Vice versa. Testing the new Nissan Murano

As a general rule, any test starts by looking for a test vehicle with obvious benefits. Often journalists, they are limited to make a final conclusion: the car is good in every way and take it a no brainer. Are we worse than others? Still, trying to find a third-generation Nissan Murano is nothing wrong.

Comfort and harmony. Interferece from Nissan had to repeat these words like a mantra, creating the third Murano. And then they repeated the guys from KYB, a manufacturer of shock absorbers, who asked to adapt the suspension for our roads. As a result, we got a comfortable Nissan crossover, indeed the flagship of the parquet movement, the Nissan car is trying to step on the heels of Infiniti. Unless the price of Nissan is giving itself away in good products, but it has been silent for a week now. There will be prices – we’ll see.

Basically, the new Murano is pretty damn good. The funny thing is that the Japanese do not do anything supernatural: the old engine, the old platform. Well, yes, there was a hybrid, but then again, this combination of steam is known on the navigator. The SUV will not tear the asphalt and your cerebellum to shreds. Not an amazing mind, and the set of chips in it is generally standard. Just once, in front of us is an honest, durable, with a perfectly tuned car. Bravo!

Murano ground clearance is 184 mm. 6 mm more than the old one, but still not enough for an SUV. Do not add optimism and guts hanging from the bottom. Firstly, they are not covered by anything, and secondly, in almost any part of the exhaust tract there can be a good anchor somewhere in the line. But Nissan says Murano isn’t about roads — it’s purely a city dweller with all that it implies. And the demand is small – it does not even have a choice of modes for all drive gears, the electromagnetic clutch works automatically. So four-wheel drive is there for confidence on the pavement and the entrance littered with snow, nothing more. By the way, in our market there are all-wheel drive versions of Murano.

But this guy is pretty awesome. Marketers note that the target audience is much more important. The Japanese dream of seeing the Audi Q5 next to them. And if some of the technology is still out of the ‘dream’ series, by Nissan’s design center the Germans still kicked their ass.

List of standard equipment Murano full LED optics: headlights, lights, fog lights and repeaters in the mirrors. Practical, elegant, trendy. Unfortunately, the headlight beam is not dynamic. There are much cheaper "Europeans" this option for years.

On the one hand, the visibility from Murano is great and even the designer curlicues, there are no obstructions, which is rare. But with the mirrors, the ambush is set up, and the road is not completely visible in the picture. Under the mirror you can see the ledge for the camera – they have four Muranos. The surround view system has long been a "must have" for all Nissans.

These 20-inch rims with 235/55 tires are the prerogative of the most packaged versions of the Murano. In our database, the wheels are two inches smaller. It is believed that the lower the profile, the harder it is to ride parts of ride comfort. But the Murano is so cool rebuilt suspension, even on the top wheels of an SUV rides very carefully. Not surprisingly, out of 11 lubrication options, I chose this one: moderately comfortable, energy-intensive, with very interesting and practically devoid of slacker rolls. Did I say the Murano is perfect for that part of the ride!? Oh yes, unfortunately…

Nissan classic 3.5-liter VQ35DE 249 hp (in the States, the same engine is 11 hp more powerful). Yes, the motor is old, but what the heck if it works great! Appetite is not bad – about 16 liters in mixed mode, but all questions to the Volume is V6. Passport acceleration to 100 km / h is 8.2 seconds. By the way, the hood is cardan gas shock absorbers.

Hybrid powerplant Murano 2.5-liter petrol turbo engine with 235 hp. with. and a 15 kW electric motor. All together gives the power of 254 and 368 Nm of thrust. As for the tax increase, don’t worry, it doesn’t include electric horses. In general, the flesh of the Pathfinder hybrid, which we even began to produce in a rush, but are sold in fifteen pieces and removed from the assortment.

