While automotive manufacturers are struggling to find a new footing in a brave new world here in America, there are a few newly redesigned vehicles that you know will do well in the new political climate that we have. One of those vehicles is the redesigned 2025 Nissan Murano, which I find to be one of Nissan’s best products and a smart move for all that they have done to such a vehicle.
The Nissan Murano was once a serious contender in the mainstream midsized crossover segment. Now, the Murano has seemingly found itself in the background, somewhat overshadowed by top-selling compact crossovers. However, the newly redesigned Murano takes an approach to do away with the insufferable CVT (continuously variable transmission) and brings us a 9-speed automatic transmission mated to the brand’s formidable variable compression turbocharged 4-cylinder. The combination of such a powertrain coupled with all-wheel-drive in the new Murano Platinum trim makes for a rather respectable package, one that I didn’t find much fault with during my week with the plush two-row crossover.
Also, don’t forget that you can get discounted new car pricing with a free quote through qualified local dealer partners.
The new Murano gets a totally new look, one that may be somewhat of an acquired taste for some with its Ferrari-esq upper front end and a play on resembling a new face of the brand found in vehicles like the electrified Nissan Ariya. There are many other decent proportions of the new Murano’s design with design lines that try to trick your eyes for a sloping roof effect – even though the rearward roof does slope to a degree that continuously hinders rearward visibility out of the rearview mirror. Here, Nissan should have offered the digital rearview mirror to mitigate the upper part of your rearward view that gets cut rather short, preventing you from seeing far down the road behind you.
Having the new 2.0-liter variable compression turbocharged 4-cylinder engine in the Murano makes perfect sense as there’s less weight to carry around when compared to something like the slightly up-market larger and heavier Infiniti QX60 brethren that now uses the same engine. With the Murano, the turbocharged engine does well to scoot the vehicle along and hit 60 mph in 7.5 seconds. The 241 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque feel adequate for such a vehicle without being a vehicle that’s shy about hiding the buzzing sound from such an engine. However, the new plushness and premium feel of the Murano can cause some second-guessing as to whether it is an Infiniti product because, in the Platinum trim, there’s a lot to like about its luxury-ish theme.
Overall, there’s a small dose of sport hidden in the Murano where it feels nicely planted, the most it has ever been, partly thanks to its middle-of-the-road suspension tuning, larger 21-inch wheels, and highly praised Bridgestone Alenza all-season tires. For the most part, the new Murano is competent on the road, and the all-wheel-drive setup, standard for the middle SL and upper Platinum trims (optional on the base FWD SV trim), the front wheels for the front-wheel-drive biased setup won’t peel off from a stop or out of turns.
As far as fuel economy, having the variable compression turbocharged engine contributes to some savings, as I was able to match the EPA figures of 21 mpg city, 27 mpg highway, and 23 mpg combined. I mustered out about 22.8 mpg overall but did see the highway number nearly jump up to 27 mpg when cruising on a flat Interstate road after settling in at 70 mph. Filling up the 18.7-gallon fuel tank with regular unleaded will get you a highway cruising range of up to about 504 miles.
The reworked interior of the redesigned Murano is an inviting space with a premium look and feel. While there are still some plastics that simulate an upscale trim, they are still plastic that may cheapen the interior for some who take the time to actually feel the surface. Otherwise, the interior is done very well with several soft-touch surfaces and stitching that accent the blue leather to elevate the premium appeal to a near-luxury level, in addition to color-selectable ambient LED lighting and a color head-up display. There’s also newfound space throughout the cabin with exceptionally comfy seats, which is something Nissan has nearly perfected in using their Zero gravity seat concept.
Up front, you get heated, ventilated, and back-area massaging seats – another near-luxury appeal for the Murano. Out back, the outboard seats have heating, and there’s a good bit of workable space for three passengers. Moreover, there’s a power tilt/telescoping heated steering wheel, which is something you normally don’t find on a mainstream crossover in this segment.
The dashboard has the proper tech equipment to keep with today’s expectations at there is a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster that is configurable to display maps and even mapping form your smartphone through use of wireless (and USB-connected) Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. The integration is fed through a 12.3-inch touchscreen, which has a simplistic interface but does take a little while to get used to navigating the system and utilizing the rather smallish touchscreen area for bringing up additional climate controls apart from the haptic-touch buttons etched into the simulated wood trim surface below the screen..
Cargo space is good as well in the new Murano with 33 cubic feet having the rear seats in place, or as much as 64 cubic feet when folding the seatbacks down with an easily reached rear cargo area latch. The cargo area is accessed by a smart power liftgate.
Safety remains paramount for Nissan as the new Murano has all of the expected active safety features, including the highlights of its ProPILOT Assist that keeps the vehicle centered in the lane and a safe distance from the vehicle in front – the system does require keeping your hand on the steering wheel. Other highlights include the 360-degree camera system and hood view to give you a virtual area view of what is normally blocked by the front hood area.
In all, Nissan has done justice to the redesign for the Murano, which is, in my opinion, one of the best products they have right now. Some may balk at the pricing of the new Murano, which starts at $40,470 and gets to as high as my loaded-up Murano Platinum AWD test vehicle at $55,030 (including a $1,390 destination charge). However, with the new Murano, with its near-luxury attitude and well-to-do drivetrain with an automatic transmission that has real gears, there’s a lot to like here and consider when shopping for a midsized two-row (5-passenger) crossover.
