4 Cylinder

If there were but one unsung automotive love song, it would be the one composed for the Infiniti brand. While other luxury automakers are busy vying for waltzes with high-brow buyers, the opulent Nissan counterpart bides its time, a ravishing wallflower with fire in its eyes.

Months after embarking upon a jaw-droppingly scenic trip across the Pacific Northwest in the all-new Nissan Rogue Sport, I find myself revisiting the little miscreant once more with an enthusiast’s eye. Perhaps it was Nissan’s badass Star Wars display booth at the Los Angeles Auto Show, or the epic cinematic saga that is set to unfold on the big screen later this month, but I find great promise in the direction this automaker has taken with its Rogue line.

Has there ever been a time when a little Mazda sports car hasn’t kicked ass? Sure, they may be a bit quirky, and lord knows rotary-powered platforms had their fair share of maintenance and performance faults, but dammit if they haven’t all been cool in one regard or another.