First Drive: 2025 Nissan Murano Elevates Honesty

Like it or not, the modern conventional pillars for an automaker’s product portfolio are a mid-size two-row crossover and a larger three-row crossover—you can see this in nearly every marque. But there’s a tweener space that’s growing in popularity, and automakers are taking notice. A sizable swath of buyers have been voting with their wallets, saying that they want seating for five, a footprint larger than the conventional two-row but not quite as big as the standard three-row offering. This space invites a few different approaches, but a strong sense of identity—what the vehicle is about—is an absolute must, and it needs to be clear to consumers from the get-go.

Chevy has the Blazer, a very sporting-forward offering that slots between the Equinox and the Traverse. Honda has the Passport—essentially a chopped Pilot with two rows of seats instead of three, and a very off-road-oriented TrailSport badge playing the hero card. For Nissan, the mainstay two- and three-row rides are the Rogue and the Pathfinder, with the Murano sitting in that middle ground.

Murano is a long-standing player. It’s the nameplate that spearheaded Nissan’s crossover efforts in the United States and Canada all the way back in 2003. However, newer competitors have laid bare the fact that the third-generation car, which debuted in 2014 and will now exit stage left at the end of this year, simply lacked the panache that a crossover in this space must have to attract buyers. Sales have been dwindling since 2016 when nearly 87,000 examples left dealer lots. In 2023, sales barely crested 31,000. In other words, a full reboot has been needed for a while now.

In the fourth-generation 2025 Murano, then, we see the fruits of that reboot. To appreciate what the new model does have, note what is absent: An off-road mode, exposed tow hooks, tucked front fascia, or black plastic cladding on the fender wheels. Yes, there is all-wheel-drive. No, there is not an option for gnarlier tires. This is a road-first crossover, Nissan proudly touted, and the Murano makes no pretenses about being anything else. “A tuxedo, not a kayak,” I overheard one representative explain.

The Murano shares the same D-platform with the outgoing model, though the architecture has been extensively reworked to improve both torsional rigidity and structural stiffness. The 2025 Murano is wider than the outgoing model by more than 2.5 inches and offers more than an inch of additional ground clearance, but the latter was not a covert nod to those who prefer the path untrodden, Nissan insists.

We spent time behind the wheel of a top-rung Platinum trim, clad in Champagne Silver paint, one of two hero colors for the new Murano. (The other is the Aurora Blue Metallic paint, seen here.) The Platinum sits atop a straightforward three-tier trim, with the SV at the bottom, and the SL in the middle. The Murano Platinum starts at $50,990, but ours rang the register for $55,030 thanks to a few add-ons such as exterior ground lighting ($675), a dash cam ($365), and more. Standard features included heated, ventilated, and massaging front seats, upgraded 21-inch alloy wheels, a Bose 10-speaker premium audio system, and much more.

Specs: 2025 Nissan Murano Platinum AWD

• Price: $50,990/$55,030 (Base/as-tested)
• Powertrain: 2.0-liter variable-compression turbocharged I-4, nine-speed automatic transmission, AWD
• Output: 241 hp, 260 lb-ft of torque
• Layout: Front-engine, four-door, five-passenger crossover utility vehicle
• Weight:  4438 pounds
• EPA Fuel Economy: 23/24/23 (city/highway/combined)
• Competitors: Toyota Crown Signia, Honda Passport, Chevrolet Blazer

The sheetmetal is all-new and gives the Murano a strong resemblance to the Ariya EV. There are stylistic flourishes galore, from a swooping chrome insert in the roofline that draws the eye down from the actual height of the roof (blacked out, on the ones we drove, to trick your eye), to larger 20-inch wheels, to an ornate front fascia with extremely slim headlamps and much more pronounced running lights in a V-shape below.

I can’t help but think that this larger emphasis on DRLs and a smaller emphasis on the actual headlamps can make a vehicle’s “face” look a bit upside-down. I prefer something like the new Honda Passport TrailSport’s pronounced, singular headlamps placed high on each corner of its face, but there’s no denying that the new Murano has a presence. Relative to the busy, chrome-clad model it replaces, this new one is a remarkable change of direction, probably for the better, based on what Nissan wants it to do.

Like the Armada’s, the Murano’s new cabin feels thoroughly modernized and finally on par with that of the competition. Dual 12.3-inch displays sit ahead of the driver and atop the center console. There’s a broad, textured panel spanning the width of the dashboard, which Nissan says is inspired by the Venetian glass that gives the Murano its name. The plastic insert looks upscale and also provides a nice spot to rest the base of your hand when using the central screen. Capacitive-touch HVAC controls sit below the central vents. While they’re handsome, I’ll always prefer buttons here. Yet again, the seats might be the star of this show: They’re ridiculously comfy. As a bonus, the second-row seats also benefit from Nissan’s Zero Gravity design that makes the fronts so awesome.

