Road Test: Nissan Murano ST

By Feann Torr - 27/Jan/2006

Nissan's Murano is a breath of fresh air in the SUV market segment, which has been populated by boxy-looking, utilitarian vehicles for far too long.

The provocative vehicle from the Renault-owned company eschews the 'rugged' look of the traditional all wheel drive SUV, greeting the eyes as a more stylish, even extroverted vehicle.

And more than just an exercise in daring design, one that challenges long-held norms, the Murano is in fact a very competent vehicle, making use of a clever powertrain and employing car-like suspension for on road behaviour that would be more at home in a luxury sedan.

Furthermore, French car makers like Renault (which owns Nissan) do not yet have a medium-sized SUV in their ranks, so a vehicle like the Nissan Murano – purposely styled to appeal to audiences beyond the Japanese market - could be seen as plugging the hole in the European market.

In the flesh the Murano cuts a striking figure, and on paper it also looks to have all the ingredients to make it a real alternative to the plethora of mid-sized SUV and crossover vehicles currently vying for the attention of new car buyers. But good looks and enticing specifications alone do not necessarily make for a quality vehicle in the real world of traffic, car parks and holiday drives - so let's take a closer look:

Drive: 3.5/5

Nissan's Murano has a pearler of a gearbox-engine combination, offering impressive fuel economy and surprisingly rapid straight-line performance to boot

The avant-garde styling isn't limited to the exterior

The windowline rises up towards the D-pillar at the rear, which looks great, but hampers rearward vision

Clamber into the fairly tall cabin of the Murano and you'll be greeted with comfortable, welcoming front seats, a big centre console with highly legible telemetry, a strange-looking J-gate gear shifter and one the biggest upper dashboard shelf sections you'll ever see.

Just like the challenging exterior, the interior is a wholly non-conformist proposition, and for this reason (and a few others we'll get to later) it's the kind of vehicle that really makes an impression; such originality is eternally refreshing.

Buckle up, slot the key in the ignition and after adjusting the rear view and electric wing mirrors, it's time to move.

The curvy Nissan handles city driving well, and a good deal of its urban virtue can be put down to the CVT (continuously variable transmission), while things like a high-ish view of the road and a light steering feel further contribute to its concrete jungle competence.

The Murano's clever transmission ensures that there's no revving out of gears like in a traditional gearbox - some people call it a step-less transmission - it just smoothly sits on whatever revs you tell it to and slowly builds speed to 60, 80, 100km/h or whatever you want.

It works very well and there are virtually no chinks in this tranny's armour; I think the CVT has massive legs. It could replace all automatics in the near future thanks to its cleverly efficient use of available engine power, and it's fairly responsive to throttle input as well.

And one has to assume that the technology can only get better, which is quite exciting. It'll be interesting to see a hardcore sports car with a step-less gearbox!

Paired with Nissan's bullet-proof 3.5-litre V6, the CVT works very well. It is easily one of the nicest V6s I've ever had the chance to operate. With a smooth operation, it's responsive, and more than willing with a healthy 318Nm @ 3600rpm ensuring that acceleration is rarely wanting.

The Murano is an easy vehicle to drive in everyday situations – it operates and responds more like a sedan than a too-tall, too-heavy SUV. And the seating position is good too, offering that aforementioned encompassing view of your surroundings, and there's enough adjustment in the seats to ensure your spine is well taken care of.

Independent front and rear suspension can be thanked for the vehicle's likeable on-road manners, and in conjunction with the positive engine/gearbox combo it gives the rather large 4WD a likeable, nimble feel.

Assuming the Murano will spend the majority of its lifespan on sealed, asphalt-covered roads, it's softly sprung suspension tune provides for a very nice ride. It'll soak up even the more aggressive gouges in the road and is a doddle to control, even at slow speeds, such as when navigating the folly that is the underground shopping centre car park.

The steering is light - but not ridiculously so - providing so-so feedback through the 18-inch wheels, and I should mention the 350Z-sized steering wheel is nice and small, which gives you the perception that the car isn't quite as large as its 4770mm length.

