When I first heard of this new vehicle from Nissan, the name alone conjured up all kinds of thoughts in my mind. After all, who names their new born fledgling "a Rogue"?? In my mind, that's almost like Chanel calling its latest fragrance "Pong"!

Mind you, after seeing and driving the vehicle, I can't honestly think of a better nameplate to describe this delightful new CUV offering from Nissan.

Yes, it's a rogue all right, but a loveable one in the way that The Artful Dodger from that famous Charles Dickens story of Oliver Twist was.

The Rogue brought this to my mind because it somehow carries an air of cheekiness to it, and rather like the character in the Dickens's story, who we all knew to be quite young, yet managed to project a sense of being more mature and grown up for his age. The 2008 Nissan Rogue has a similar ability. Much of this is perhaps due to the fact that it resembles it's bigger and slightly bolder stable mate, the Nissan Murano. (Now there's a vehicle which I recently reviewed and was suitably impressed with, I must say).

Obviously, the Rogue is built on a slightly smaller scale than the Murano, yet it still boasts a decent size, and a size that I can see appealing to a lot of young families.

I also see some of that Artful Dodger charisma in the way that, although it is priced in, shall we say, the affordable area of the CUV market, it manages to project a certain prestige, something like the Dodger managed quite nicely with his top hat. (The Rogue line-up starts in the mid $20's, my tester pretty much loaded, tops out in the mid $30's)

Of course, the clothing that this new Rogue carries is quite a bit more upscale than its Victorian counterpart. In fact, the high level of build quality which we have come to expect from Nissan is suitably evident throughout the entire exterior of the vehicle.

The interior follows along similar lines, and I'd go as far as to say that when I opened the driver's door, I felt like I was being truly welcomed inside.

Sitting in the driver's seat, you have everything that you could basically wish for within easy reach, and from the quality feel of the steering wheel and hand controls, you get a sense that the vehicle has been well designed and put together.

To me, the touch test, as I call it, is one of the most important aspects of a vehicle. After all, you may spend a few seconds a day admiring your new vehicle from the outside, but you'll spend an awful lot longer driving to and from work. In that time, you'll be touching and turning the steering wheel, the signal/wiper switches, and of course, the gear lever constantly. In my mind, if they don't feel right, or they seem limp and flimsy, you will never truly enjoy that vehicle.

The dashboard display on the Rogue has also been well thought out, and the all important gauges are not only easy to read analog styled, but are nicely illuminated at night.

Another rather pleasant surprise for me was the Bose premium audio system that Nissan had seen fit to include (optional on SL model only). I don't know about you, but I do like a nice sound system in a vehicle, and this is definitely one of those.

The seating in the Rogue is also worthy of mention. The leather power heated seats (optional) which my tester carried were not only extremely comfortable, but the contrasting stitching added a rather sporty and up market look and feel to the interior. There is even a flat folding front passenger seat available as an option.

The Nissan Rogue also boasts plenty of storage space within the cabin. Sounds like the Dodger's coat of many pockets to me. However, I believe that Nissan visualized that the oversized partitioned glove box and large center console would be used for all the owners' personal bits and bobs, not the ill-gotten gains of pick pocketing! I also liked the pop-up organizer in the rear compartment, ideal for stopping those small items flying all over the place.