A hybrid Murano almost never runs on an electric one. Once, to engage reverse gear, I felt the system was choking the engine. It was not possible to repeat this number. This Murano is subjectively faster than usual: here the acceleration is stronger, and the wings are immediately more fun, and, as a rule, to manipulate the accelerator, the reaction is more lively. But according to the passport, it is different for the hybrid Murano 0.1 seconds slower in acceleration to 100 km / h, but the consumption is 12 liters per "hundred". Not much of a difference, of course, the more expensive hybrid will be old to beat. But the appetite is lower than usual, of course, it warms the soul …

You will laugh, but quite cozy. Yes, the Japanese made a show that is nice! And even if there are ergonomic failures, jambs with materials and sometimes incomprehensible savings, but the combination of factors in the interior of the third Murano is very satisfied.

Simple, convenient and tasteful. At the exhibition in the center can receive consumption information, navigation tips and other traffic information. Photo shield hybrid version: at the bottom of the tachometer is an additional battery consumption indicator.

With the bottom buttons: there may not be many of them, but they are not in the best way. Right side cruise control. The system is not adaptive. Why isn’t Nissan’s top-of-the-line crossover trained to handle the flow of traffic like all competitors and lower-end cars? Rhetorical question…

It’s good when everything is done for a person: convenient location, various buttons, panels are soft, neat lines … it’s bad when an automatic door closer has only a driver’s window. Japanese school to her.

A good tradition from Nissan is a separate button for the headlight washer. The sellers claim it is non-freezing, the owner of Murano is satisfied.

The Japanese say their brake pads are designed based on NASA research that the agency has done to search for minimal fatigue for astronauts. Tiredness behind the wheel of the Murano is indeed not, but the lateral support could be more pronounced. Leather has all options, with a choice of black and beige finishes.

The Funky Murano CVT! When dynamic acceleration x-Tronic works with fixed gear ratios like a classic "automatic", turning the engine up to 6000 rpm. At the same time, with a quiet ride, smoothly change gear ratios. There is also a manual mode, but the gears in it are switched with a noticeable delay. Engineers have modified it by changing the software and increasing the margin of safety. As a result, an excellent unit came out, devoid of a variable maximum speed of rolls.

Not to say that space here is a storage issue, but surely the space around the center console couldn’t be used more efficiently!? Notice the aluminum finish. It’s still not aluminum, but it looks great and doesn’t scratch.

In the central window of the petrol version, the lower one is a hybrid, where part of its space is occupied by the battery.

In the simplest version with front-wheel drive, the display on the center console is colored but 7 inches. Everything else is presumably the new NissanConnect system with an inch larger display. It’s multi-touch, I mean recognize multi-finger manipulations, but there are performance issues. The system supports voice control, however, the way it reacted to it should be a good shout out.

In terms of entertainment, Murano is in full order: multimedia supports not only MP3, but also DVD format. In the audio system Arsenal, eleven speakers and BOSE Surround Digital 5.1.

Capacious and accurate. Ease of use and understanding. Glossy plastic, of course, adds gloss, but blurs out with a bang. Climate control responds well to changes in the environment. Friends on the Infiniti seat heating and ventilation knobs to use it. If you don’t want to find a "zero" position, it will be simply unrealistic!

On the second row there is a flat floor, a high ceiling and a rather large sofa, everything is done according to the same recipe “puts minimal fatigue". Yes, it’s certainly easier than in the front seats, but Nissan claims that your lower back and rear seats won’t get tired on a long trip. By the way, it is divided into two parts, the backrest is adjustable in a fairly wide range. The Japanese say that legroom there is increased by 36 mm on the old Murano.

The top of the second row in Murano is standalone media, but there’s no separate climate control. And it’s very strange. Well, at least install heating, that’s good. The displays are not adjustable for tilt, control is a chore on a wireless remote control.

In a five-seat configuration, the trunk holds 454 liters of luggage, and if you fold the second row, its volume increases to 1,603 liters, and the floor is completely flat.

And again, there was a shortage of storage space. It is clear that the owner of Murano will not keep things underground like some "login out". But there is still fabric – there is nowhere to put it from the mooring. Under the floor is a subwoofer and a full-size spare tire on an alloy wheel.

For the electrification of the trunk is five points. Cover, of course, strength, everything is clear. Plus, the second row is folded using a pair of levers, and unfolded using electric motors.