Rogue PHEV Is A Re-Grilled Mitsubishi