2025 Nissan Murano First Drive Review: You Can Stop Pretending

You’ve surely noticed by now that almost every new car has an off-road bent. Even supercars are getting all-terrain tires and suspension lifts. You know what doesn’t, though? The 2025 Nissan Murano. That’s on purpose, and with the midsize crossover segment as crowded as ever, the Murano leans heavily on that to help it stand out.

It mostly works.

The redesigned Murano is not reinvented. Rather, it’s sharpened to serve an audience that Nissan believes still exists—those who simply want a stylish daily to get them around (sub)urban America. These customers are realistic about never venturing off pavement and don’t see the need for a car that can conquer the desert when it’s used more for grabbing dessert. It’s a city slicker, in simple terms, and if you’re about that then I think you’ll like the Murano.

The Basics

Because Nissan makes so many crossovers besides the Murano—think Kicks, Rogue, Pathfinder, and Ariya—this model can be its own thing. It doesn’t have to appeal to adventure lifestyle folks since other Nissans already do that. It’s always been focused on the North American market, and that remains true for the 2025 model year with the refined suburban focus.

The Murano’s exterior design is noteworthy all on its own. A wide-V front grille evokes shades of the Ariya EV, but a unique LED signature and horizontal body-colored break set it apart. It’s yet another new car with split headlights, which we’re getting used to seeing by now as models get bigger across the board. It’s less odd visually than some new Hyundais, though, and it’s far more… circular overall compared to what feels like every other car in this segment chasing the boxy trend. Like, for example, the Hyundai Santa Fe which still looks like a Pixar car after a year on the market.

Inside, the Murano sticks with the program. Dual 12.3-inch screens are standard, setting a tech-y tone that’s reinforced by the striking two-spoke steering wheel. There are some hard buttons, but not in the places you fettle with the most like the climate controls. Instead, those are toggled through what I can only describe as a touch-capacitive faux wood panel.

I drove the 2025 Murano in central Tennessee during the second week of December, which, if you didn’t know, can be pretty cold. Even with a cup of coffee slurped down before climbing in the car, I was pretty chilled when I sat in it as the outside temp registered 27 degrees Fahrenheit. I immediately reached for the climate controls when I noticed that not only is there nothing to grab, there’s nothing to really push, either. A backlit trim piece that’s textured like wood has a color interface with red for hotter and blue for colder, just like you’re used to, except it vibrates back to you when you toggle the temperature. It’s a weird feeling I didn’t like, and I’m usually not one to gripe about touch controls or screens. “It’s modern,” I tried to convince myself.

Driving Experience

With that strange haptic encounter behind me, I dialed up the drive route with the standard wireless Apple CarPlay and went on my way. You control the transmission by pushing buttons on the center stack (another odd choice but one that’s not entirely novel amongst new cars), so of course, I selected “D.” Thankfully, this is where the feel of forced elegance stopped and the Murano started operating like a normal car.

As for power, the Murano has plenty thanks to its 2.0-liter VC Turbo engine. Those initials stand for “variable compression,” a little trick Nissan’s powertrain engineers use to get better efficiency out of small powerplants. It’s rated at 241 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque which, amusingly, is a flip of the old V6’s 260 hp and 240 lb-ft. The continuously variable transmission is gone—praise be—and a nine-speed auto is in its place.

That VC Turbo engine is punchy, and nobody who buys one will care that it’s down 20 hp from the outgoing V6. The truth is most drivers of most vehicles don’t really care how much power there is as long as it feels like enough. It certainly does in the Murano. I’m more frustrated by the just-OK fuel economy of 23 mpg combined, but that’s not exactly a driving impression, is it?

Nissan says it made the Murano stiffer than before for the sake of driving confidence. I still wouldn’t call it stiff, but I also wouldn’t call it plush. It rides like a sedan around town, which I consider a net positive as it’s the farthest thing from lumbering without being harsh. Still, mind the potholes.

It also steers like it rides—that is to say, pretty tight. I blasted down a backroad as much as one can in a Murano and you can tell the electric power steering is tuned for easy input. Coming from a guy whose daily driver is a body-on-frame pickup, there’s no effort required and you can hold the wheel in the same spot to make your way ’round the corner. Hit a bump in the middle of a sweeping turn, though, and it unsettles the rear.

The point of a car like this is not to nail the apex or stay flat around the sweeper, though; it’s to get where you’re going and feel good doing it. The new Murano does that for its people with sharp styling, comfy seats, and Bose audio that’s not as good as the bigger Armada’s Klipsch system but still totally fine for bumping Kendrick or Charli XCX or whatever else Murano drivers are listening to these days.

Nissan Murano Features, Options, and Competition

In a delightful departure from the industry’s status quo, the Murano’s trim and options ladder is extremely simple. There are just three versions—SV ($41,860), SL ($47,950), and Platinum ($50,990)—and no convoluted option packages. All-wheel drive is optional on SV for $1,000 but standard on the other two. Every Murano has dual 12.3-inch screens, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and if you upgrade to the SL or Platinum, it has Google Built-In with Google Maps. You also get some nice tech as you step up through the trims, like a 3D surround-view camera system, 64-color ambient interior lighting, and Nissan ProPilot Assist, which is essentially radar cruise control with steering assist (no hands-free here). Massaging seats are specific to Platinum, though there was a time not long ago when those were locked behind upmarket $80,000 vehicles.

Nissan takes aim at the Chevy Blazer and Honda Passport with the Murano, both of which are same-same different. The Blazer, with its lower base price of $36,795, is less focused on elegance and more on perceived sportiness—not at all like the old Blazer, but we’ve all heard about that before. And as for the Passport, whose entry-level EX-L trim starts at $43,795, leans into that ruggedness I talked about before with a top TrailSport model. The ethos is different between the Honda and Nissan, especially as the Passport is set for a big refresh in 2026 that’s even more focused on four-wheelin’.

The Early Verdict

People will buy the 2025 Nissan Murano simply because it’s a stylish crossover, and I won’t blame them for it. It’s really the only offering at this level that focuses so specifically on around-town life and if that’s what you’re looking for, I don’t reckon you’ll be disappointed in the product itself. It’s pricey in my eyes with its roughly $42,000 starting price and $50,000-plus ceiling, but looking at the competition, it’s right in line.

I appreciate the Murano for what it is, and really, I think Nissan got it right by catering so specifically to a demographic that’s suddenly been inundated with “rugged” options it doesn’t need or even want. The Murano doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not, which feels rare. Don’t buy this if you need a vehicle to take you over the hill and through the woods, but consider it if you’re realistic about your everyday life. That’s still OK, you know?

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