Nissan started bringing over the Qashqai from Europe as the Rogue Sport just last year, bridging the gap between the smaller Kicks and the larger Rogue. And for the year ahead, it's added some more equipment, and adjusted the pricing accordingly.

For 2019, the Rogue Sport starts at $22,240 (plus the requisite $995 destination charge). That's for the base S model in front-drive spec, and works out $620 more expensive than the 2018 model. But for the extra cash, you get more features – like the innovative Rear Door Alert that's designed to prevent children from being left in the vehicle.

Along with the kinder-minded tech, the 2019 Rogue Sport also gets an updated audio system with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility as standard.

There's new ProPilot Assist and Safety Shield 360 suites of driver-assistance and safety systems available, along with the a nine-speaker Bose audio system. And the SV Technology and SL Premium packages have also been revised for the 2019 model year. A 2.0-liter inline-four, mated to a continuously variable transmission and rated at 141 horsepower, remains the only powertrain option, but buyers can still choose between front- and all-wheel drive versions.

Above the base Rogue Sport S (at $22,240) sits the SV trim (starting at $24,040) and the top-of-the-line SL ($27,960). Add another $995 for destination and factor in another $1,350 for all-wheel drive (in any of the three trims), and the top Rogue Sport SL AWD starts at $30,305 (delivered) before options and packages are taken into account. At that point it's not only surpassed the base price on the larger Rogue, but starts to approach the $31,000 ($31,995 delivered) price of admission for the Murano and the $31,430 ($32,425) base price for the much larger Pathfinder.