2025 Nissan Murano First Look

Nissan takes on the five-seat midsize SUV segment with new style and turbo power.

Andrew Ganz | 

Oct 29, 2024 | 4 min read

Nissan

The redesigned 2025 Nissan Murano may not be the automaker's biggest or most powerful SUV, but it is a style standout.

The new Murano, set to go on sale in early 2025, blurs the line between luxury and mainstream with its high-end standard and available features, such as semi-aniline leather, massaging seats, and a color-shifting dashboard finisher. Here's what you need to know about the 2025 Murano.

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The Murano Serves as Nissan's Style Maven

The Murano sticks with a now decades-old and dwindling formula: five seats wrapped up in a dramatic shape. It's one of just a few five-seat, midsize crossovers or SUVs still on the market, though, as automakers have shifted their lineups away from two-row midsize entries toward larger SUVs with three rows (such as Nissan's own Pathfinder) or smaller five-seat models (such as Nissan's own Rogue). The 2025 Murano stretches to just under 193 inches long, nearly the same length as the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The Nissan, however, wears less conventional sheetmetal than its rivals. Up front, the two-tier grille features thin horizontal strips that cascade into five levels of LED running lights. Above, a narrow array of LED headlights points the way forward.

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Pronounced fender flares sit over 20- or 21-inch alloy wheels, depending on the trim level. Move toward the rear, and you'll find broad taillights that appear gray until illuminated. The Murano is also available in a two-tone configuration with a black roof.

Inside, the cabin features a pair of 12.3-inch screens housed in a single panel. The left side is a digital instrument cluster framed by a two-spoke steering wheel, while the right side handles infotainment and audio functions. A touch-sensitive panel below the screens operates the climate control system. Everything sits above a big center console with push-button transmission controls.

Nissan

Strips of ambient lighting running across the dash, door panels, and center console reflect up to 64 colors on the panels below and feature color-shifting graphics that Nissan says were inspired by the glassmakers on the island of Murano in Venice, Italy.

The base SV and mid-level SL trims have synthetic leather seats, while the top Platinum trim boasts semi-aniline leather. Interestingly, no version of the Murano has a leather-wrapped steering wheel. The automaker uses a synthetic material — called TailorFit — instead.

Nissan

The Murano Trades its V6 for Turbo Power

Last year's Murano was powered by a V6 engine making 260 horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque sent through a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). That configuration is no more for the 2025 Murano.

In its place is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder rated at 241 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque, which gets hustled to either the front or, optionally, all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission.

The new powertrain represents a big shift for the Murano, which has had a V6 and a CVT combo since the SUV debuted for the 2003 model year.

The new Murano weighs upward of 4,200 pounds, making it a couple hundred pounds heavier than last year's model. Properly equipped, it's rated to tow up to 1,500 pounds.

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The Murano Lacks Nissan's Top Driver-Assistance Tech

While the 2025 Murano comes standard with the automaker's ProPilot Assist suite of driver-assistance equipment that includes features such as adaptive cruise control and steering assistance, it isn't available with Nissan's latest version of the technology.

The ProPilot Assist 2.1 system available in the redesigned-for-2025 Nissan Armada is the hands-free evolution of that driver-assistance tech.

Nissan

Still, the Murano includes many standard driver-assistance features such as blind-spot monitoring and rear-cross-traffic alert. SL and Platinum trims have ProPilot Assist 1.1, which uses those models' standard navigation system to reduce the vehicle's speed ahead of an upcoming curve.

The Murano includes standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. SL and Platinum versions have a different, Google-based infotainment system than the base SV, which features built-in access to apps such as Google Assistant, Google Maps, and the Google Play Store.

Those models also have a 360-degree camera that can display a stitched-together image of what's around the vehicle. There's also an available Invisible Hood View that allows drivers to spot obstacles under the Murano's nose such as curbs and the tracks you drive onto at automated car washes.

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Nissan says it will announce pricing for the redesigned Murano closer to its early 2025 on-sale date.

Andrew Ganz

Andrew Ganz has had cars in his blood ever since he gnawed the paint off of a diecast model as a toddler. After growing up in Dallas, Texas, he earned a journalism degree, worked in public relations for two manufacturers, and served as an editor for a luxury-lifestyle print publication and several well-known automotive websites. In his free time, Andrew loves exploring the Rocky Mountains' best back roads—when he’s not browsing ads for his next car purchase.