New Nissan Murano

[2o6]

It's wonderfully wacky, and the surface changes are interesting.



Power comes from the old-as-shit 3.5L VQ, mated to the now ubiquitous CVT auto.


Drag is very low (0.31 CD, not a mean feat for a big tall car like this) , as well as a weight trimming of over 100lbs. It's physically slightly bigger, but probably not by a huge amount.


http://www.autoblog.com/2014/04/14/2015-nissan-murano-revealed-photos/

[hotrodalex]

Without the upper boomerang it'd look a lot cleaner.

[2o6]

Without the upper boomerang it'd look a lot cleaner.

Well, the Murano was always supposed to look funkier than other Nissans. I think it should stay as is.

[SVT666]

The big chrome "U" in the grille is ugly.  Otherwise it looks alright.

[Catman]

Looks pretty good but I will wait till the new CX-9 comes out.

[MX793]

The big chrome "U" in the grille is ugly.  Otherwise it looks alright.

The metal "U" is the new Tooth!

[68_427]

Looks great imo

[ifcar]

It looks forced, but so did the successful first-gen. At least Nissan didn't repeat the second-gen mistake of tentative updates to a car that's supposed to be adventurous to look at.

[2o6]

I don't think it looks "forced" at all...this one or the first one.

[CALL_911]

Looks good

[Colin]

Hmm, the real test will be what it is like to drive.

I really liked the first gen car, which sounded like a 350Z with an SUV body, went well, drove well, looked decent. They even sold a fair few in Europe.

This vacation I got to test the second gen car, and I expected it to be no unlike the first model. How wrong could I be. Talk about a blandification - it sounded ordinary, was nothing special to drive, and although there was nothing really wrong with it, there was no good reason I could think of why you would specially want one either. Even after they put a diesel in it, it bombed in Europe, and now I know why.

Let's hope the third gen car rediscovers some of the original mojo - somehow, I fear it won't. It looks like a slightly enlarged Qashqai/Rogue/XTrail from the front with a vulgar over-sized grille - so the omens are not good.

[12,000 RPM]

Im not sure the 1st gen Murano sounded like a Z... 1st gen FX35 def did

This thing looks good aside from the U grille.

[Raza]

Wait, are you telling me that this is the 3rd gen Murano?  There was a 2nd gen?

[2o6]

Wait, are you telling me that this is the 3rd gen Murano?  There was a 2nd gen?

[MX793]

Wasn't the 2nd gen just a facelift?

[2o6]

Wasn't the 2nd gen just a facelift?

If so, it was a pretty extensive face lift. New everything, including (I think) a new gen of CVT mated to it.

[ifcar]

Wasn't the 2nd gen just a facelift?

Nope, Nissan just didn't know how to advance the styling.

[WookieOnRitalin]

It's a Mazda CX-7 with a big nose.

[NomisR]

Does Nissan even have a new engine lined up so are they going to milk the VQ for as long as they can?  The thing is what?  15 years old?

[Catman]

Does Nissan even have a new engine lined up so are they going to milk the VQ for as long as they can?  The thing is what?  15 years old?

Yeah its getting real old.

[FoMoJo]

Hmm, the real test will be what it is like to drive.

I really liked the first gen car, which sounded like a 350Z with an SUV body, went well, drove well, looked decent. They even sold a fair few in Europe.

This vacation I got to test the second gen car, and I expected it to be no unlike the first model. How wrong could I be. Talk about a blandification - it sounded ordinary, was nothing special to drive, and although there was nothing really wrong with it, there was no good reason I could think of why you would specially want one either. Even after they put a diesel in it, it bombed in Europe, and now I know why.

Let's hope the third gen car rediscovers some of the original mojo - somehow, I fear it won't. It looks like a slightly enlarged Qashqai/Rogue/XTrail from the front with a vulgar over-sized grille - so the omens are not good.

Sounds perfect for the current generation of drivers.  Just plain ugly.

[Xer0]

Yeah its getting real old.

The 2.5 in the Altima/Rogue is long in the tooth too and it wasn't terribly great it when it was new either.

[MX793]

The 2.5 in the Altima/Rogue is long in the tooth too and it wasn't terribly great it when it was new either.

The QR is a fair bit younger than the VQ (which turns 20 this year).  But you're right, it's a pretty mediocre engine and while Nissan has made some updates to it over the years, it still doesn't make anybody's list of great engines.

[Laconian]

It sounds soooooo bad with a CVT.

[2o6]

It's not like a regular auto makes engines sound better...

[MexicoCityM3]

The CVT does tend to keep engines in a narrow power band for efficiency. It may not modify the sound per se but it sure affects the experience of the sound if that makes sense,

[MrH]

Cvt's just drone. Uh, it's awful.

[2o6]

It's not like at a constant speed regular autos are just changing gears....

[TBR]

I spend a fair amount of time driving CVTs (rental cars) and really don't mind them at all. They kind of suck when paired with a 4-cylinder, but then so do most automatics. But, I had a Maxima last weekend, and the CVT didn't bother me one bit.

[NomisR]

SUV with a CVT though?  That just sounds wrong to me.. well, VQ with a CVT sounds wrong too..