As Nissan's first crossover SUV for the United States and Canada, the Murano was designed at Nissan America in La Jolla, California

Text

As Nissan's first crossover SUV for the United States and Canada, the Murano was designed at Nissan America in La Jolla, California, and was based on the Nissan FF-L platform shared with the third generation Altima. The single European version of the Murano began sales in 2004.

On September 29, 2008, Nissan released the second generation Murano in Japan, targeted mainly at men in their 30s, 40s and 50s, and priced between 3,150,000 yen and 4,042,500 yen, about 200,000 to 300,000 yen more expensive than the first generation model.

There were no significant changes to the Murano until midway through the 2017 model year when the so-called 2017.5 Murano had its option packages shuffled a bit and added a new Midnight Edition with blacked-out wheels and trim. The second-generation Nissan Murano ran from 2009 to 2014.

Verdict The Murano is handsome, comfortable, and nicely equipped, but its age is all too evident in shortcomings that range from its shortage of cargo space to its droning engine. Unlike other mid-size SUVs, the 2023 Nissan Murano eschews a rugged outdoorsy veneer in favor of a hard-to-define look that's a stylish mashup of a car and a crossover.