Why It’s the Nissan Rogue Sport in the U.S. and the Qashqai Everywhere Else
–
The United States is a diverse country of nearly 325 million people, but Americans are nonetheless sometimes broadly stereotyped as being a bit boorish, or at least less cultured than, say, some Europeans or Canadians. So when Nissan revealed it was bringing the Qashqai compact SUV to the U.S. market while at the same time renaming the car the Rogue Sport here, some casual observers wondered if maybe Nissan felt “Qashqai” (pronounced KASH-kay) was too much of a mouthful for Americans.
–
Christian Meunier, Nissan North America’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, said the decision had more to do with the slightly larger Nissan Rogue’s growing success in the U.S. market than with concern that Americans might stumble over nomenclature. Meunier was with Nissan in Europe about a decade ago, and he saw the development of the compact Qashqai up close. The little crossover’s purpose was to find a way to break through and capture a chunk of the compact-car market that had been dominated by the Volkswagen Golf in much of Europe.
–
–
“That was a very successful venture,” Meunier told us at the 2017 Detroit auto show. He added: “The product basically delivered the functionality of an SUV or a crossover, so more functionality than a hatchback or a compact car. It was all-wheel drive, with all kinds of things, with a price point and fuel economy that were very similar.” These, of course, are also reasons the compact-crossover craze has taken hold in the United States. And Nissan is looking to capitalize further on said craze with the unveiling of the Qashqai as the Rogue Sport for the U.S. market in Detroit on Monday.
–
The Qashqai crossover got its name from a nomadic group of people that settled in Southern Persia during the 15th century in what is now Iran. According to the Encyclopedia Iranica, the etymology of the Turkic word qashqai is muddied, but historians have theorized its meaning could be “a horse with a white spot on its forehead” or possibly a take on the Turkic verb qāčmaq, which means “to flee.” In any case, the moniker made its way to Canada but not to the United States.
–
“Qashqai to Canada was pretty obvious,” Meunier said, describing the country as “really between North American and European” with “a lot of European sensitivity.” The crossover’s success in Europe, and the desire to market that success in Canada, is the same reason it got the Rogue Sport title in the U.S.
–
–
“In the U.S., because of the success of Rogue, we thought it was important to leverage the Rogue name,” Meunier said. Nissan’s plan basically gives the Rogue name its own portfolio of products that includes the more family-oriented Rogue and the urban, more youthful Rogue Sport, he added.
–
Last year, the Nissan Rogue was number 10 in U.S. vehicle sales, with a 15 percent rise in sales to 329,904 units, according to Autodata Corp. It finished the year strong, with a year-over-year increase of 53 percent to 40,477 units in December, making it the fourth-best-selling vehicle for the month, behind only the Ford F-series, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram pickups.
–
Sizewise, the 2017 Rogue Sport is wedged between the regular Rogue and the Nissan Juke. It’s 12.1 inches shorter than the standard Rogue, and its wheelbase is 2.3 inches shorter, but the two crossovers are spun from the same platform, and both feature strut front and multilink rear suspensions.
–
- –
- 2017 Nissan Rogue Sport Full Details: In This Case, Sport Means Small
- Nissan Rogue Reviews, News, Photos, Pricing, and More
- The Detroit Auto Show Debuts You Need to Know About
–
–
–
–
With the similarities in name and platform, is Nissan concerned the Rogue Sport could cannibalize some sales from the hot-selling Rogue? No, Meunier said. “I think by calling it Rogue Sport, we’ll have the opportunity to really make it a big story,” he said. “We’re very bold and ambitious on the crossover market, and you’ve seen our results in the month of December.”
–
–
–
Car and Driver BlogCar and Driver Blog