This week, I bring you the all-new 2025 Nissan Murano. This 5-passenger SUV debuted here in 2003 but hasn’t had a major change since 2014. Sales peaked in 2016 at 87,000 in the U.S. but have steadily fallen since then to about 14,000 in 2024. 2025 has brought renewed attention to this SUV and it shows in the sales numbers. This new version picked up 3” in width, giving it a lower, more muscular stance.
This is the top-of-the-line Platinum model, but you can step down to the SV, or the SL, which are less expensive than my test vehicle. However, even with all the upgrades you’ll learn about today, the SV model starts at just over $40,000, which is pretty amazing for a midsized SUV these days.
Exterior
Huge changes were made to the 2025 Murano exterior appearance, and I love them. It is sleeker, more modern looking, and yet it still maintains some of the heritage of the original Murano, which was one of the first 2-row, midsized, car-based SUVs in America.
The new, slim LED headlights look great sitting above a new variation of the Nissan V-Motion grill. LED lights on both sides of the grill look terrific at night. 21” alloy wheels are sharp-looking, there is a large spoiler on the rear, and thumbs up to Nissan, they tucked the rear wiper under the spoiler!
Finishing out the rear looks is an all-the-way across LED lighting bar that looks fantastic and elegant. Nissan designers hit a home run with this new body style, and this Aurora Blue with a black top is a stunning combination.
Powertrain
The huge changes for 2025 extend beneath the hood. The previous six-cylinder is gone and is replaced with a 2-liter 4-cylinder turbo that has 241-horses, but more importantly, Nissan increased torque to 260-pound feet. Before you get all depressed about the six-banger being gone, this new engine feels better than the old one as far as performance. The VC-Turbo engine uses a multi-link system to vary the position of the piston's top dead-center and bottom dead-center. This allows the engine to adjust the compression ratio on demand. The piston arms can change position from low compression, which is turbo friendly, to high compression, which is fuel-efficient.
More good news: The CVT is GONE. Like me, many of you hated it, and although they have been very reliable in the last decade or so, I prefer a regular transmission. For 2025, there is a 9-speed that shifts great and is a nice pairing to the new engine. It is shiftable from paddles on the steering wheel. For 2025, all SL and Platinum trim levels are all-wheel drive, but front-wheel biased, which is great in inclement weather, but also makes handling on dry roads better and more responsive. You can still get a two-wheel version in the SV model.
In other terrific enhancements to the driving experience, this new Murano adopts frequency-sensitive dampers in its suspension and switches to electric power steering, something I wish every vehicle would adopt.
Interior
Even more upgrades for 2025 involve the interior. I’ve talked for many years about Nissan’s Zero-Gravity seats, designed by NASA and how comfortable they are. These Platinum-level seats are as elegant as you’ll find in SUVs made by Mercedes or Lexus. They are slightly bolstered, they are diamond-pleated at the top, and features two-tone sumptuous Semi-Aniline leather.
The seats in front are heated and cooled, and in a first, now they will massage both the driver and passenger with separate controls. There are two memory settings for the driver. Soft touch materials are everywhere you touch and a nice mix of leather and aluminum runs from the door panels and completely across the dash.
As I see a lot these days, two large screens appear to be one huge screen. First, a new 12.3” gauge cluster is easy to read, and the center of the colorful display is configurable. Large semi-circles on both sides display a tachometer on the left, and a speedometer on the right. Besides what you choose for the middle area, you can see miles to empty, and the outside temperature.
Also new and much larger is a very simple to use new second 12.3” touchscreen that controls the 10-speaker Bose sound system, vehicle info, settings, wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, Google Assistant and Google Maps, Wi-Fi hotspot, and a wonderful backup camera with a 360-degree view, plus a front view and a curb view. There is SiriusXM and Alexa built-in, also. If you prefer not to put your grubby fingers on the touchscreen, everything can be done from the new square-bottomed power tilt and telescoping steering wheel. I was very pleased with how easy everything was to find and operate.
The one negative I found was you had to go into the climate page of the screen to turn on the heated and air conditioned seats. There should be buttons on both sides of the door panels for this OR they should be on the center console. The massaging seats are activated from the seat itself.