Parallel and reverse parking the Murano can be dicey at times, mainly because the extremities curve downward, fading out of view from the drivers seat, and the 11.6 metre turning circle isn't brilliant. At the same time, 'feeling' the vehicle into tight-ish spaces can be easier than you'd think, which is partly due to the car's short-ish front and rear overhangs. Which brings us to the all-important off-road question: can the Murano cross the Simpson Desert? Though we didn't have the time to try, I get the feeling it's probably not the best choice for such a journey.

With a 25° departure angle and a 28° approach angle the Murano sounds mildly capable on paper, but take the thing on anything harsher than marble-sized loose surface stones and you'll soon find the road-biased tyres run out of grip pretty early.

Grassy hills can be tackled, but serious 4WDers will probably baulk at the part-time AWD system (which is actually very practical on sealed roads) and lack of ground clearance at 180mm (the Nissan Patrol has 230mm). The AWD system directs 100% of the engine's power to the front wheels in normal operating circumstances, and when the front hoops begin to slip the central diff automatically kicks in, which can divert up to 50% of torque to the rear wheels.

This system - while far from rugged - is ideal for changing conditions on the road, as in FWD mode it is more efficient than when driving all wheels, and in wet conditions or driving on snow, the rears will kick in to potentially keep the car from skidding off the road and into a gully. It also features VDC (vehicle dynamic control), which is adds another layer of armour to the Murano's impressive safety suite.

The brakes were quite impressive in the way they performed, able to increase deceleration rapidly, biting smoothly and progressively as you add more pressure to the brake pedal. Measuring 308mm up front and 320mm at the rear (ventilated all round) and featuring EBD, the Murano's VDC system works out by applying brake pressure to individual wheels in potentially hazardous situations, such as when a wheel begins to lose grip.

In terms of enthusiastic driving on sealed winding roads, the Murano is not exactly a corner eater; the soft-ish suspension doesn't inspire you with the confidence to push harder and the 225/65 R18 tyres with their tall sidewalls aren't the stickiest hoops to ever adorn an SUV. That's not to say the vehicle is incapable of cornering at speed though - it handles more like the Territory through corners (a good thing), with not too much body roll, just a sense of being somewhat heavy and ponderous.

It can hold a line for the most part, and can even pick up the pace through open sweeping corners, but as soon as that line switches to the opposite direction, its heavy weight and high centre of gravity do unpleasant things to the rear end, with chassis unable to cope with flip-flops and switchbacks.

But in the grand scheme of things, the Murano is a very nice SUV to drive. It's well-adjusted, able to deal with a wide range of conditions and circumstances with commensurate ease, and though it looks rather different, it doesn't need to rely solely on its intriguing image with which to appeal - the chassis is pretty good. Better yet, I reckon it'll give the 3.0-litre BMW X5 a good run for its money - nearly every X5 Beemer driver we passed did a double take, eyeballing the new design with much interest.

Engine: 4/5

For a vehicle that tips the scales at 1822kg, the Murano feels quite quick, and is impressively quiet too. There's nary a murmur from the transmission, none of the 'ka-chunks' you get in a traditional automatic gearbox as it changes up and down through gears, nor even when your foot is angrily slamming the throttle into the firewall.

When the foot's to the floor in ‘D’ mode the revs rise to a maximum of around 6200rpm, and as the tacho needle never wavers from this engine speed at full tilt the car accelerates, and it's rapid too. The gearbox is very flexible; it has a lot of elasticity, I suppose you could say.

On the other side of the coin, the CVT can also be very frugal. If you give it 10 degrees of throttle application (an eighth throttle), it'll sit on 1500rpm or 2000rpm and just accelerate nice and slowly, saving a lot of fuel.

On a flat surface the Murano will accelerate doing just 1250rpm, which is quite something. It's a nice piece of kit this CVT, and in conjunction with a larger engine it works really well. The engine sounds great too. It’s not half as loud in the cabin than the 350Z, you feel it and hear it nevertheless. It possesses a subtle, somewhat melodic thrum.

At times we managed some very impressive fuel economy figures in the Murano -- travelling at 100km/h the Murano's 3.5-litre 6-cylinder engine ticks over at roughly 1650rpm, maybe 1700rpm, which is pretty bloody good considering the cars engine type, weight and AWD nature.

