Nissan’s strategy for both the 2019 Maxima large sedan and the 2019 Murano crossover is the same – make minor tweaks as part of a mild refresh.
My thoughts on the Maxima are stated here. As for the Murano, well, read on.
(Full disclosure: Nissan flew me to San Francisco, put me up in a beautiful hotel, and fed me some great meals. They left us with snacks and a candle – I ate the snacks but left the candle.).
Nissan considers the Murano a crossover for the kidless – or rather, those who have adult children who’ve left the home. It’s the “empty nester” CUV to go along with the Kicks (for singles) and the Rogue Sport (for singles/childless couples). The Rogue is for the small family, the Pathfinder for the bigger family, and the Armada for the biggest family.
Of course, this is all marketing projection by Nissan – I’m sure there are parents out there who drive a Rogue Sport or a Murano, or even a Kicks. Crossovers exist to basically be tall wagons, after all.
Safety matters to crossover buyers, whether in a family way or not, and just like with the Maxima, the Murano now has Nissan’s Safety Shield 360 available. It includes blind-spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, high-beam assist, and rear automatic braking. Add standard rear-door alert, too. This system alerts you when you leave items on the rear seat.
Other changes include three new paint color choices (the Maxima adds just one), a bigger grille, updated LED headlamps and taillamps, new LED fog lamps, and new 18- and 20-inch wheel designs. Inside, you get leather with diamond quilting, and some trim and color updates. The available nav system gets some upgrades, as well.
Power still comes from a 3.5-liter V6 that makes 260 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque, and it still mates to a continuously-variable automatic transmission. You can get front-wheel or all-wheel drive across all trims.
That engine is adequate if not overwhelming, and the CVT behaves relatively peacefully. The steering remains hefty but a bit numb. Constant corrections are needed, and the tires speak from a distance, when they communicate at all. A sports car on stilts, the Murano ‘tis not.
Not that it matters – many mid-size crossovers offer a numb driving experience, and the Murano is one of the least-worst offenders I’ve driven in this size class. There’s a hint of something here, even if merely a hint. It’s more engaging than an Edge or Acadia, although not as infused with personality as a Jeep Grand Cherokee or an Infiniti QX50.
Ride quality strikes a balance between soft and firm, making for a relaxed drive on the mostly pleasant California road surfaces. In other words, it’s boring but acceptable. Especially considering how crossovers are generally driven. The Starbucks run will not be a chore.
Interior quality is relatively upscale, although my test unit had some minor squeaks and rattles, even when the cupholders were emptied of bottles.
Head and leg room were fine for this tall tester, and like with the Maxima, the seats are all-day comfortable.
I mostly approve of the Murano’s exterior looks – I like the sloping hood, larger grille, and the side profile that appears to give this trucklet an aggressive stance. It’s still a bit on the anonymous side, as most crossovers are, but it’s stylish enough to make you think it’s sporty.
Other available features include Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, four USB ports, heated front and rear seats, panoramic moonroof, navigation, 360-degree camera, front and rear parking sensors, premium audio, LED fog lights, and remote engine start.
There’s four trim levels: S ($31,270), SV ($34,440), SL ($39,230), Platinum ($43,530). Tack on $1,600 to each for AWD, and D and D isn’t part of that listing.
After undergoing a minor nip/tuck, the Murano remains what it was. That means a sporty looking, if not driving, crossover that won’t bore you on your commute, and feels upscale. It will work just fine for all but a handful of crossover shoppers. There’s worse things on the market.
If you care about driving but must drive a crossover, the Murano won’t be your first choice, but you could live with it.
That may be damning with faint praise, but I don’t mean it to be that harsh. This is simply a segment where priorities lie elsewhere. And the Murano is appealing when considered through that lens.
Status quo suits it just fine.
[Images © 2018 Tim Healey/TTAC]
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Tells you all you need to know about the Nissan Murano.
Middle age women who can’t afford an RX and wouldn’t consider a Ford drive Muranos. Many of them sell real estate.
Cannot be – it will scare off their potential clients.
Well, that tells you about the state of Nissan too.
They literally just make cars for people who need “a car”
And that would be fine but to sell them at prices that real cars like Toyota and Honda cars go for, that’s a stretch.
And then there is that shaky reputation that their CVTs earned them.
OTOH, people who NEED a car can often get approved through Nissan when other lenders decline them.
Even so, it is not advisable to keep a Nissan product beyond its factory warranty period. Plenty of precedence of commentary from people who learned this the hard way.
Nissan owns Mitsubishi and they compete for the same type of customers – no synergy.
Or pretty much any crossover. Zzzzzzz
That ridiculous D-pillar is just crying out for some Landau Bars.
Needs more convertible.
Putting the corporate grille on the Murano and Maxima makes them look like the cheap cars. (Altima and Versa). Maybe this is a deliberate ploy to move buyers to Infiniti.
This is just a Pathfinder/Infiniti QX60 in a different set of clothes. Did it need a manufacturer-funded road trip to listen to a PR flack spout nonsense?
This place is dying for some actual original content, and all I see is so-called scribes/mainly managing editor scarfing down free press trips for the air miles, and with no sign of knowing what they’re nattering about afterwards. Milquetoast city. Insight? None. Snark from the two ill-informed staff writers? Standard.
That and B&B migrated to the somewhere else. Car reviews become predictable and extremely boring – look what is reviewed in MT and you can predict that similar one will pop up at TTAC.
I do not read TTAC car reviews anymore – just go straight to comments which also mostly trolling the same stuff over and over, like EBFlex e.g.
Nissan Murano have an amazing performance and i’m also interesting to hear that
my wish is to test first murano drive with a superior performance. if we compare this carto Nissan Kicks is equipped with 1.5L engine,Standard Hill Start assist,Around view monitors and included others technical features.
Thank you, Nissan corporate bot. By amazing performance.. do you mean “performance that would excite a soccer mom”?
I think that Nissan Kicks is just pulling your leg a bit.
Lol Nissan bot
Ha ha ha, not just a Nissan Bot, but an offshored Nissan Bot with broken English! This makes me want to buy a Nissan even less than I do now… and I didnt know that was possible…
I take it that nobody that is looking at this class of car/truck worries about gas millage?
no they really don’t, but the Mur can get 28 or so on 87 octane. Not bad considering no need for turbo and its associated wear items (plugs at a faster rate, bypass valves etc.) The 3.5 is a fairly durable mill, the CVT though keeps this from being a 200k mile car
When a car is being driven stupidly, it is either a Rogue or Murano….but usually a Rogue. No, it’s always a Rogue.
There is actually a unicorn Murano convertible around here.
I drove a couple of these in Platinum trim while my car was in the shop; I have no complaints other than the vague steering. For the average person, these seem to be good value for the money. There’s a level of comfort that reminds me of old-school French cars, fuel economy is decent and the VQ35DE is still a great engine even with the CTV.