We lay out why we tested it, if we’d keep it after winning one in a lottery, and how does it fit in Nissan’s modern brand identity
by Stephen Rivers
May 28, 2023 at 10:51
by Stephen Rivers
The 2023 Nissan Murano soldiers on into this year as a mid-size crossover that’s changed very little over time. In fact, it’s due for an all-new generation any day now.
With that in mind, we had the chance to drive the current model for a 2,000-mile road trip and so we took it. Most of what we learned you can find in our full review but some of you had deeper questions. Here are the answers.
Why are you guys driving this?
This is a great question with a few soft answers and one hard one. Oftentimes we get the chance to drive a vehicle when it’s brand-new but then years pass and we don’t test it again. That makes it hard to compare properly to its rivals.
Read: Nissan Increases Murano Prices For The 2023 Model Year
The last time we drove the Murano here at Carscoops was back in 2015 when this generation debuted. So when my rental car company put me in one for my trip to Florida I seized on the opportunity to see how much it’s changed over those seven years.
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How is it without a convertible top?
I know this was a joke but if I’m totally serious… it would’ve been better with a drop top. Again, I was on Amelia Island so a convertible would’ve been pretty lovely in such a setting. Of course, then it would’ve had even less cargo space. A panoramic sunroof is probably the best of both worlds.
Would you keep it if you won it in a lottery?
Not a chance. But I’m for sure not the kind of person that Nissan targets with this vehicle. I don’t and won’t have kids and I love driving.
What is Nissan’s modern brand identity, and how does the Murano fit in/impact this identity?
This might be the broadest question in my history of Ask Us Anything posts but I’ll try to answer it succinctly. Nissan is, like most other automakers, trying to navigate the choppy seas that make up the current automotive industry. Its brand identity is shifting toward what it calls a knight and shield-inspired aesthetic. It knows that it’s got to go electric and it seems that the Murano could be one of the last vestiges of the outgoing generation of cars.
Is the Ariya its replacement? Will there be a next generation?
The Nissan Ariya might not be a direct replacement but the two cars do share a lot in terms of proportion and design shape. Still, the Ariya is smaller overall and will end up costing more so there might be some influence between the two but Nissan will need a direct replacement if it isn’t planning a next-gen Murano already. There’s lots of speculation that one is coming in 2024 but no official word from Nissan.
