Nissan Murano

The Nissan Murano is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured by Nissan since December 2002 and sold as 2003 model year. Nissan introduced the Murano as its first crossover SUV for the United States and Canada. It slotted above the pathfinder as Nissan’s top-of-the-line SUV until the launch of the Armada in 2004. Designed at Nissan Design America in La Jolla, California, it was based on the Nissan FF-L platform used by the sixth generation Maxima and the third generation Altima. The European Murano sales began in 2004 and its available only with one version.
As of 2006, the Murano slots between the Xterra and pathfinder (which surpassed the Murano in size since its 2005 redesign), where it became Nissan’s best-selling SUV, knocking the pathfinder off the top spot. Despite being similar in length to the pathfinder, it is more expensive than a pathfinder. Also, the Murano was Nissan’s only crossover SUV until 2004, when Canada got the smaller X-Trail, which has been replaced by the Rogue for 2008.
The Murano was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award for 2003. It was also named the best premium mid-size SUV by Autopacific.
The vehicle is one of the largest vehicles available with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The engine, a 3.5 litre 245 bhp V6, is shared with many other Nissan vehicles, but is specially tuned for the Murano. The car is all-wheel drive and has 4-wheel independent suspension. The All-Wheel Drive (AWD) with VDC is a form of traction control embedded into the car’s onboard computer and is designed to provide ‘joy’ to drive. A luxury feature of the car is a rear-view camera in addition to a rear-view mirror. A full set of airbags, steel reinforced cabin, and head restraints are safety features designed to protect the interior whilst VDC, ABS, EBD and brake assist are mechanical safety features.
The 2006 model year Murano received some updates in the form of LED tailamps and turn signals, standard color screen, available back-up camera (standard in Canada for all models), GpS and a restyled front end with some minor trim updates.
Nissan skipped the 2008 model year with the introduction of the next generation Murano – as a 2009 model. The 2009 Murano made its public debut at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show in November and sales began in early January 2008.
The revised exterior styling bears an increased family resemblance to the Rogue, while still maintaining distinctly Murano cues with its aggressive front fascia and rear quarter windows. The interior has also been completely redesigned, with the use of a more traditional instrument cluster and notably higher-quality materials.
The 2009 Murano is offered in three trim levels: the base S, the mid-grade SL, and the top of the line LE. The performance-oriented SE model is no longer available. The S and SL are offered with standard i-AWD (Intuitive All-Wheel Drive), with optional FWD available. The LE trim will be AWD only.
New features, some of them optional or available only on the LE grade, include rain-sensing wipers, power rear lift gate, power fold-up rear seats, ipod integration, and a hard-drive based, touchscreen navigation system. The S and SL feature aluminum interior accents, while the LE sports wood-tone trim. Like the first-generation model, there is no third-row seat.
The Murano is now based on the Nissan D platform shared with the fourth generation Nissan Altima and the new 2009 Nissan Maxima. Nissan has given the 2009 Murano a revised version of the award-winning 3.5L VQ engine rated at 265 horsepower (198 kW), an increase of 20 over the previous model. Torque is rated at 248 ft·lbf (336 N·m). The engine is mated to a revised Continuously Variable Transmission with Adaptive Shift Control.