2025 Nissan Murano First Drive Review: Controlled Cushiness

When it first came out in 2002, the Nissan Murano was a curvaceous sensation amid a sea of trucky, boxy SUVs. Through three generations, this un-boxy two-box two-row midsize utility has retained its comfy cred, striving always to overdeliver on comfort and style relative to perennial competitors like the late Ford Edge, Chevy Blazer, Honda Passport, and Hyundai Santa Fe, with signature features like Zero Gravity seats. We headed to rural Tennessee to see how this fourth-generation 2025 Nissan Murano holds up against its evolving competition.  

First, a small clarification: Our first look at the 2025 Nissan Murano painted it as a major refresh, but recent time spent with the engineers who developed it has convinced us this fourth-generation model shares so little actual content with the 2024 Nissan Murano (and the current Pathfinder) that it qualifies as a new vehicle. Sure, the wheelbase and a floor-pan stamping or two remain the same, and it can ride through the assembly plant in Smyrna Tennessee on carryover cradles. But nearly everything above that is new, with the electrical architecture significantly upgraded to support new safety, camera, and driver-assist systems, plus the Google Assistant integration and big multi-screen dash displays buyers now expect.  

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Downsized Upgrade 

Ditching the increasingly hoary 3.5-liter VQ35DE V-6 for the increasingly ubiquitous 2.0-liter variable-compression VC-Turbo four-cylinder engine was an alarming prospect at first. We’ve never loved the VC engine, but then it’s almost always been hitched to a continuously variable transmission, resulting in continuous discombobulation. It’s finally getting the fixed-ratio transmission it always deserved—a nine-speed ZF unit that’s essentially the same one found in the Honda Passport.  

This powertrain debuted in the larger, heavier, swankier three-row Infiniti QX60 (making a bit more power and torque) where it struck us as strained and insufficiently refined. The Murano’s size and pricing make for a much better match. Relative to the old V-6, the Murano’s VC-Turbo trades away almost 20 hp for 20 more lb-ft, and the torque curve delivers more grunt down at lower revs where American crossover drivers expect to find it. It also seems quicker at switching to the appropriate compression ratio and spooling up when you roll into the throttle than it has in other applications.  

Performance and Efficiency 

It's no rocketship off the line—a 1,900-rpm torque-converter stall speed makes for underwhelming launches, but only spec-nerd bench racers will care. That said, returning Murano customers may also notice a drop in performance, from the low 7s to 60 mph to the high 7s, with this estimate calculated by scaling weight-to-power from the QX60. Very little engine vibration enters the cabin, save the tiniest buzz felt in the wheel and pedals.  

EPA results aren’t posted yet, but Nissan claims the larger new Murano (which averages about 285 pounds heavier than before) gains 1 mpg in the city but loses 1 mpg on the highway for a 23-mpg combined wash. 

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Driving Modes 

Sport and Eco modes make throttle and transmission responsiveness sharper and duller, respectively, with the former stiffening up the steering just a smidge. Towing is not recommended, and off-roading isn’t a priority, so there are no such modes—although folks looking to tackle the occasional fire road will have 8.3 inches of ground clearance to work with (1.4 more than before), plus the same camera views offered by the Armada to monitor wheel placement, including invisible-hood mode. The base Normal steering assist mode will please most of the people most of the time.  

Suspension Tweaks 

Everything was generally revised with an eye toward maintaining comfort while sharpening dynamic responsiveness a smidge. Roll stiffness is up 25.5 percent in front, 24.5 percent rear, and new frequency-selective dampers help smooth out the ride on little choppy stuff while controlling body motions better on the lower-frequency heaves.  

Our test drive comprised nearly pristine pavement, so we’ll reserve final judgement on the comfort front until we subject a 2025 Nissan Murano to Michigan- or southern-California-grade chop. We were a little surprised to learn this marks the Murano’s first transition from hydraulic to electric power steering, which enabled a 4-percent faster ratio with 45 percent less steering effort at a stop. Adding EPS enabled ProPilot Assist to be offered for the first time (but not the hands-free 2.1 variant yet).  

The result of all these changes: In our fictitious Hazzard County environs, the slightly stiffer Sport mode steering contributed to making the Murano a more entertaining dance partner, cornering eagerly with no lost motion or steering correction required, and slowing confidently with a brake pedal that bites without too much pedal travel and delivers linear stopping power.   

Creature Comforts 

Naturally Nissan put the Murano’s best foot forward by loaning us range-topping Platinum Reserve models, replete with Zero Gravity seating front and (new for 2025) rear, upgraded with massage in front (three programs, each adjustable for speed and intensity). The front seats are all-day comfy but we wished the rear seat’s bottom cushion were angled more to better support adult thighs. There’s a lovely 10-speaker 7-channel Bose audio system, a head-up display, 64-color ambient lighting, Google built-in, wireless phone pairing—the works.  

Our car sported new Aurora Blue Pearl exterior and Twilight Blue and dark brown leather interior color schemes, with seats featuring contrast diamond stitching on the seat upper backrests and diamond perforation below. In a nod to the Italian glass for which the Murano is named, the dash finishing trim features a multi-layered material that refracts light to give a classy rainbow sheen. Practically every other surface you touch up front is soft and stitched, and the rear compartment gets almost all the same materials and ambient lighting (only the egregiously shiny hard plastic comprising the rear of the front center console mars the vibe). 

Pricing and Value 

Base price for the entry level front-drive SV is up $1,730 to $41,850, and at least initially, that’s the only trim that offers front-drive (AWD adds $1,000). The SL AWD opens at $47,950 (up $2,160) and the Platinum AWD comes in at $50,990—a $1,150 bump. Relative to the Blazer, Passport, and Santa Fe competition, this pricing establishes Murano as an upscale alternative, starting $5,000 to $6,000 richer than the front-drive Chevy and Hyundai, with the Murano SV AWD undercutting the AWD-only Passport by $935. The Murano Platinum undercuts similarly equipped competitors just slightly, and at every step it offers richer content that may indeed justify the price.  

Bottom Line 

Paired with this transmission and in this vehicle, the VC-Turbo engine is at long last growing on us, and we’re largely willing to forgive its slightly slower performance and on-par efficiency, because the vehicle it’s in is so much roomier, better equipped, and more opulent than before. It also helps that the Murano looks beautiful, from its vaguely Ferrari Daytona cross-car headlamp graphic and its coupe-like roofline arch to its sensually hippy haunches in back. And that may be the best way to entice buyers to pay the kind of premium this Murano is objectively asking.