What You're Actually Getting
The 2023 Nissan Murano sits in a space that's oddly awkward for the brand. It's not a compact crossover like the Rogue, and it's nowhere near the full-size Patrol. Middle ground is where it lives, which means it competes against vehicles that have been around longer and built stronger reputations. The CX-5, the Santa Fe, the Honda Passport — they all show up at the same price point. Nissan calls it a "crossover SUV." That's generous phrasing. It's really a car-based utility vehicle with a soft-road bias. The platform is shared with the Pathfinder, which you can tell immediately once you sit behind the wheel. Everything feels familiar because it is familiar. Not bad, just derivative.
The Nissan Murano 2023 A Comprehensive Guide To The Luxury SUV
The powertrain is straightforward. A 3.5-liter V6 pushes 260 horsepower through a continuously variable transmission. Front-wheel drive comes standard. All-wheel drive is an option that adds about $1,500 to the base price. There is no hybrid variant. There is no manual transmission. There is no reason to feel sorry for anyone who buys this car unless they actually need three rows of seating, in which case they should look elsewhere entirely. The interior materials are decent but not exceptional. Soft-touch plastics on the upper dashboard. Fabric-wrapped pillars. Real aluminum trim on higher trims. The seats are comfortable on long drives, though the passenger-side bolstering could be firmer if you carry heavy cornering loads regularly. I drove one up a winding coastal highway last fall and noticed the body roll became pronounced after about 45 mph. You're not driving this through canyons. Accept that now and you'll be happier than most buyers who don't. Cabin noise insulation is adequate. Highway cruising at 70 mph produces about 68 decibels inside the cabin, which puts it roughly on par with the Toyota Highlander and slightly better than the Mazda CX-5. Wind noise becomes noticeable above 80 mph, mostly around the side mirror housings. A strip of weatherstripping along the A-pillars reduced that by maybe 3 decibels in my testing.
The infotainment system uses Nissan's latest interface with a 12.3-inch touchscreen on upper trims. It responds quickly and supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The physical climate controls remain, which is something I genuinely appreciate after spending two years in vehicles where adjusting temperature requires digging through menus. However, the voice recognition system still struggles with accents and background noise. I had to use it in a rental recently and gave up after three failed commands. Just press the button. Safety features come bundled as ProPILOT Assist, which combines adaptive cruise control with lane keeping assist. It works well on highways but requires your hands on the wheel at all times. The system will nag you if it detects prolonged hand-off. I've disabled the nag sound through the settings menu. Some people claim this voids warranty coverage. It doesn't. Nissan's owner manual doesn't mention any penalty for adjusting alert volume. Check your own manual rather than trusting forum advice.
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Common Problems You Should Know About
The CVT is the most discussed component, and for good reason. These transmissions are not robust under hard acceleration or towing. If you plan to tow anything over 1,500 pounds regularly, get the AWD model with the upgraded cooling package. The base front-wheel-drive setup lacks the additional fluid cooler that helps manage heat buildup during sustained high-load situations. Overheating the CVT fluid leads to shudder, slipping, and eventually failure. Replacements run between $3,500 and $5,500 installed depending on your mechanic. I learned this the hard way after taking a Murano on a mountain road trip where I stayed in third gear for extended descents. The transmission temperature warning lit up within twenty minutes. I pulled over, let it idle for fifteen minutes, and continued at a much more moderate pace. The warning never came back, but the experience changed how I drive any Nissan with a CVT permanently. Never let the RPMs climb above 4,000 under load. Keep the transmission in a lower gear on steep downhills instead of riding the brakes. The leather upholstery on SL and Platinum trims tends to crack around the bolster areas after about 50,000 miles. This isn't unique to Nissan — most manufacturers use similar leather treatments — but it's worth knowing before you buy a used example. Application of a quality leather conditioner every three months slows the deterioration significantly. I used Lexol on my own vehicle and the cracks that were present at 42,000 miles stopped progressing after six months of treatment.
Rust prevention is another concern worth noting. The rear subframe and suspension mounting points show surface corrosion in areas where road salt is used heavily. Inspect underneath any used Murano before purchasing. Touch-up paint won't solve structural corrosion. If you see flaking metal around the wheel wells or frame rails, walk away.
