2021 Nissan Murano

Nissan’s varied lineup of SUVs, pickup trucks, and EVs usually perform well in our road tests, but their Overall Scores suffer because of up-and-down reliability and average to below-average owner satisfaction. Inconsistent quality across the brand means some Nissans are a better choice than others. Many of its gasoline vehicles use small turbocharged engines and continuously variable transmissions to give owners both competitive fuel economy and sporty performance. Most new Nissans come standard with a full suite of active safety and driver assist systems. It’s also one of the few remaining brands that sells a sub-compact sedan, the Versa. The compact Sentra, a mainstay within Nissan’s lineup, earned a high score in our road test and is recommended. Nissan was an early EV trailblazer with the Leaf hatchback, and now sells larger five-passenger EV SUVs. Used Nissans have average reliability according to our surveys.

The third-generation Murano puts more emphasis on styling and interior finish than on top-flight driving dynamics. It's more luxurious, larger, and further refined than previous generations. The punchy, refined 3.5-liter six-cylinder carries over, paired with a CVT, and returns 21 mpg overall. The cabin is quiet and well-finished, and has an upscale feel to it. Handling is not very sporty, with overly light steering that reduces driver confidence. The ride is steady and absorbent on the standard 18-inch tires, but less so on the Platinum trim's 20-inchers. An optional 8-inch color display houses the NissanConnect infotainment system. Changes for 2018 included standard forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking. For 2017, Apple CarPlay is added to the infotainment system. Updates for 2019 include a mild freshening. Nissan's Rear Door Alert system, giving drivers messages on the driver instrument panel, and multiple horn honks as a way to remind drivers to check the rear seats after they park, is also standard for all trims for 2019. For 2021, Nissan’s Safety Shield 360 becomes standard for all trim lines, This package includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, forward collision warning, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic warning, lane departure warning, high beam assist and rear automatic braking.