Although this is the first time Nissan has offered the e-Power hybrid system in the US, it has been on sale in Japan for a decade now, with more than 1.4 million cars on the road in that time. Those versions weren’t considered quite sufficient for our roads, so Nissan retuned the system for the Rogue Hybrid to be able to cope with harder acceleration and bigger vehicles.

Enjoyable to drive

From behind the wheel, you could very easily forget this wasn’t just a new EV—a replacement for the gone-too-soon Ariya, perhaps. Throttle tip-in is immediate, like any good electric car, and there’s enough torque to get you on your way without any fuss, even if a 0–60 mph (97 km/h) time of 6.4 seconds isn’t particularly fast by 2026 standards.…