Compare the2023 Nissan RogueVS 2023 Subaru Outback

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Recommendations

Safety

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The Nissan Rogue has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Outback doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Rogue Platinum has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Outback doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Rogue SL/Platinum has a standard Around View® Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Outback only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The Rogue has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Outback’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Rogue has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Outback and its not available on the Base.

Compared to metal, the Rogue’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Outback has a metal gas tank.

Both the Rogue and the Outback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Nissan Rogue is safer than the Subaru Outback:

	Rogue	Outback
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	37%	43%

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Nissan Rogue is safer than the Subaru Outback:

	Rogue	Outback
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.4 inches	.5 inches
Abdominal Force	99 lbs.	101 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	31 G’s	51 G’s
Hip Force	513 lbs.	635 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
Hip Force	398 lbs.	674 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

There are over 69 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Rogue’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Rogue has a standard 720-amp battery. The Outback’s 620-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Rogue’s reliability 22 points higher than the Outback.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Subaru With 21 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Subaru.

Engine

The Rogue’s 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 19 more horsepower (201 vs. 182) and 49 lbs.-ft. more torque (225 vs. 176) than the Outback 2.5i’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Nissan Rogue is faster than the Outback 2.5i 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder:

	Rogue	Outback
Zero to 60 MPH	8.4 sec	8.7 sec
Quarter Mile	16.5 sec	16.6 sec

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Rogue gets better mileage than the Outback:

			MPG
Rogue
	FWD	S/SV 1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	30 city/37 hwy
		SL/Platinum 1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	29 city/36 hwy
	AWD	S/SV 1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	28 city/35 hwy
		SL/Platinum 1.5 turbo 3-cyl.	28 city/34 hwy
Outback
	AWD	2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/32 hwy
		XT 2.4 turbo flat-4	22 city/29 hwy
		Wilderness 2.4 turbo flat-4	21 city/26 hwy

The Rogue has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Outback doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

The Rogue stops much shorter than the Outback:

	Rogue	Outback
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	132 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Rogue has larger tires than the Outback (235/65R17 vs. 225/65R17).

The Rogue SL/Platinum’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Outback Onyx/Limited/Touring’s 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Rogue SL/Platinum has standard 19-inch wheels. The Outback’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The Rogue has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Outback doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Rogue has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Outback doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Rogue Platinum AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Outback Limited XT pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Rogue Platinum AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Outback Limited (27.7 seconds @ .6 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Rogue’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Outback’s (35.4 feet vs. 36.1 feet).

Chassis

The Rogue is 8.3 inches shorter than the Outback Wilderness, making the Rogue easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Rogue has 1 inch more front headroom and .1 inches more rear headroom than the Outback.

The front step up height for the Rogue is 1.4 inches lower than the Outback (17.6” vs. 19”).

Cargo Capacity

A control in the cargo area automatically lowers the Rogue SL/Platinum’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Outback doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Ergonomics

The Rogue SV/SL/Platinum has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Outback doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Rogue SL/Platinum’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Outback doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Rogue Platinum offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Outback doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Rogue and the Outback have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Rogue is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Outback prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Rogue’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Outback’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Both the Rogue and the Outback offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Rogue has available rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Outback doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Model Availability

The Rogue is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Outback doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Nissan Rogue and the Subaru Outback, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Nissan Rogue outsold the Subaru Outback by 27% during 2022.