2025 Nissan Murano First Drive Review: An All-New Murano When It Matters Most

The Nissan Murano is all-new this year, marking the fourth generation of this upscale crossover. The Murano has seating for five people with an attractive and nicely appointed interior. This new generation further elevates the Murano’s appeal with available ventilated and massaging front seats, two 12.3-inch display screens, and upgraded technologies that include a unique invisible hood view and ProPilot Assist. Production has already started at Nissan’s Smyrna, Tennessee plant with deliveries expected early next year – and a new SUV is important to Nissan right now, given its current situation.

It’s all about premium in the Murano, with more style and more features than you’ll find in the Nissan Rogue or even the well-equipped Pathfinder. Sure, there’s the versatility of a crossover to manage people or cargo depending on your needs of the moment, but the Murano makes people the priority. The elegant, minimalist interior is designed to be a refuge from the world with plenty of creature comforts to keep you comfortable. This year’s upgrades move the Murano further into premium territory with the looks, comfort, and features to appeal to more discerning drivers. Here’s our thoughts.

First Drive events provide our initial impressions of a vehicle in a restricted environment under certain time constraints. Keep an eye on DrivingOnRoad for our comprehensive Test Drive review which will follow soon.

What’s Changed For This Model Year?

Rather than simply a refresh, this is an all-new Murano, so there are changes everywhere. It gets a new exterior look that’s sleeker with available 21-inch wheels on the Platinum trim. The interior is also new with upgraded amenities including ventilated and massaging front seats along with a fully featured infotainment system and 64-color ambient lighting. Another big change is the powertrain. Nissan ditches the old V6 engine and its continuously variable automatic transmission in favor of a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder paired to a 9-speed automatic.

Exterior Looks: Thoroughly Modern Update

The last generation of the Murano looked good when it was introduced back in 2015, but 10 years later it was in desperate need of an update, and Nissan delivered. It grows wider by 2.6 inches, which makes a bold impression, especially from the back. The new tailgate hides the rear wiper and exhaust tips making it look clean and modern. Up front, daytime running lights in the grille show off the latest interpretation of the Nissan V-motion design and new LED headlights make a more striking impression. The floating roof is also gone, replaced by a black roof that once again helps make the Murano look sleek, modern, and more premium.

Interior: Experience Zero Gravity

The interior of the Murano is markedly better with optional heated, ventilated, and massaging front seats. There’s also 64-color ambient lighting along with an optional panoramic moonroof and three new interior themes. Nissan’s Zero Gravity seats, which are exceptionally comfortable on longer drives, make their way to the rear seats for the first time to ensure everyone rides in comfort. There’s also a striking interior finish called Murano Glass, that looks beautiful and furthers the Murano’s premium aspirations.

It’s a comfortable and roomy interior that easily accommodates five adults. The increased width of this year’s Murano makes the rear seats better suited to three, especially those who are larger. There’s also 1.5 inches of additional legroom thanks to thinner front seats. Soft touch surfaces abound to further enhance comfort with active noise-canceling that creates a serene experience ideal for conversation. The Murano aims to deliver a bit more in every way, and it succeeds in both how it looks and how it feels.

Infotainment: One Display With Two Screens

The Murano has a standard 12.3-inch infotainment screen mounted alongside a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. It’s a nice large screen that makes following navigation easy and lets you see information at a glance to avoid distraction. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto keep clutter to a minimum, as do the capacitive climate controls. These are sort of hit or miss in our experience and take a bit of getting used to, but they’re better than tucking the controls into the infotainment system. There is still at least a volume knob along with an optional 10-speaker Bose audio system for a premium sound experience.

Powertrain & Driving: Responsive Yet Relaxing

The Murano is powered only by a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine paired to a nine-speed automatic transmission. This replaces a V6 that was paired to a continuously variable automatic, which we do not miss. There’s unfortunately no option for a hybrid, something that is reportedly coming for the new Rogue. Despite a horsepower decrease for the new Murano engine, torque is higher, and the new engine delivers strong though not aggressive acceleration. The new nine-speed is smoother and quieter than the old CVT, for a big improvement in the driving experience.

The new power plant is a more responsive engine, but it’s not especially powerful. Instead, think more refined and premium, which is exactly the experience the Murano aims to deliver. There’s a minimal amount of engine noise to maintain the calm in the cabin and the new 9-speed simply does its job unnoticed in the background so passengers can relax undisturbed.

Ride and Handling

The ride in the Murano is quiet and smooth overall with a suspension system that evens our rough road surfaces. Broken pavement is largely unnoticed, but especially uneven road surfaces send a bit of noise into the cabin. Handling is responsive with balanced steering that isn’t so sporty that its tiresome nor so relaxed that you lose your connection with the road. The Murano is a great highway cruiser that responds well to quick, high-speed maneuvers with equally good manners on country roads.

Fuel Economy

The EPA-estimated fuel economy for the Murano is 23 mpg city and 24 mpg highway. It’s not bad, but it falls short of what you’ll find in comparable models. The Honda CR-V does better and offers a hybrid, as does the Toyota RAV4, which also has a plug-in hybrid option.

Verdict & Pricing: Updated And Upscale

The Murano is available in a range of three well-equipped trims, starting with the SV at $40,470, not including $1,390 destination. This is the only trim with front-wheel drive, but it is also available with all-wheel drive for an additional $1,000. The SL starts at $46,560 and the top Platinum comes in at $49,600, keeping the full lineup reasonably priced.

The 2025 Nissan Murano gets updates that it greatly needed to stay competitive in a very crowded segment. Its goal of being a more premium option is achieved, especially in comparison to the more modest Rogue. It doesn’t have the same kind of premium interior as, say, a Mazda CX-70, but it also comes in with a better price. The refined interior, improved powertrain, and sleeker exterior styling combined with good pricing give this two-row crossover lots of appeal. It’s likely going to be an important model for the brand going forward, and luckily, it does deliver the goods.