New Murano: Skip the RX, for Thousands Less

When the first-generation Nissan Murano came out in 2002 in the U.S., it looked unlike anything on the market: sexy, swoopy, with a bold cross-hatch grille and shapely vertical taillights.

It was the antithesis of blocky SUVs so popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The midsize CUV was a near-instant success, racking up 56,075 sales in 2003.

By 2005, deliveries climbed to a record 81,362 units, and the Murano held a 5.7% share of WardsAuto’s Middle CUV segment.

But in the 10 years since, the Murano has been on the downswing, tallying 47,301 units last year, as every automaker has jumped on the CUV bandwagon.

Nissan blamed the sales drop on the Murano losing its “emotional design” in the transition from its first to second generation.

Whatever the reason, the Murano’s Middle CUV share fell to a mere 1.7% last year.

With looks that still are outside the mainstream and its near-premium positioning, the new Murano likely won’t challenge the segment-leading Honda CR-V (335,019 2014 sales) anytime soon.

But after spending time in a ’15 Murano SV grade with all-wheel drive in December in Northern California, we think Nissan should be able to recapture some of the glory days’ volume.

The third-gen Murano, on sale now at U.S. Nissan dealers, has an amenable ride, above-average handling and an interior upmarket in both appearance and features, including available goodies such as a heated steering wheel.

And for a relatively large vehicle, it returns a respectable 24.2 mpg (9.7 L/100 km) in testing, spot on with the EPA-estimated fuel-economy average.

Eye-Catching Design Sticks Out From the Crowd

The Murano’s exterior helps the vehicle stick out from what now is a slew of swoopy lookalikes. Nissan didn’t pull back on the design this time around.

The CUV wears the brand’s new signature V-motion grille, a definite improvement from the spiky-teeth framework on the second-gen model.

The latest version also has bulging fenders and an invisible D-pillar that makes the roof coolly look as if it’s floating.

As eye-catching as the exterior is, inside is where the Murano really shines. The vehicle always has straddled the line between mainstream and luxury, but the new interior pushes toward the latter more than ever before.

Especially attractive and premium-looking is a Cashmere (ivory) upholstery, paired with a unique plastic trim called Jasper Pearlescent in lieu of wood.

The white trim, with brown and silver striations, has an appearance that can best be described as a cross between pearl, opal and marble.

Other color options include Graphite and Mocha, which come with brushed-silver trim.

Further dressing up the Murano’s interior is aluminum-look trim, with a rather large piece edging the center stack.

Nissan says it improved the user-friendliness of the front of the cabin by lowering the instrument panel, installing a large touchscreen and reducing the number of hard buttons for audio and navigation from 25 to 10.

Climate-control buttons also are minimal, but the two that control seat heating and cooling are placed low and at times are blocked by the Murano’s tall shifter, as is the vehicle’s start button.

Nissan’s zero-gravity front seats, created with NASA anti-fatigue technology, are standard on all ’15 Muranos and comfortable for a trek up and down the Northern California coastline.

The individually cushion rear seats also are comfortable.

VQ Engine Carries Over

The Murano’s appearance and interior niceties make up for the mostly carryover mechanicals, including Nissan’s VQ 3.5L V-6.

The VQ, a 14-time winner of a Ward’s 10 Best Engines award, still is a great engine, although the 3.5L’s 240-lb.-ft. (325-Nm) torque peak at 4,400 rpm is a tad high for when immediate power is needed, such as passing a slow-moving work truck on a 2-lane road.

Nissan keeps improving its Xtronic CVT, and it propels the roughly 4,000-lb. (1,814-kg) CUV with minimal whine. The simulated gears Nissan added some years ago continue to be a welcome touch for those used to traditional automatics.

The power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering errs on the light side, not a surprise given the vehicle is aimed partially at Baby Boomers. However, we’d like to feel a bit more resistance in the wheel.

That the Murano’s ride and handling are sedate also is not a surprise given the intended demographic. And after driving a ’15 Lexus RX here, it’s clear Nissan chassis engineers benchmarked that vehicle for its soft ride and supple demeanor.

In content and style, the Murano aligns more closely to luxury CUVs such as the RX than some of the more mainstream, conventional-looking models in its segment, including the Chevy Equinox and Ford Edge.

The RX has been on the market for six years in its current form so it’s showing some age, and our tester’s $50,629 sticker is nearly $15,000 higher than the comparably equipped Murano SV AWD.

If buyers can get over the lack of snob appeal, a Murano is a no-brainer for anyone looking for a midsize CUV with style and lots of goodies, for reasonable money.

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’15 Nissan Murano SV AWD Specifications