This isn't your MOM's SUV

The time had come again to shop for a new car. As this was the car my wife would drive, safety was my requirement. I was looking for something that was AWD or 4WD, had traction control, side air bags, etc. However, since I had to drive it occasionally, I wanted something that had roomy interior including and it had to be sporty in appearance and performance.

I spent a lot of time looking at difference models, finally settling on these for comparison: Nissan Murano, Lexus RX330, Acura MDX, Honda Pilot, Chrysler Pacifica. After test-driving and pricing the above cars, we were set on two choices were the RX330 and the Murano. Actually my wife had it settled to the RX330 and the MDX, she was initially dead set against the Murano, the reason being the only time she's seen the vehicle pictured it's always been the "ugly" copper color. I've seen a black one and really thought it sharp plus the inside of the Murano looked sweet!

My wife's first choice was to look at the RX330. We did a pass through the dealership to look at it, was nice, but in my heart I wanted the Murano. As the Nissan dealership was just up the road I just drove through the lot so my wife could see the Murano in something other than copper. When she saw it in black and one in white she was ready to stop and take a look (aha!).

FIRST IMPRESSION
The Murano has a look that is distinctive, but also blends in with other "crossover" models. From a distance the Murano looks similar to the RX330. However, no one will confuse this with the Honda Pilot (a vehicle that has ho-hum exterior looks and style). Let's face it; I don't care how nice it looks inside 99% of the folks who see your car only see the outside. I couldn't see myself behind the wheel of the Pilot. Enough on the Pilot, back to the Murano.

There are two styles of Murano, the SE and the SL. Quiet frankly there's very little difference between them, especially once you get the toys (options) added to the base. The only way to tell the SE from the SL, except for the badging on the back tailgate, is the SL has the 5 spoke tire the SE has the 6 spoke tire. That 6th spoke added about $1,400 to the price. I found the 6 spoke tire on the SE less impressive in style than the 5 spoke on the SL. So, $1,400 less and looks better? I went with the SL!

The interior, with its leather seats and aluminum accent trim and really looked sharp. Other items that caught our eye:
- Aluminum doorsills
- Bose AM/FM/Cassette stereo w/6 disc in dash changer with 7 speakers including subwoofer that sits in the spare tire well
- Airbags everywhere (front driver and passenger, side impact and rear passenger head curtain protection
- Dual zone climate control and individual rear air vents
- Eight-way adjustable seats
- Integrated homelink system and compass into the rearview mirror


RIDE
From everything I read I was expecting a harsh ride in the Murano. However I found the ride to be quite decent. Being built off the Altima platform, it's built on a car-based frame. I'll grant you it's not a cushion soft ride you might get in a $50K luxury model, but it's not the rough ride you get in a $50K Hummer H2 either! You actually sit slightly higher than you would in a car, but not quite as high as you would in a typical SUV. Cornering is decent, not as nice as the Maxima this replaced, but sway is not bad. The large 18 inch Goodyear tires really grab the road! Seats are large and comfortable, lumbar support is included.

ROOMINESS
Headroom in front (43.4") is very good, even with the sunroof. Rear headroom (39.7") is also very good providing enough room for me (at slightly over 6 foot tall). Leg room in front (43.4") and back (36.1") provides more than ample legroom.


PERFORMANCE
Acceleration is very good, with power source providing 245hp. Given that this is two tons of vehicle it's really quick at getting off the line. Since I'm still in it's break-in period I haven't really thrown the pedal to the medal, but just standard driving provides plenty of power off the line.

I haven't done any timing of off the line performance myself, but according to Car and Driver here's the stats:
7.5 seconds 0-60 (7.6 seconds for Pilot and 7.8 seconds for RX330)
15.9 seconds 87MPH for quarter mile (15.9 for Pilot and 16.2 seconds for the RX330)

Braking is really solid. The Murano includes Electronic Brake Distribution and Brake Assist as standard. Referring again to Car and Driver for specific stats, from 70-0MPH in 166 feet, compare that with the Pilot's 195 feet - WOW! The RX330 is 176 feet.

Merging into highway traffic is no problem, plenty of power and quick acceleration when the pedal is punched. Engine noise is very good and there is no noticeable transfer of engine vibration to the passenger compartment. I'd also rate road noise as very good even at highway speeds.

But let's talk about the really cool thing - CVT. I had no idea that the Murano had CVT nor really what difference CVT made. But after driving it for a while now I see what they mean. First CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission. In a nut shell the transmission has replaced the typical 3 or 4 forward gears with an assembly operates as one gear, eliminating the steps between gear shifting to provide a smoother more efficient operation. Hard to explain but what a difference it makes, but once you feel it you know.


VALUE
We purchased this with all the toys (everything but the navigation system). At $35K it's not cheap! However based on the features and ride you do get a lot for your money. Compare with the RX330 that would run well over $45K for the same features the Murano is a bargain. The Honda Pilot is in the $30K range, so the Murano is slightly more. But when I compare the two you get a lot for the difference in the Murano. Things like tiny 16 inch tires on the Pilot, plus the Murano has a huge 82 cubic foot of cargo (seats folded) compared to 49 for the Pilot. The Pilot does offer third row seating, if you consider 30 inches of leg room in the third row to really be useable seating.

For the money we felt we got a great car for the price.


CLOSING THOUGHTS
We looked at the Murano on Friday. Rushed for time we had a chance to sleep on it and went back the next day. Before sealing the deal I asked my wife is she was sure this was the car she wanted - remember, she was originally dead set against the Murano due to the copper color model she had seen. She said she had been thinking if there was anything she didn't like and couldn't come up with anything!

It has only been a couple of weeks since we took delivery of the Murano, but we are very pleased with our decision. The engine is really smooth and offers plenty of power, off the line and passing on the highway. At first braking appeared to be spongy. I haven't put my finger on it, maybe I'm just used to a certain feel of the pedal because braking is very solid. You might think it odd to comment on it, but turning radius is very good. By comparison I hated how large a radius the Maxima had - you don't tend to think about it until you need to make a tight turn into a parking stall. The radius on the Murano (18.7') is very decent and much tighter than the Maxima it replaced.

As I mentioned, cornering is not sports car tight, but it's respectable. I've driven passenger cars with more sway around a turn. I've definitely drive SUV's that feel like they are ready to roll out of the turns!

The car has been fun to drive. My wife drives it most of the time and she has commented how much she likes her new car. Gas mileage, most city driving, has been in the 16-17 MPG range. Still going through break in period and we already seeing a slightly improved MPG from one tank to another. I've seen most Murano drivers get near the 20 city and 24 highway as rated on the window sticker. Gasoline in our area (Chicago) is formulated to reduce pollution and as a result the MPG is always less than with standard gas blends (at least 2-3 MPG difference based on my experience while traveling in our other cars). The Honda Pilot is rated at 17/22 (and a few less HP), shows what CVT can do for a vehicle other than just performance!
No warranty issues, no rattles (read a lot about that, but everything is ours is tight, so maybe they worked the problems out that early models had).