To put its fuel consumption levels in perspective, the Nissan SUV sips 12.3L/100km, compared to the 1.8-litre Holden Tigra's 13.7L/100km. Not too shabby, that.

Exterior: 3.5/5

With styling that stands out in the crowded SUV marketplace, we noticed many luxury SUV drivers taking more than a casual interest in the curvaceous Nissan. Sitting 18-inch wheels and with sleek styling cues, it's hard to ignore, and I don't mind saying that, while a little confronting at times, the progressive exterior design is - at the very least - original and different, and at best a rather modern-looking design.

From all angles the Murano is quite a sight, thoroughly different in appearance from the majority of AWD SUVs

The interior of the Murano leaves little to be desired, and the long upper dashboard shelf section comes in handy for holding snacks, maps & other odds and sods

It's the antithesis of a vehicle like the Land Rover Discovery and many other boxy-looking bush-bashers. It's curvy - very curvy - and isn't afraid to crow about it.

The sleek front end features form-fitting headlight clusters with technical-looking xenon projector main beams, and while the grille is a bit strange taken on its own, with its cattle-grid pattern, it integrates well enough with the rest of the car's eye-catching styling cues.

Subtly flared wheel arches draw the eye towards the large 6-spoke alloy wheels, and while the upward curve of the rear window line hardly helps rearward vision, it does give the vehicle a very modern-looking side profile.

Like the rest of the car, the rear is quite an interesting visual proposition, featuring 350Z-inspired brake light clusters and dual exhaust pipes, and even the rear windscreen is far from orthodox.

The Murano will most likely appeal to drivers who like to stand out from the crowd, and to those with a sense of style that's not always easy to pigeonhole.

Interior: 3.5/5

For a car that measures almost 4.8 metres in length, I thought the rear seat leg room could've been a tad more generous, but beyond this minor nitpick and a slightly intrusive A-pillar that makes low-view (35-45° angle) glances out the front windscreen a little difficult, there's a lot to like about the Murano's inner sanctum.

Up front the instruments are quite flashy (yellow coloured dials) and add a level of sportiness to the experience, and in general the cockpit is uncluttered and largely intuitive. HVAC controls are simple to use, and steering wheel buttons for cruise control and stereo options are a welcome touch.

There's lots of hidey holes for all sorts of items, and I really liked the lower door pockets, which can fold out for larger objects, such as maps and road directories. Even the centre armrest is unconventional, revealing enough space for CDs or drinks: to open it there's a button on the vertical upright of the armrest, and it opens sideways with the hinge on the left.

Reclining rear seats feature a 60/40 split system for loading larger objects, such as lumber and small palms, and with various underfloor storage compartments you can keep valuables hidden from prying eyes.

The entry-level ST Murano gets a Bose audio system with in-dash 6-disc CD autochanger, which can crank out decent levels of audio, while other features such as climate control, power adjustable drivers seat, leather steering wheel and gear shift will ensure a comfortable ride. For another $5000 the more expensive Ti model adds electric tilt/slide sunroof, leather seats, metallic paint, roof rails, and reverse parking sensors.

Active safety features include half a dozen airbags - dual front SRS airbags, side and curtain airbags - and the Nissan has been well insulated against outside sounds and is a fairly quiet car to cruise around in, though tyre noise did make itself heard at times.

Overall: 4/5

I like cars that are built in Japan - always of a high quality - and the Murano made a big impression on this avid driver. It's a well-assembled, tight package that breaks a lot of traditional SUV moulds, and in grand style.

As mentioned in the intro, the Murano is a breath of fresh air in the SUV market segment, and though a lot of interest will generated solely by the vehicle's appearance, it has the engineering to back up - nay, augment - its stand-out image. It drives well and features a brilliant gearbox, is relatively frugal as a result, has plenty of interior space and a well-built feel about it.

Interestingly, and perhaps uselessly, the Murano's is named after specially sculpted glass from a cluster of islands near Venice, but regardless of where the name comes from, Murano sounds too much like Monaro for my liking. But if that is one of the few criticisms to be levelled at the innovative SUV, then Nissan is certainly doing something right.