Nissan Murano Ti
Road Test
RRP: $57,890 (manufacturer's list price, excluding on-road costs and dealer delivery)
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): nil
Crash rating: TBA
Fuel: 95 RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 10.9
CO2 emissions (g/km): 259
Also consider: Ford Territory Ghia, Subaru Tribeca, Toyota Kluger Grande
Overall rating: 2.5/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 2.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 2.5/5.0
Safety: 2.5/5.0
Behind the wheel: 2.5/5.0
X-factor: 3.0/5.0
About our ratings
Nissan's Murano reads like a Maxima sedan in an SUV package. A V6 engine, CVT and softroad underpinnings all suggest the same sort of boulevardier traits, but the Murano is actually more of a midfield success than the Maxima.
Where the Maxima errs very much on the side of comfort, relative to its competitors in the large-car segment, the Murano is a more moderate solution to the midsize SUV buyer's dilemma.
While the steering lacks the feedback of Ford's Territory, for instance, the Murano offers similar levels of roadholding and ride comfort as the Ford. In fact, the Nissan just might be a little more comfortable in its ride. From a handling standpoint, it's free of vices and proved to be surprisingly agile and responsive. Turn-in was better than expected too.
If the Murano feels less sporty than the Ford, it's in the Nissan's V6 and CVT combination. the V6's performance is quite strong, but it's masked by the stepless transmission and you find yourself using more throttle than you should.
The engine itself is peakier in character than the Ford's inline six. As a consequence the Nissan engine wants to hang around 3500rpm for optimum acceleration. While it is an engine that likes to rev, it actually sounds fairly truck-like in the midrange. It's refined enough and willing to rev out, but just doesn't have the rich exhaust note and sporty character of the V6 in Nissan's 370Z driven recently.
In partnership with the transmission, the Murano's engine provides a Maxima-like set-up that's focused more on comfort than sporty performance. Arguably, that's in keeping with the Murano's general character, but some prospective buyers expect some 'sport' in their Sport Utility Vehicle.
On the open road, wind was the principal noise source, although the tyres will announce their presence on coarse bitumen. Mostly though, the Murano is a quiet vehicle by SUV standards.
For practicality, the Murano hits a lot of targets. There's adult-standard accommodation in the rear seat and the way those seats fold away is to be commended. A manual cable release from a latch in the luggage compartment (one on either side of the compartment for each rear seat section), allows the respective seat to fall forward. An electric motor switch in the same location will haul them back upright again. It's just possibly the cleverest design we've seen for this type of rear seating. That said the seats themselves don't quite fold flat.
Credit to Nissan's designers too for the cargo blind, which is easy to deploy.
The interior styling, in our view, might appeal more to American buyers. There's a bit of 'bling' about the dash and a high ratio of leather-to-surface. The leather itself is ruched around the armrests and the bright instrument lighting in the binnacle features an orange hue.
While the seats are comfortable, they are a little flat and lacking ultimate contouring to hold occupants in place. This reviewer also found them a little short in the seat base.
It's easy to enter and alight from the Murano, thanks to the large doors, high H-point and motor-driven seat and steering wheel retraction. The dash ergos aren't quite as successful -- the centre stack HVAC and trip computer controls are a stretch for the driver and Nissan has been only partially successful in replicating some of the convenience functions at the steering wheel.
For the money, the Murano Ti really should come equipped with parking sensors and acoustic guidance. It has a reversing camera, which is a useful safety feature, but it can't show you the corners of the vehicle.
This is a particular inconvenience with the Murano since its rounded styling makes it harder to judge the proximity of obstacles to the car's periphery. In fact, the Murano is harder to park than some larger cars with more angular styling. That's a let-down, because it has all the makings of an easy vehicle to park otherwise. For its size, the Murano offers a fairly tight turning circle.
It's a well-equipped car, with dual-zone climate control and satellite navigation, but the satnav is not one of the better systems available. Instead of instructing the driver to keep right, the satnav voice prompt was a 'keep left' when driving from Melbourne's Southbank to the Hawthorn head office of the Carsales Network. Also, it was prepared to direct the driver kilometres out of the way to a freeway for a trip that would have been as fast via a closer arterial road.
The trip computer is lacking where such items as fuel consumption are concerned, offering graphic displays only and no instantaneous readout. If you want more sophisticated functionality, you'll have to use the single-point controller which is a stretch from the driver's seat and is probably more convoluted to use than BMW's first iDrive system.
Nonetheless, in the company of the three other medium-sized SUVs mentioned, the Murano is certainly competitive. It's well priced and comprehensively equipped; comparable for power and torque; and distinctively styled. Probably the main flaw in its packaging is the lack of a third-row seat.
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