2025 Nissan Murano Two-Row SUV Leans Up Market in Bid for Relevance

• Designers were targeting an elegant, near-luxury look and feel for the new Murano, which was unveiled this morning at Nissan’s North American headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee.

• A significant change for the 2025 Murano is found under the hood, where the previous VQ V6 is being replaced by Nissan’s sophisticated VC-Turbo four-cylinder engine with variable compression.

• The new Murano’s cabin reads premium with more soft-touch materials, quilted leather-trimmed seats, contrast stitching, and capacitive touch controls on the dashboard, like on the Nissan Ariya.

The current Nissan Murano midsize SUV has been in the US market for a decade and badly needs a shot in the arm if the Japanese automaker is counting on it to make headway in a fiercely competitive segment that moved nearly 2.6 million vehicles this year through September.

While the best-selling Toyota RAV4 easily topped 300,000 deliveries in the first three quarters and the Honda CR-V came up a few units short of 300k, the aged Murano limped along in abject obscurity, finding its way to a mere 14,437 driveways.

In between the Murano and the RAV4 and CR-V were 27 vehicles—some of them from luxury brands—that handily outsold the Murano. Even battery-electric vehicles in this two-row crossover segment—such as the Volkswagen ID.4, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Nissan’s own Ariya—outpaced the Murano through the first nine months.

Oof.

The automaker is injecting new life into the Murano by launching a fully redesigned fourth-generation model that will go on sale in early 2025. The sales team is hoping it can be a meaningful second entry in America’s hottest vehicle sector, behind the smaller and more popular Rogue.

The design team was targeting an elegant, near-luxury look and feel inside and out for the new Murano, as it is bound to be more expensive than the Rogue, which will carry a 2025 base price of $29,230. That compares to the $38,740 starting price for a 2024 Murano.

Unveiled this morning for international media at Nissan’s North American headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, the new 2025 Murano essentially carries over a number of key dimensions, including wheelbase (111.2 inches), overall length (192.9 inches), and height (67.8 inches). It retains its unibody construction.

But the new Murano gains more than an inch and a half of ground clearance (to 8.3 inches), and it’s a substantial 2.6 inches wider (to 78.0 inches), which probably explains why the aerodynamic coefficient of drag has fallen from 0.31 in the old model to 0.34 for 2025.

But one of the most significant changes for the 2025 Nissan Murano is found under the hood, where the previous VQ V6 is being replaced by Nissan’s sophisticated VC-Turbo four-cylinder engine that relies on a complicated multi-link crankshaft system that deliver variable compression depending on the driver’s input.

While switching engines is generally done for obvious reasons, Nissan’s motivation with the Murano powertrain seems murky. Horsepower actually goes down (from 260 to 241), while torque goes up from 240 lb.-ft. to 260).

And it’s not about overall efficiency either. EPA fuel economy improves in city driving with the 2025 Murano, but it suffers on the highway. The end result is an overall combined fuel-economy rating that is identical, at 23 mpg.

It’s easy to find a vehicle in this segment that gets better mileage, without concerns about the long-term durability and reliability of the VC-Turbo engine, which has been problematic for some owners in other Nissan vehicles.

There most likely is a regulatory benefit in the US to switching from the VQ V6 to the four-cylinder. The Xtronic CVT on the previous Murano will be replaced by a conventional nine-speed automatic transmission for the new model.

Also on the mechanical side, the new Murano gets upsized brakes, to 13.78-inch rotors in front and 12.99 inches in back.

The suspension geometry carries over (independent struts and coil springs up front and independent multi-link out back), but stabilizer bars are now bigger (29 mm up front and 28.6 mm in back).

A temporary spare tire was standard and tucked underneath the old Murano, but now a spare tire will be optional. Buyers will, however, get a tire repair kit as standard.

Inside, the design team tried to push the new Murano’s cabin upscale with more soft-touch materials, semi-aniline quilted leather-trimmed seats (on Platinum grade), contrast stitching, and capacitive touch controls built into the dashboard, like on the all-electric Nissan Ariya.

The spec sheet says the new Murano gains front-row headroom compared to the previous model. It loses some second-row shoulder room but adds front-row shoulder room. The new Murano also loses more than two inches of rear-seat legroom but gains nearly four inches of front-row legroom.

Passenger volume maxes out at 112 cubic feet, representing a gain of four cubic feet with or without the moonroof.

Other available goodies to be found on the new Murano:

• 21-inch wheels on Platinum grade and two-tone paint.

• Driver-assistance systems such as standard Nissan Safety Shield 360, new available Invisible Hood View, and ProPILOT Assist.

• Ventilated, massaging front seats.

• Google built-in interface and dual 12.3-inch display screens.

• Wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto.

• Color head-up display

The new Murano has also gained about 270 pounds, tipping the scales at 4,193 pounds with front-wheel drive and 4,438 pounds in Platinum trim with all-wheel drive.

The trim offerings have been scaled back as well. There were three available trims with FWD, but now only SV will be offered with a powered front axle. All three trims (SV, SL, and Platinum) remain available with AWD.

Pricing for the 2025 Murano will come closer to production launch. Nissan assembles the Murano at its plant nearby in Smyrna, Tennessee.

Do you think the redesigned Nissan Murano will sell significantly better than the model it replaces? Please comment below.