The all-new 2025 Nissan Murano enters its fourth generation as an established veteran in the midsize 2-row SUV segment. This is a class that’s changed quite a bit in recent years. The Ford Edge was discontinued, the Hyundai Santa Fe grew a third row of seats, and the Mazda CX-70 threw its hat in the ring. The Nissan Murano, now in its fourth generation, arrives on the scene for drivers who want a nice, roomy, comfy SUV but don’t need 3-row seating and don’t want to pay the cost of entry into a luxury brand.
Fetching Design
The Nissan Murano has always been something of a design-centric car. A big part of its appeal is a unique aesthetic and interior quality that punches above its weight class. This formula is still in effect with the new 2025 Murano, even though it has very little visual resemblance to the outgoing model that was first introduced in 2015. In fact, inside and out, it looks a lot like the electric Nissan Ariya. If you like the Ariya but would prefer a gas engine, here’s your new SUV.
Lovely Interior
The interior is the highlight of the 2025 Nissan Murano. This cabin achieves its goal of pleasant comfort, and the top Platinum trim is truly almost indistinguishable from a pricier luxury SUV. The Murano Platinum we tested was equipped with the eye-catching Twilight Blue semi-aniline quilted leather interior, and we weren’t in a hurry to get out of the Zero Gravity driver’s seat with its heating, cooling, and massaging functions. The comfortable back seats are also of the Zero Gravity variety and have adult-friendly leg- and headroom. Cargo space is on par with the rest of the class.
In addition to comfy seats and premium materials, the interior design of the Murano also helps it look and feel fancy. We like the simple two-spoke steering wheel and the way the lines of the dash flow into the doors. Similarly to the Ariya, touch-sensitive HVAC controls are seamlessly integrated into a wood trim panel for a sophisticated and high-tech look. The interesting “Murano glass” interior trim in the dash and door panels also enhanced the cabin’s upscale feel. It almost looks like it’s illuminated by LEDs, but it has a reflective film playing with the sunlight coming through the windows and sunroof.
Nissan’s latest user-friendly infotainment system, which we’re grateful comes with Google Maps, delivered a pleasant audio experience courtesy of a Bose audio system. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay come standard. However, we’re not too fond of the horizontally oriented gearshift buttons finished in piano black, which attracts smudgy fingerprints.
Goodbye, V6
The Murano’s new powertrain is similar to that of the bigger and pricier Infiniti QX60: a 2.0-liter VC-Turbo 4-cylinder engine and a 9-speed automatic transmission. As we often see when a car switches from a V6 to a turbocharged 4-cylinder, the new engine makes less power and more torque than the old one. The base SV trim has standard front-wheel drive (FWD) and optional all-wheel drive (AWD), while the SL and Platinum models have standard all-wheel drive.
Out on the road, this engine’s clever variable compression engineering adjusts its compression ratio on the fly to optimize the right balance of power and efficiency based on the driver’s inputs. It achieves this balance just fine, and performance isn’t lacking, but we found it surprisingly noisy when accelerating from a stop. We didn’t even need to accelerate that hard for a buzzy noise to invade the cabin as the Murano got up to speed, somewhat diminishing the SUV’s personality as a hushed sanctuary. It’s by no means a bad powertrain, but this noise made us miss the satisfying grunt of the V6 engines that powered all previous generations of the Nissan Murano.
I Have to Keep My Hands on the Wheel?
We found one other unpleasant surprise in the 2025 Nissan Murano: no hands-free driving. This might sound like we’re asking a lot, but the Nissan Ariya, Nissan Armada, and even the more affordable Nissan Rogue are all available with the ProPILOT 2.1 system, which allows for hands-free driving on 200,000 miles of North American highways. Since the Murano fancies itself as an upscale SUV, we’re surprised this driver assistance tech feature isn’t optional anywhere in its lineup. That said, the ProPILOT Assist 1.1 system does just fine in the duties of adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist.
All in all, the all-new 2025 Nissan Murano is sure to please anyone who wants a comfortable and roomy SUV but doesn’t need 3-row seating. It will also delight existing Murano owners. Whether you’re on your first Murano or you’ve been a devoted Murano loyalist since it first came out over 20 years ago, the new model is a faithful interpretation of the nameplate’s mission to provide a premium experience without a luxury SUV price tag.
2025 Nissan Murano Pricing
All prices include a mandatory $1,390 destination fee.
2025 Nissan Murano:
| Trim Level | MSRP + Destination Fee |
| SV FWD | $41,860 |
| SV AWD | $42,860 |
| SL | $47,950 |
| Platinum | $50,990 |