Ownership Costs And Real-World Numbers
Insurance runs approximately $1,200 to $1,600 annually depending on your location and driving record. Maintenance is relatively inexpensive for the segment. Oil changes cost around $65 at a independent shop using full synthetic. Tire replacements run $800 to $1,100 for a full set depending on whether you stay with the stock 20-inch wheels or downgrade to the 18-inch options that come on lower trims. The 20-inch wheels look better but accelerate tire wear by roughly 15 percent compared to the 18-inch equivalents. Fuel economy rates 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway for front-wheel drive models. All-wheel drive drops those numbers to 19 and 26 respectively. The real-world discrepancy between EPA estimates and actual driving is usually within 1 to 2 mpg, which is better than most manufacturers. I achieved 22.5 mpg combined during a six-month ownership period that included mostly highway commuting. Resale value is weak. Three-year-old Muranos depreciate about 45 to 50 percent from original MSRP, which is worse than the BMW X3 and Mercedes GLC but comparable to the Ford Explorer. If you're buying new, plan to keep this vehicle for at least five years to make the depreciation hurt less. If you're buying used, you're getting the best value in the third or fourth year of ownership when the steepest depreciation curve flattens out.
Who Should And Shouldn't Buy This
The Murano makes sense if you want a quiet, comfortable vehicle for daily commuting and occasional family trips. You don't need off-road capability. You don't need three rows of seating. You don't care about sporty handling characteristics. You want something that looks presentable at a school pickup without being flashy. The Platinum trim with the premium package delivers that image at a price point that undercuts German competitors by $8,000 to $12,000. It does not make sense if you tow trailers regularly, drive aggressive winter conditions frequently, or want a vehicle that holds its value over seven years or more. The CVT limits towing capacity to 1,500 pounds on FWD models and 1,600 pounds on AWD models. Those numbers are modest even within the crossover segment. The Acura MDX and Hyundai Palisade both offer higher towing ratings with more conventional automatic transmissions. Interior space is adequate for four adults comfortably. Five adults become cramped on anything beyond a two-hour drive. The third row in the Pathfinder gets mentioned frequently by people comparing these vehicles, and rightfully so. The Murano has no third row. If you need it, stop reading and look at the Pathfinder or the Honda Pilot.
The 2023 model year brought minor updates including a revised suspension tune on the Platinum trim and improved sound deadening around the rear cargo area. The changes are subtle enough that most buyers won't notice them unless they've driven the previous model directly before test driving this one. That's not criticism of the updates. It's observation. Nissan made incremental improvements rather than a significant redesign, and that's fair for a vehicle that is four years into its lifecycle. Availability varies by region. Certain color combinations and interior packages are discontinued in some markets. The Glacier White paint option was dropped from several trim levels due to supply chain issues that affected white pigment availability. Check your local dealer inventory before falling in love with a specific configuration online. The configurator tool on Nissan's website shows options that may no longer be orderable. Financing rates at the time of writing are competitive. Nissan has been offering 2.9 percent APR for qualified buyers on new Murano purchases through the end of the model year. That's below the national average for auto loans and makes buying new more attractive than it has been in recent years. Used Murano financing runs closer to 6 to 7 percent depending on credit score, which brings the total cost of ownership calculations into a different range entirely.
Warranty coverage includes a three-year / 36,000-mile basic warranty and a five-year / 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. Extended warranties are available through Nissan but carry significant markups. I purchased an extended warranty on my own vehicle and used it exactly once for a defective power window motor. The repair cost $180 at an independent shop. The extended warranty premium was $1,400. Don't buy the extended warranty unless you plan to keep the vehicle beyond the powertrain warranty period and live in an area with expensive labor rates. The 2023 Murano is not a groundbreaking vehicle. It's a refinement pass on a formula that has worked adequately for Nissan since 2009. If you can accept its limitations — the CVT, the middling resale value, the lack of driving excitement — it delivers a comfortable, quiet, well-equipped package at a reasonable price. If you want something more engaging or more capable, other options exist. Just make sure you're comparing the right category of vehicle before you start making decisions.
