Believe it or not, this is the ALL-NEW 2009 Nissan Murano - one great-looking and feature-packed SUV. But if you think it looks virtually the same as the old model you’d be wrong. In fact every panel is new and this Murano is taller and longer than its predecessor.
The easiest way to pick the ’09 versions are these new horizontal tail-light clusters which replace the previous model’s vertical lights.
That auto tail-gate is neat, there’s 402 litres of luggage space here and when you automatically fold the rear seat back, that more than doubles to 838 litres.
Here at the pointy end, the Murano’s looks are also improved by these neat ‘arrowhead’ light clusters which contain a row of parking, turn and Xenon projector headlights.
The new dashboard has been a bit controversial, with the previous Murano’s futuristic layout getting ditched and replaced by this attractive, but rather conventional, three-dial arrangement. There’s a start/stop button on this range-topping Ti model with Nissan’s Intelligent Key system. Audio and telephone controls are on the steering wheel and the satellite navigation system has a 7.0-inch colour monitor. The Ti also gains a BOSE six-CD-11speaker sound system with Bluetooth connectivity.
Nissan scores maximum points for the guidance system included on the reversing camera screen. These lines move as you do, showing the path your taking – very impressive.
Murano is a car designed very much for the American market.
Here in Australia, we’ve also grown to love our ‘softroaders’ or ‘crossovers’ with more than 50,000 sold last year. And it’s easy to see why - this Murano has enough space for most families, it’s comfortable, refined and the 3.5-litre V6 engine now delivers 191kW of power and 336Nm of torque.
Drive is to all four wheels via the latest version of Nissan’s Xtronic CVT or Continuously Variable Transmission and ALL MODE 4X4i intelligent all-wheel-drive system. In normal day-to-day driving, most of the power goes to the front wheels, but when the sensors detect or even predict wheelspin or loss of traction, up to 50 per cent of the power can be channelled to the rear wheels.
The new Murano accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in eight seconds and the combined cycle fuel economy is 10.9 litres per 100 kilometres – that’s 9.1 per cent better than the old model.
Ride and handling is safe and predictable – the Murano is probably one of the better-handling softroaders…but it’s not a sports car by any stretch.
Off-road, Murano and its competitors are reasonably competent – certainly easily able to handle recreational activities like driving on beach sand, urban bush tracks or launching boats and wave runners. However the standard tyres definitely favour on-road dynamics…so it may not be the vehicle for that mud-digging adventure trip to the tip of Cape York.
The Murano is loaded with features and is sharply priced at only $45,990 – undercutting major rivals the Mazda CX-7 and Subaru Tribeca. And while it doesn’t have the 7-seat capacity of Toyota’s Kluger, it’s the cutting-edge design, smoothness and refinement that make the Murano stand-out. It’s definitely worth a second look.
