Quick Take Review: 2025 Nissan Murano

The fourth-generation Nissan Murano has arrived. This crossover has evolved a lot over its 22 years on the market, getting bigger, more refined, and more luxurious.

It is made specifically for the North American market. And, Nissan says the vehicle is targeted at older people, many empty nesters, that want a high seating position and is an easy to get in and out of, comfortable vehicle.

Nissan invited me to Franklin, Tenn., to drive the 2025 Murano Platinum AWD around the beautiful countryside in the area. A mix of curvy backroads and short highway jaunts revealed what the new Murano is all about.

In short: For about $50K, which is about the average new car price today, you get a feature-rich and luxurious crossover. The 2025 Nissan Murano’s peppy turbo motor and wide stance make it a pleasure to drive, but there is only one powertrain on offer, and it only gets 23 mpg.

2025 Nissan Murano Review

As it seems with all next-generation vehicles hitting the U.S. market, the new Murano gets a bit bigger. Not a lot in this case, but about 3 inches wider and 1.4 inches more ground clearance is enough to notice a difference.

The 3.5L V6 is replaced by a new 2.0L Variable Compression Turbo I4 engine, backed by a nine-speed automatic transmission. On tap are 19 less horsepower and 20 extra pound-feet of torque. The engine pulls strongly once the vehicle is moving and the turbos spool up, and in normal driving the extra torque is more usable than the lost horsepower. This is an enjoyable, nimble vehicle on backroads.

New Look

All-new styling was focused by an “Energetic Elegance” design language. Design, tech, and comfort are the pillars that Nissan focused on for this fourth-gen vehicle. What that has equated to is lots of horizontal styling lines, a more curvy body with muscular rear fenders. The rear wiper was also hidden and the rear plate moved from the tailgate to the bumper.

Inside, there are glass and wood-looking materials to compliment the leather seating. The new dual 12.3-inch screens have a hood that is wrapped in leather with contrast stitching for a bit more of an integrated look. Overall, the interior is quite a nice place to be and exudes luxury, especially for something at this price point.

All the Feels

All of the touch points inside the 2025 Nissan Murano are soft and pleasing. The only thing that isn’t pleasing is the spot where the driver’s right knee rests on the console, as it is not padded and has stitching right where your knee lands.

The seats shine through as a highlight in the 2025 Murano. The massage feature on the top-spec Platinum that I drove for this review is strong and is easy to activate with a single button on the seat.

While the new steering wheel adjusts outward from the dash a lot, it doesn’t go down very far. It also has a flat bottom, which combined makes ingress and egress from the vehicle easy.

Hydraulic steering has been replaced with an all-electric system. This is needed for ProPilot assist and some driver safety features. Sadly, there is no ProPilot 2.1 hands-free on any trim of the 2025 Nissan Murano.

Nissan calls its new shocks “Frequency Sensitive Dampers,” but that is just marketing jargon for new shocks that are properly tuned for this new wider and heavier vehicle chassis — they are not adaptive. The suspension has been tuned stiffer than the last generation, which means less body roll and a bit more fun in the corners.

Even though the new Murano has gained a few hundred pounds, it feels light and nimble. It has good throttle response but some noticeable turbo lag. I found that the nine-speed auto-trans did hunt for gears too much, in all drive modes. The brakes are plenty good for this vehicle.

To get the new Murano moving, there is now a push button shifter. This frees up room on the console, but does take some getting used to.

Sights & Sounds

Custom ambiance lighting is highly configurable and adds a luxury touch, as does the three wallpaper themes you can choose for the screens. Be sure to check out the one that moves the sun across the screen as the time of day changes.

The 10-speaker Bose premium sound system is fine, but not remarkable. Standard active noise canceling helps make the cabin feel quiet, while sound enhancement pipes in a bit more engine note when you get the revs up in Sport mode.

New on-board camera systems offer impressive visibility around the vehicle. The coolest camera views are the Intelligent 3D, front wide, and invisible hood.

