2006 Nissan Murano

The MODEL I have: SL, 2WD/FWD, Touring package (leather, intelligent key, heated seats, sunroof, adjustable pedals, roof rails) ...purchased new from dealer. (In my opinion, unless you do lots of off-roading or have severe weater, any AWD vehicle is a waste of money--esp. in a climate like San Diego.)

My USE: Sold my beloved Camry to get a "family car" when we were trying to get pregnant. I now have a 10 month old daughter with a car seat installed in the back seat. Next year I will have 2 car seats in back...


THE INTERIOR:
I loved driving this car pregnant--I felt safe and it was easy to get in and out of b/c it's the perfect height and you don't have to get down low like in a car.

The back seat is so roomy for adult passengers, with nice leg room too! The car seat installed easily, although I had to prop up the base for the infant carrier because of the seat slant. I put it in the middle for safety with the seat belt, but next year it will move to the side with the latch system when my 2nd is born. (The lower latch hooks are on the 2 side seats, not in the middle.)

The back storage area fits my "system" stroller perfectly with the wheels behind the back seat (granted the back has dirty stroller wheel marks) and still have over half the back for normal storage or diaper changes. The hatch is easy to open and close. Downfall--storage at the bottom is deep, but vertically reduced due to the sloping rear. (On the other side however, makes for beautiful exterior styling.) Regardless, I have been able to get a lot of storage inside this car--on a recent trip to Home Depot, I got several 8' long 2x4's to fit over the passenger's shoulders front to rear!

I do not use the cargo cover in the back--takes away from storage I think. Rather, I have dark tinted windows on back doors and hatch--it's legal, you can't see in (for security), and it protects my baby in the back seat without putting up those ugly window shades.

I like the storage console/arm rest. It has an upper opening for small items and a lower, deep area that fits a square tissue box perfectly plus more room, and includes a 12v where I charge my Bluetooth headset without having to look at an ugly cord.

I laughed at the rear-view camera when I first saw it, but now I LOVE it! I can see behind me in the dark, and due to the high rear window (and my baby mirror over the rear head-rest), it's hard to see down low, so the camera solves that problem. It was my savior in a tight parking lot too--with the camera I can see how many feet I have behind me, so with about a 8-point turn, I got out of a parking lot I would have been stranded in otherwise.

The radio and cruise control buttons on steering wheel are easy to feel and use w/o looking at them. (I say this comparing to other vehicles where I can barely feel the minuscule bumps on their steering wheel buttons.)

My only real complaint is the arrangement of climate controls on the dash, in particular the "mode" button, b/c I would like to just press it once for the mode I like, rather than scroll through the choice and have to look away from the road to the display screen until I find the correct mode.


ENGINE:
We were initially wary of the new CVT transmission, but our friends have older Muranos and never encountered problems, and neither have we.

It accelerates just as well as my prior vehicle (Toyota Camry) up hills and freeway ramps (I live in San Diego, where there are hills everywhere).

Gas Mileage:
Sticker says 20mpg city and 25mpg highway, but I've never gotten sticker mpg on any vehicle--I think it's because of the hilly terrain in SD, because I am not a lead-foot driver. I actually get 17.6 average for my daily use, which is mostly city, and some highway. For a long highway drive, I get 22.5 mpg.
I originally wanted a hybrid for gas savings, but (1) the Murano is not yet available in hybrid, and (2) the Lexus I was comparing it to would take 8-10 years to break even, even with rising gas prices (I calculated a spreadsheet to figure it out based on average annual milage--10-12K/year--and various fuel prices).


EXTERIOR:
Good turning radius for a SUV.

Expensive tires! The oversized wheels look GREAT, but there is a downside... I have to replace my tires soon and just found out it will be $700-$1000 to replace all 4--yikes!


INTELLIGENT KEY:
The keyless remote is much better than I anticipated. It is very handy when I've got my hands full with groceries or baby. I just drop the keys in my purse for the duration of my outing.

What I'd recommend for improving the remote: a smaller, but still easy to find panic button--I've hit mine by accident when the keys bump up on something else I'm holding.