2003 Nissan Murano Review

Another week, another new sport-utility vehicle introduction. That's the way it has seemingly been going since the sport-ute craze began.

This new sport-utility--the Nissan Murano--is one of the best looking by far. It's downright rakish, which is in line with Nissan's new strategy of offering distinctive vehicles instead of copying ones from more conservative rivals Toyota and Honda. That's why Nissan introduced a new version of its legendary "Z'' sports car--the new 350Z.

The strategy is working; Nissan U.S. sales through November up to 682,026 vehicles from 642,136 in the same year-ago period. Nissan hopes to sell 50,000 Muranos annually here.

The Murano was designed specifically for the North American market and is named after sculpted Italian glass. Like many new car-based sport-utes, it is built on the chassis of the impressive new Nissan Altima sedan for carlike ride and handling. That's why Nissan calls the Murano a "crossover'' vehicle.

The quick power steering is rather stiff, but handling with the all-independent suspension is unusually sporty for a fairly heavy sport-ute partly because the 3,801- to 3,960-pound Murano has wide tires on big, standard 18-inch wheels, rather than 16-inchers. The more rubber on the road, the better the roadability.

Still, the 187.6-inch-long Murano is longer, wider and taller than the widely-copied midsize Lexus RX 300 sport-ute, so a worthy option is the $749 Dynamic Control Package. It contains traction control and anti-skid systems, along with a tire pressure monitor.

There's a base SL model and an SE version with higher-powered headlights, sportier looking alloy wheels and a sport suspension that provides a firmer but still supple ride. The SL and SE are offered with front- or new all-wheel drive.

The Murano has a version of Nissan's potent 3.5-liter passenger car V-6. The sophisticated engine provides a rousing 245 horsepower and quick merging and passing.

The V-6 is hooked to an extremely smooth continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). It provides a nearly infinite number of gear ratios and thus doesn't have the downshift delays of some conventional automatics. A manual gearbox or conventional automatic transmission aren't offered, which is sort of unusual.

But this is one of the best of the increasingly popular CVT units offered by various automakers, which prefer a CVT instead of a conventional automatic transmission because a CVT is slightly more fuel-efficient.

With the Murano, the CVT lets the engine loaf at merely 2,000 rpm at 70 mph, enhancing highway fuel economy. However, this is a big, heavy, powerful vehicle, so estimated fuel economy is just average for a midsize sport-ute: 20 mpg in the city and 24-25 on the highway. But a 21.7-gallon fuel tank allows a long highway driving range.

Nissan is leaving the rough off-road driving to its truck-based Pathfinder and Xterra sport-utes, so the Murano has no low-range gearing for such use.

Standard safety features include front torso side air bags and front and rear curtain side air bags. Anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force distribution provide short stops, although the pedal feels rather mushy.

The $28,1999-$30,599 Murano is pretty well equipped, with the usual power accessories found in higher-priced sport-utes and such items as a tilt wheel, dual-zone front automatic climate controls, cruise control, AM/FM/CD sound system and a rear defogger.

Desirable options such as a sunroof, leather seats and power adjustable pedals cause the price to go up a lot because they're mostly in fairly costly option packages. It's easy to kick the sticker price to $37,000.

For instance, while the Popular Package contains many alluring options, it's priced at $3,499. You can get a power sunroof for the SL for $999--but not unless you order the $1,499 Premium Package.

The $1,999 navigation system, which requires lots of option packages for the SL model, has a steep learning curve and its map has a rather cheap look.

The Murano is new and very attractive, so some Nissan dealers likely will order the higher-line model with with many accessories for a higher profit. That's the nature of the car (and sport-ute) biz.

The big outside door handles in wide doors allow quick entry, and a low floor makes it easy to get in and out. There's generous room for four tall adults in the quiet interior. The sculpted front and rear seats are very supportive, but no third-row seat is offered at a time when such a seat for larger sport-utes has become very popular. Rear seat air conditioning outlets are standard.

Gauges can be quickly read. But the fairly large, easily used sound system and climate controls are in a protruding center dashboard pod, which seems to have been put there more for style than practicality. Some may find it annoying that audio and sound system readouts are displayed on a dashboard screen several inches from the actual controls. But the steering wheel contains handy auxiliary sound system controls.

The cupholders won't adjust to the size of some beverage containers, and interior materials could be more upscale, although real aluminum trim is used. However, the interior has lots of storage areas, and the snap-out storage pockets in the front doors usually are found only in luxury sport-utes.

As with most rakish vehicles, a price usually is paid for the styling. In this case, the rear roof pillars obstruct visibility, especially when parallel parking.

Loading cargo is easy with the light tailgate, although it has no separate upper glass opening. The cargo area is large and the entire rear seat--not just seatbacks--folds forward to provide an impressive cargo area. Happily, there's no need to remove the rear headrests when folding seatbacks forward.

The Murano's bold styling should initially attract many potential buyers, and its performance and practicality likely will convince many to get it.


2003 NISSAN MURANO
Prices:
$28,199-$30,599

Likes:
Rakish styling. Roomy. Fast. Carlike ride and handling. Smooth CVT automatic transmission.
Dislikes:
No third-row seat. Pricey with desirable options. Rear roof pillars obstruct vision.