Jonathan Gitlin

In 2017, Nissan sold 403,465 Rogue crossovers. That makes it the fifth best-selling vehicle in the US, narrowly losing out to the Toyota RAV4 (407,594) and the trio of domestic trucks that always sweeps the podium. It’s easy to see why vehicles like this have displaced the sedan as America’s go-to for driving a family around. It’s spacious, easily carrying four large humans—or five, if some of them are smaller—and their stuff. It’s pretty good value for money; even the cheapest $24,800 front-wheel drive Rogue S comes with a lot of standard equipment. IIHS rates it highly, and I even think it looks pretty good, if a bit fussy. All of which is to say, it’s not a bad vehicle.

Yet if that sounds like I’m damning the Rogue with faint praise, I am. A week with one of America’s best-selling vehicles once again proves I’m out of the mainstream, or too many people are happy to settle. The Rogue is fine, but it’s not great. The infotainment system needs work. The cabin is fussy. The steering is so light it’s almost disconcerting. And the hybrid version that was available for model year 2017 is missing in action.