Although the UAW strike cast a big shadow of doubt over the US car market recently, the new vehicle sales jump was undaunted and continued the positive trend into the third quarter of the year.
That means even more deliveries for the top segment of the market – compact crossover SUVs followed by the eternal sunshine of the spotless full-size pickup truck sector, of course. In terms of brands and overall performance, the end of the year will probably see Toyota and GM duke it out for the crown, followed by many Asian carmakers.
Among them, all prey upon the US car market with the full force of the rising appetite for compact crossover SUVs. First among them is, of course, the original purveyor of the sector – Toyota's RAV4. Like a shadow, the Honda CR-V is closely following it thanks to the recent introduction of the sixth generation in 2022. And the podium is completed by none other than Nissan's Rogue.
Yep, the crossover SUV produced from 2008 is currently in its third generation, which is now twinned with the international Nissan X-Trail for the second time. Starting at $27,910, as opposed to $29,500 for the 2024 CR-V and the 2023 RAV4 kicking off at $28,275, the Rogue is only marginally cheaper than both, so it is pretty obvious the three-way battle is fought on other plains of existence rather than just in the accounting department.
For example, the exterior and interior looks are equally important as space and the broad availability of powertrains. Well, the all-new CR-V represents a challenge for both the RAV4 and Rogue due to its confident styling that mixes traditional Honda cues with modern technology. No worries, though, as both the RAV4 and Rogue are approaching their own inflection points – a new generation (probably) for the Toyota CUV and the 2025 model year mid-cycle facelift for the Nissan rival.
Speaking of the latter, everyone is trying to take a swing at revealing the goodies, of course, including the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. As such, meet the good folks over at the Q Cars channel on YouTube, who aim to daze and amaze the audience with the potential styling of their vision for the redesigned Rogue CUV.
Interestingly, the resident pixel master might be using the assistance of AI software tools for these digital projects, which is probably why we are getting a couple of variants for the hypothetical design of the unannounced and unreleased 2025 Nissan Rogue facelift. So, which one is your favorite, especially considering that both stray away for good from the current Nissan design language and at least one of them seems to veer in the same mature yet bold direction of the current RAV4 styling from certain angles?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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