Murano targets Teresa

Nissan's latest Murano has a specific customer in mind. A very specific customer -- and she's 54, with grown up kids and named Teresa.

Teresa is the name given to the fictitious target customer for Nissan's latest version of the crossover. Bestowed by Nissan North America's Advanced Planning and Strategy arm, the moniker and profile of the Murano's core customer helped planners deliver the brief for the second generation of the five-seat SUV.

It is a process the company completes on all new models, says Advanced Planning and Strategy Senior Manager, Amy Casey. Though Casey wouldn't tell us the name of the target customer for the new 370Z (more here) we're pretty sure it isn't Barak.

According to Casey, it's the wants and needs of customers like Teresa that convinced the product planners that Murano should stay a two-row five-seater. Teresa and co were also looking for a more welcoming cabin, better access and more convenience and comfort focussed equipment.

Due to arrive Down Under in February and already seen in Australia at October's Australian International Motor Show, Nissan says the new Murano delivers on all of the above. Closely styled after the original model that was launched internationally in 2002, but only arrived in Australia in 2005, the new car has been on sale in the USA since last year. Though built for Teresa, the gender mix of buyers is close to 50:50, says Casey.

Nissan Australia chief, Dan Thompson, says that has been the case Down Under too. Looking forward he's targeting growth for the model from Teresa and Tezzas alike, thanks to a focus on improving the cabin and standard equipment as well as modest improvements in both power and fuel economy.

Thompson expects volumes of around 200 units per month, once the new crossover is established -- about one a month per dealer. By way of comparison, the current generation car has sold around 5300 since it was launched in 2005. This calendar year, Nissan expects to deliver only 1000 units, with the mix heavily swayed to the top of the line Ti/TiL models.

Thompson won't confirm his model line-up strategy for the new Murano until closer to the car's February release. Unsurprisingly, given expectation key competitors such as Toyota Kluger and Mazda's CX-7 and 9 will come under currency-related cost pressures, the new car's pricing too is yet to be confirmed.

Though recommended retail prices for the Murano ranged from $50K and up, in recent months Nissan has cemented 'campaign prices' at $45,990 for the ST and $52,990 for the top of the range Ti. It's these dollars that will likely be reflected in the new model's launch prices.

The new Murano features a revised All Mode 4x4-I all-wheel-drive system, Xtronic CVT transmission and is powered by a tweaked 195kW version of Nissan's VQ35 V6 engine. Australian models will retain a virtual 'manual' mode for the transmission -- unlike the US market.

Thompson says there are no plans to offer a front-wheel drive only Murano Down Under, however. That is at least until the reduction of passenger car tariffs in 2010 -- at that time, the all-wheel drive Murano's five per cent duty advantage will disappear. More than half of the Muranos sold in the USA are front-wheel drive.

Safety gear across the new Murano range will include Nissan's Vehicle Dynamic stability control, OEM reversing camera, six airbags and active headrests. But thanks to Teresa, major equipment upgrades to the new Murano include leather upholstery across the range and a new interior.

Changes to the cabin were a key focus of the second-gen Murano. The dashpad is no longer hard plastic and the lines of the console and dash have been softened. Nissan says considerable effort has gone into improving quality in the cabin as well as improving NVH (noise vibration and harshness).

Equipment in Aussie models will be boosted, though exactly what goodies will sit in what trim grade level we can't tell you. The Murano gets a new integrated satnav system that features Nissan's new twist and quadrant controller (and features like trip computer, reverse camera, etc), integrated Bluetooth and a smart key with push button start stop (on all models). The front seats get power and memory and there's even rear seat heating -- at least on the top-spec US market models.

The stereo in the topline Murano is an 11-speaker BOSE unit -- perfect for Teresa's Andre Rieu. Features that will be offered such as the new power tailgate and power tilt and tumble folding second row are more common in $100K luxury SUVs than a humble Nissan.

Thompson says lessons learned by Nissan's luxury offshoot Infiniti have been incorporated in the new Murano. He suggests that aspects of the car place it close to Lexus in terms of fit and finish.

"Absolutely [we've learned lessons from Infiniti]," Thompson told the Carsales Network.

"Any time we're designing and building a vehicle we're always setting the bar quite high, so in my personal opinion it [Murano] would be a vehicle, for instance, of the likes of a Lexus RX. Since we don't have Infiniti yet in the Australian market, that would be the type of premium positioning that Murano could hold... But we're not targeting Lexus and we're not going to position the vehicle there."

The vehicles Nissan is targeting occupy the $40-60K region of medium SUV segment -- Mazda's two CX models, Kluger, Captiva and Territory. You can throw in Subaru's Tribeca for good measure. In contrast to the Murano, all but the CX-7 offer a third row option.

Like Teresa, Thompson is not perturbed.

"Unlike when the original Murano was launched, with the arrival of more models like Mazda CX-7 and 9, we think the crossover concept is well understood [in Australia]. We're not targeting anywhere near Kluger or Territory numbers," he said.

While we drove unrepresentative low-spec US market Muranos, from our short drive on Southern Californian roads this week, we can vouch for the improvements in the cabin and NVH. This is now a very quiet and refreshingly refined drive -- even on the expansion-jointed concrete freeways the Septics love.

Back seat room is in a different league than some vehicles in the segment that work hard to squeeze in three rows. That said, there's plenty of luggage space for those that want to pack up and head for the hills/coast/wineries. In the base-spec cars there was no satnav to justify the complexity of the centre console controller, but the menu driven system looks simple and is easy to operate.

The Murano is wieldy and plenty fast enough to satisfy most. The I5 between San Diego runs at a steady 80-90mph (up to 140km/h) in the fast lane and the Murano was easily up to the task. We worked out the approximate fuel consumption on our extra-urban loop from San Diego via the scenic Ortega and Pacific Coast Highways Beverley Hills (around 280km) to be in the region of 14L/100km.

Though styling is a personal issue, the latest version does seem more polished. Like Teresa, at least on first impressions, we're fans...

Look out for our local launch drive of the Nissan Murano in early 2009.

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