The center console is neat and organized with the push button start, new shift buttons that look great, a button to defeat the start/stop system, a button to activate the cameras, a couple of USB-C plugs, a wireless phone charger, and a pair of cup holders. There is a separate switch to change drive modes from Sport, to Standard, to Eco.
In something you don’t always find, the back seat is appointed as nicely as the front seat, and for the first time, the back seats are zero-gravity as well. Head and legroom are both good even with a panoramic moon roof.
The back seats are heated, there is a pulldown armrest with cup holders, the rear occupants get air conditioning vents and two USB-C ports, and there are shades you can raise to keep the sun from coming in the rear side windows.
Utility
The Murano, being a 5-passenger SUV, has a lot of cargo area in the back and is perfect for those who need more cargo and prefer that to a 3rd-row seat they would never use. The cargo area with the back seat up is 32.9-cubic feet.
If that is not enough, levers in the cargo area can be pulled to drop the back seat into a very flat load floor, opening up 63.5-cubic feet of cargo. Under the floor lies a compact spare tire, which is way better than a repair kit.
Standard Features
The Murano Platinum comes with a huge list of standard features such as dual climate-controlled air conditioning, remote start, 64-color ambient lighting, power tailgate, a terrific head-up display with traffic sign recognition, and a huge panoramic moon roof with a power sliding cover.
All the things I listed that were part of the infotainment system comes standard as well.
ProPILOT
Also standard is ProPILOT Assist semi-self-driving system, which blends steering assistance with Intelligent Cruise Control, helping the driver stay in the center of the driving lane while maintaining a preset speed and preset distance to the preceding vehicle. ProPILOT Assist can also slow the vehicle to a complete stop and hold the vehicle during traffic jam conditions.
Options
My review vehicle has a number of options: It has Premium paint with a black roof for $925, a full complement of floor mats including the cargo area for $510, Illuminated scuff plates are $505, exterior ground lighting is $675, panoramic headliner illumination is $430, and illuminated kickplates when you open the doors runs $415. As you can see, there is a lot of fluffy options here that many people will not care about.
Safety
On the safety front, you get Nissan Safety Shield 360 which includes Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Rear Automatic Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and High Beam Assist. Also standard on all grades is Intelligent Forward Collision Warning and Intelligent Driver Alertness.
Ride and Drive
The Murano rides much better than last generation, the new steering is responsive and effortless, and the turning radius is extremely tight. I was surprised by how well the SUV handled. Interior quietness is fine, not annoying at all. Visibility all around is exceptional, especially from the driver’s view.
The new engine gives the Murano more acceleration than the last version, but it’s not going to give you a whiplash when you slam the accelerator. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t get you run over and there is plenty of power to merge onto the highway. I know we all want great fuel economy and a ton of horsepower, but those two generally don’t go together. The acceleration is great from a dead start, but in traffic there is a slight hesitation when you really step on it. With the Murano, you get very good mileage of 21 city, 27 highway, and 23 overall.
What You'll Pay
MSRP as equipped is $54,450 before discounts and rebates. If you cut some of the options out, with rebates, you can get this top-of-the-line SUV under $50,000 which is truly an outstanding value.
Verdict
I am very proud of what Nissan has done with the Murano and the brand overall. The product revolution continues and the results are showing up on Nissan showrooms all across America.
All-New 2025 Nissan Murano Platinum
- What I liked most: The exterior looks and all the many changes for 2025.
- What I would change: Move the heated and air conditioned seat controls to the door panels.
- MSRP: Base $49,600, as equipped $54,450 with transportation.
- Fuel Economy: 21 City/27 Highway, 23 combined.
- Fuel Tank: 18.7 gallons with filler on the driver side.
- Dimensions: 192.9” long/78” wide/67.9” high.
- Weight: 4,438 pounds/GVWR 5,600 pounds
- Trailer Towing: 1,500 pounds.
- Miles When Tested: 2,700 miles.
- Official Color: Aurora Blue Metallic/Super Black roof.
- Spare tire: Compact spare with tools.
- Final Assembly Point: Smyrna, Tennessee.
- 2025 Murano Platinum in a few words: A miraculous upgrade from previous years offering Infiniti luxury with Nissan value.
- Warranty: 3-year/36,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, 5-year 60,000 mile power train with roadside assistance, and 2-years or 25,000 miles of free scheduled maintenance.
- Manufacturers website: Nissan
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