Got Right

Nissan got a lot right with the new Murano. It feels like a more grown-up, refined luxury vehicle. The big screens and relatively intuitive interface are very nicely integrated into the vehicle. With Google built-in, you get Google Maps and over 100 other available apps, as well as Alexa on board.

The second row has window shades built-in into the doors, which is always a nice feature.

Also in the second row is impressive leg room, which should be good for car seats. To make loading kids, and adults, into the second row easier, the rear doors open very wide. Head and shoulder room in the second row are OK.

No modern vehicle would be complete without a lot of ways to charge your electronic accessories. The 2025 Murano has two USB-C ports up front and two for the second row. It also has a 12V outlet up front and one in the cargo area. A wireless phone charger at the front of the center console comes standard on all trims.

I dig the new wheel designs on the Murano. On the top-spec Platinum, the intricate 21-inch wheels come with plastic inserts that help improve aerodynamics. I think they actually look pretty cool as well. While they feel like cheap plastic, luckily, they look like a high-quality product. A standard power lift gate makes cargo loading a breeze.

Could Be Better

You might argue that the smaller engine with less horsepower is because of fuel efficiency, but you’d be wrong in this case. The 2025 Murano gets 21 mpg city, 27 highway, and 23 combined mpg. That’s 1 mpg better around town, 1 mpg worse on the highway, and exactly the same on average. The new Murano is a few hundred pounds heavier, about 3 inches wider, and sits over an inch higher off the ground than the outgoing model, none of which help with fuel efficiency.

Because of the sloping hood design, it’s very hard to tell exactly where the front of the vehicle is. I’m sure this is something you’ll get used to with time, and for sure the new camera systems help aid slow-speed maneuvering in tight spaces.

While for sure focused and oriented toward an older clientele and ease of ergonomics, the 2025 Murano has a 3.7-inch taller step-in height — at 19.5 inches. It also has a step-in and out to get over the threshold in the door sills.

The lane keep warning in the new Murano is also very aggressive. Of course, you can turn this driver-assist safety feature off, but you need to do so each time you turn on the vehicle.

The plastic jack mount compartment under the rear cargo area rattles when making aggressive lateral movements with the vehicle. I will note that this could be because I was driving a preproduction vehicle.

2025 Murano: Pricing & Availability

There are really no options packages available on the 2025 Nissan Murano, but instead just three trim levels — SV, SL, and Platinum — and just a few options. SV can be had in front-wheel drive (FWD), or, for just $1K can be upgraded to AWD. 2025 Murano Options include premium paint, two-tone paint, spare tire, 20-inch alloy wheels, and a few little options like mud flaps, lighting accents, and a dash cam.

Pricing starts at $40,470 for SV FWD. The mid-grade Murano SL AWD will run you $46,560, while the top-of-the-line, as-tested Platinum AWD comes in at $49,600. All of these prices exclude the mandatory $1,390 you’ll be charged for delivery/destination.

Expect U.S. Nissan dealers to be getting the 2025 Nissan Murano before the end of 2024.

2025 Nissan Murano Review Wrap-Up

While the 2025 Murano gets a bit more ground clearance, it isn’t in any way oriented for off-road travel — Nissan wouldn’t even let me leave the pavement with my test vehicle. The taller ride height is specifically designed to give the driver a more upright and commanding driving position, and balance the styling of the vehicle with its big wheels (20-21 inches).

With three interiors and eight exterior colors, and for the first time, a two-tone option with black roof, the 2025 Murano can be purchased in a style that will appeal to most any luxury crossover buyer.

Murano is now one of the best values in its class, but you have to want a very on-road-focused crossover that leans into luxury. It could very much benefit from a hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain to increase power and improve fuel economy.

The key competitors for the 2025 Murano are the Blazer, Passport, Santa Fe, and Crown Signia. While a few of those have gone the way of sporty and/or adventurous, Nissan has gone the other way and positioned the Murano as the luxury choice.