2021 Nissan Rogue vs. 2021 Toyota RAV4 Comparison

Nissan made some questionable design choices with the Rogue’s front end, but even the funky split headlight look doesn’t ruin what is otherwise a clean, modern design. Inside, the Rogue has clever fabrics and color contrasts that give it a grown-up feel.

The RAV4 left its soft, urban-dwelling styling a few years back, and now sports a rugged, muscular look that is fitting of its capabilities. However, its more aggressive looks might turn off older shoppers or those with more conservative tastebuds. Yet, it still a top-seller across all vehicles in the industry so Toyota’s proven function-over form formula is still at play.

There’s not an overwhelming amount of power available, but there doesn’t have to be. The Rogue makes its way around town easily and has no trouble navigating highway speeds.

The RAV4’s 203-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder matches well with its eight-speed automatic transmission, but it can feel underpowered off the line. Depending on the trim, the vehicle can be equipped with different AWD systems with drive modes for improved off-road performance. Most of its talent lies within keeping itself stable on slippery terrain, but the Adventure Grade tackles deep snow proficiently (more so than the Honda CR-V or Nissan Rogue). The RAV4 also comes with an AWD hybrid powertrain that couples a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with two electric motors for a combined output of 219 horsepower. The hybrid is faster and has better fuel economy that the gas model. A plug-in hybrid—the RAV4 Prime (reviewed separately)—also is an option.

Nissan’s Zero Gravity Seats are a wonder of modern engineering and are easily among the best of any crossover in the Rogue’s class. The rear seat offers acres of leg and headroom, and thoughtfully designed doors allow for easy loading of kids and gear.

Inside, the RAV4 is spacious and comfortable, with plenty of small-item storage in every corner. The material used to trim the interior are synthetic, but are highly durable and wipeable, and aid in repelling dirt, salt and mud. The front passenger also has a compartment above the glove box for storing items needed frequently in a road trip (think snacks, wipies, a phone). The rear bench are also roomy and the 60/40-splitting rear seats helps with flexible storage options. Parents also will have no difficulty installing car seats or loading kids in and out of the backseats.

Though it lacks a hybrid option, the Rogue delivers solid fuel economy. With front-wheel drive, the crossover is rated at 27 mpg in the city, 35 mpg on the highway and 30 mpg combined. The SV, SL and Platinum trims are rated slightly differently drops each figure by 1 mpg in each category. All-wheel drive shifts those numbers to 26 mpg city, 33 mpg highway and 29 mpg combined. The top three trims with AWD also lag by 1 mpg in each category.

Though its main competitor, the Honda CR-V, offers a hybrid powertrain, the RAV4 wins out with both a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid model. The AWD-only hybrid achieves up to 40 mpg combined, while the plug-in hybrid gets 38 mpg combined. Gas-powered models return competitive fuel economy, at up to 30 mpg combined.

The Rogue comes standard with many of the most helpful advanced safety features, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane departure warning, forward collision warning, blind spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, rear automatic braking and an intelligent driver alertness system. The 2021 Rogue is an all-new model so it hasn’t yet been crash tested.

The 2021 RAV4 earned a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and five stars overall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Those successes are due in part to the vehicle’s standard safety equipment, which includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warnings with lane-keep assist and adaptive cruise control.