B5BAR
01-17-2007, 02:36 PM
2007 Nisan Murano
I had the chance to use one of these vehicles for the 2nd year in a row, for an annual trip to Detroit Michigan. The first time I had one was in 2006, and the experience was somewhat better than the 2007 model year that I had opportunity to drive.
This model came equipped with the CVT transmission, and powered by Nissan's 3.5L engine that is found in many of their cars. Overall the power of this vehicle is quite good when you consider how much weight is being dragged along with it. What was absolutely annoying was the lag within the CVT system. The Murano's CVT would take almost 2 seconds to react to heavy throttle inputs, making it feel like it was stretching a large rubber band before releasing any energy to the wheels. This was extremely aggravating during emergency situations when power was needed now, not 2 seconds later.
We logged over 1200 miles on this compact SUV, and had a chance to test it on many types of roads, and in many types of weather conditions. The suspension actually made driving the Murano quite entertaining for an SUV. I was able to take a tight 100° that was immediately followed by a decreasing radius curve, at speeds much higher than expected, and without any complaints from the tires. Traveling through the construction area on 90 on the southern portion of Chicago was quite smooth overall, but it wasn't soft enough to cause a floating feeling that makes driving many SUVs quite scary.
The interior that we had for this 2007 was a light mocha cloth, an okay color, but perhaps a bit too bite for my tastes. I think I preferred the black cloth that we had from the previous year. The dash layout and controls are decent, but a bit counter intuitive for someone that steps out of a German automobile. The Murano comes equipped with a large color LCD display in the center that is used for radio readouts, and climate control information, and I would assume for Navigation if the car came equipped with it. Sadly our Murano didn't have this feature, and in my opinion the large display, and navigation joystick was absolutely worthless. The only thing you could use it for was to select tires for air pressure checks. All other navigation was done by dedicated buttons spread across the center console.
At night, the Murano gauge pod, and center display were too bright for my taste, and for those of the two other occupants that came with on this trip. The gauge pod was either too bright, or blinding on back country roads. You did have the option of lowering the intensity of the light, however the shade of yellow / orange they used, was too bright even at the lowest settings. We jokingly called the dash lights the "tanning lights" when when set for the highest setting.
http://www.neuwerks.com/albums/misc07/IMG_6368.sized.jpg
Murano tanning lights in action
Overall the vehicle is quite good, Visibility was superb from both the rear, and front. Turning radius is good, and the AWD system was acceptible, but no Quattro. I would recommend this SUV to someone that thinks they need a sporty SUV family hauler, however I would not recommend it over an Audi or BMW wagon for those who want a sporty family truxter .
I had the chance to use one of these vehicles for the 2nd year in a row, for an annual trip to Detroit Michigan. The first time I had one was in 2006, and the experience was somewhat better than the 2007 model year that I had opportunity to drive.
This model came equipped with the CVT transmission, and powered by Nissan's 3.5L engine that is found in many of their cars. Overall the power of this vehicle is quite good when you consider how much weight is being dragged along with it. What was absolutely annoying was the lag within the CVT system. The Murano's CVT would take almost 2 seconds to react to heavy throttle inputs, making it feel like it was stretching a large rubber band before releasing any energy to the wheels. This was extremely aggravating during emergency situations when power was needed now, not 2 seconds later.
We logged over 1200 miles on this compact SUV, and had a chance to test it on many types of roads, and in many types of weather conditions. The suspension actually made driving the Murano quite entertaining for an SUV. I was able to take a tight 100° that was immediately followed by a decreasing radius curve, at speeds much higher than expected, and without any complaints from the tires. Traveling through the construction area on 90 on the southern portion of Chicago was quite smooth overall, but it wasn't soft enough to cause a floating feeling that makes driving many SUVs quite scary.
The interior that we had for this 2007 was a light mocha cloth, an okay color, but perhaps a bit too bite for my tastes. I think I preferred the black cloth that we had from the previous year. The dash layout and controls are decent, but a bit counter intuitive for someone that steps out of a German automobile. The Murano comes equipped with a large color LCD display in the center that is used for radio readouts, and climate control information, and I would assume for Navigation if the car came equipped with it. Sadly our Murano didn't have this feature, and in my opinion the large display, and navigation joystick was absolutely worthless. The only thing you could use it for was to select tires for air pressure checks. All other navigation was done by dedicated buttons spread across the center console.
At night, the Murano gauge pod, and center display were too bright for my taste, and for those of the two other occupants that came with on this trip. The gauge pod was either too bright, or blinding on back country roads. You did have the option of lowering the intensity of the light, however the shade of yellow / orange they used, was too bright even at the lowest settings. We jokingly called the dash lights the "tanning lights" when when set for the highest setting.
http://www.neuwerks.com/albums/misc07/IMG_6368.sized.jpg
Murano tanning lights in action
Overall the vehicle is quite good, Visibility was superb from both the rear, and front. Turning radius is good, and the AWD system was acceptible, but no Quattro. I would recommend this SUV to someone that thinks they need a sporty SUV family hauler, however I would not recommend it over an Audi or BMW wagon for those who want a sporty family truxter .