The running gear is all-new for the fourth generation, too. Gone is the mildly infuriating, continuously variable transmission. In its place is a nine-speed automatic. Likewise, the old free-breathing 3.5-liter V-6 bows out in favor of Nissan’s new corporate workhorse, a variable compression, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The new engine makes 241 hp (the V-6 had 260) and 260 lb-ft of torque, which is 20 more than the previous motor.

The powerband feels better suited to this sort of car than the old V-6, even though both engines make peak torque at the same rpm (4400). Marrying a new transmission to an engine that can adjust its stroke on the fly to prioritize power or efficiency is no small feat, and we occasionally caught the powertrain pair in the wrong gear or engine setting, causing a noticeable stumble. But those missteps only arose when we asked for dramatic spikes in power—coasting through the bottom of a turn and suddenly facing a steep uphill climb that asked for a sudden and heavy right foot, for example. On the whole, the new driveline feels like a much better fit here.

There’s no way around it: Nissan is way behind on hybrid technology in the U.S. market. The Murano’s drivetrain is good for 23 mpg combined (21 city, 27 highway), but its fuel efficiency lags significantly behind that of the Toyota Crown Signia, whose hybrid drivetrain returns 38 mpg combined (39 city, 37 highway). Sure, the Crown Signia’s drivetrain employs a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder that, when pushed, sounds a bit gruff compared to the muted turbo sounds from the Murano, but that sort of fuel economy gap cannot be ignored. Nissan said it is “constantly evaluating” customer preferences on these vehicles and didn’t rule out the possibility of a hybrid drivetrain, but I can’t help but wonder if the lack of hybrid tech will put the Murano a half-step behind from the get-go.

Nissan’s engineers went to great lengths to improve the body control of the new Murano, and their efforts show. By dialing in some impact harshness, the team substantially improved roll stiffness front and rear, (25.5 percent and 24.5 percent, respectively) which did wonders for the finished product. Adding more than two inches to the track width also helps. For a vehicle that probably won’t chase backroads with any vigor, the improvement in the ride quality is astounding. We’ll refrain from ruling on whether the concessions in impact damping defeat the added body control when the roads get rough—like they tend to do in Michigan during the colder, snowier months.

For the first time, the Murano utilizes an electronically assisted power steering system. Aside from enabling Nissan to implement the lower level of its assisted-driving technology for highway cruising, the new system reduces steering effort by 45 percent and aids with vibration damping, according to the automaker. You can tell Nissan prioritized isolation, which is a bummer for driving enthusiasts. But, if you ask the target buyer whether they’d prefer assisted-driving tech or a better sense of what the front tires are doing, that’s not going to be a close race. By that token, Nissan’s decision makes sense.

Affordability matters to these buyers, and the Murano is well-equipped to handle that battle. At the lower end, the Murano SV with AWD and nothing else rings in just shy of $43,000. That puts the Nissan slightly above the cheapest comparable Blazer (just shy of $40,000) but below the cheapest Crown Signia, which nearly hits $45K. The top-tier Murano will cost a smidge more than most of its competitors, just cresting the $50K mark before options. The Crown Signia, Passport, and Blazer all land beneath that $50K threshold, before you go splashing for the extras. We recommend the Murano SL ($47,950), which gets you the good sound system, the invisible hood camera tech, a panoramic moonroof, and plenty of other goodies for less than $50K. The only features you’d be missing are the quilted, semi-aniline leather seats with massaging capability, a power tilt and telescoping steering wheel, and a few other bits reserved for the Platinum trim.

For the new Murano, Nissan has smartly opted to skip out on the off-roading craze that seems to be sweeping up everything from pickups to crossovers to sports cars. Instead, the company focused on a high-style, high-class execution of one of its longest-standing products in this market. The 2025 Murano is a tremendous leap better than the outgoing model, and it looks ready to vie for that segment of buyers who want a little sophistication from their two-row crossover.

2025 Nissan Murano Platinum AWD

Highs: Remarkable body control, handsome interior, stellar seats. A more resolute sense of identity.

Lows: Still no hybrid options. Touch panel for HVAC controls just ain’t it. Styling might be too futuristic for some buyers.

Summary: Enough of the right stuff to warrant consideration in a segment that’s as competitive as ever.