Fits My Life, But I'd Get a Quest Instead - 2015 Nissan Murano Long-Term Road Test

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Fits My Life, But I'd Get a Quest Instead - 2015 Nissan Murano Long-Term Road Test

As I much as I like driving around in our long-term 2015 Nissan Murano, I'd buy a similarly priced Quest minivan instead to get an extra row of seats and, to my eyes, even better styling.

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legacygt

You have hit on exactly what's wrong with the Murano: the other cars in the Nissan showroom. The same can be said about the Maxima. Nissan has taken these two cars which both once defined their segments and made them both irrelevant through evolutions of their other products. Between the Rogue, Pathfinder and Quest, there is really no reason to purchase a Murano. With the growth of the Altima (3 generations ago) there became no reason to purchase a Maxima. Out of respect to the Murano and Maxima, Nissan should let both names be retired rather than force them to do battle with comparable products in the same showroom with nothing but outrageous styling to differentiate themselves.

misterfusion

I like the Quest as a product, so I was disappointed at its poor showing in the small-frontal overlap crash test. But that test is a beast -- my own car got Good (highest rating) in every other scenario, but still only Marginal in the small overlap.

I assume it would've been the same or worse for every car I ever owned before that test was devised, so while I do pay attention to that test, I don't base my entire purchasing decision on it.

dushash

legacygt said:

You have hit on exactly what's wrong with the Murano: the other cars in the Nissan showroom. The same can be said about the Maxima. Nissan has taken these two cars which both once defined their segments and made them both irrelevant through evolutions of their other products. Between the Rogue, Pathfinder and Quest, there is really no reason to purchase a Murano. With the growth of the Altima (3 generations ago) there became no reason to purchase a Maxima. Out of respect to the Murano and Maxima, Nissan should let both names be retired rather than force them to do battle with comparable products in the same showroom with nothing but outrageous styling to differentiate themselves.

You are very wrong! Murano is dead quiet and very VERY comfy to drive and seat. No Quest or Rogue or other Nissan cars can deliver that. This is main differentiating factor. It's simple: either RX350 or Murano. Latter one does 95% of what RX350 does, but costs $20K less!

wtgkb8

legacygt said:

You have hit on exactly what's wrong with the Murano: the other cars in the Nissan showroom. The same can be said about the Maxima. Nissan has taken these two cars which both once defined their segments and made them both irrelevant through evolutions of their other products. Between the Rogue, Pathfinder and Quest, there is really no reason to purchase a Murano. With the growth of the Altima (3 generations ago) there became no reason to purchase a Maxima. Out of respect to the Murano and Maxima, Nissan should let both names be retired rather than force them to do battle with comparable products in the same showroom with nothing but outrageous styling to differentiate themselves.

Interesting thing is...for my tastes...the Murano and the Maxima are the only models in Nissan's lineup I have and will continue to buy. So...if they let them go...they would lose a long time, loyal customer (on my 4th Nissan...3 Maximas and now a Murano). I recently bought the Murano over the Rogue and Pathfinder for it's styling...but more importantly...it's combination of nimbleness with power and comfort (the Rogue was slower and too small...the Pathfinder is also slower...but too big. Both are less refined than the Murano). The Murano was the perfect size for me. I also plan to get the 8th generation Maxima in a few years once the Murano is paid off because I already miss my Maximas sportiness (I will just add to the fleet this time). I have tried the Altima V6...and while its very similar in terms of acceleration and comfort...it was lacking drastically in build quality, handling, and driver involvement. For these reasons alone...it's worth every penny in price over the Altima (to me at least...plus I have historically gotten a loaded Maxima for only a couple grand over an Altima in top trims). Plus...there are way too many Altimas around compared to the Maxima.

allthingshonda

legacygt said:

You have hit on exactly what's wrong with the Murano: the other cars in the Nissan showroom. The same can be said about the Maxima. Nissan has taken these two cars which both once defined their segments and made them both irrelevant through evolutions of their other products. Between the Rogue, Pathfinder and Quest, there is really no reason to purchase a Murano. With the growth of the Altima (3 generations ago) there became no reason to purchase a Maxima. Out of respect to the Murano and Maxima, Nissan should let both names be retired rather than force them to do battle with comparable products in the same showroom with nothing but outrageous styling to differentiate themselves.

Actually I agree. Nissan does hurt the sales of their own vehicles with less expensive versions of the same vehicles. There is no room for the Maxima and the Altima in the same show room. It would have been better to get rid of the Altima and offer a 4 cylinder version of the Maxima with less content and a lower price. Same with the Rogue and the Murano. The V6 and long option list could still make it a very up market car. I'm willing to bet that if there was only the Maxima it would beat the Camry and Accord in sales.

bassracerx

allthingshonda said:

legacygt said:

You have hit on exactly what's wrong with the Murano: the other cars in the Nissan showroom. The same can be said about the Maxima. Nissan has taken these two cars which both once defined their segments and made them both irrelevant through evolutions of their other products. Between the Rogue, Pathfinder and Quest, there is really no reason to purchase a Murano. With the growth of the Altima (3 generations ago) there became no reason to purchase a Maxima. Out of respect to the Murano and Maxima, Nissan should let both names be retired rather than force them to do battle with comparable products in the same showroom with nothing but outrageous styling to differentiate themselves.

Actually I agree. Nissan does hurt the sales of their own vehicles with less expensive versions of the same vehicles. There is no room for the Maxima and the Altima in the same show room. It would have been better to get rid of the Altima and offer a 4 cylinder version of the Maxima with less content and a lower price. Same with the Rogue and the Murano. The V6 and long option list could still make it a very up market car. I'm willing to bet that if there was only the Maxima it would beat the Camry and Accord in sales.

this is what i think Chevy should do with the Malibu and impala sales of the impala are growing year over year while they practically can't give away the Malibu. I know the midsize sedan is one of the most voluminous sales category's of cars. But if they just had a more stripper impala with a four cylinder engine i think that a lot of their potential Malibu customers would be just as happy and they are more likely to attract buyers for sedans in that price range. I think that it is perfectly OK to not have a car in every possible category. Chevy is doing okay without selling a minivan and Honda has been doing okay without selling a fullsize sedan.

legacygt

To get back in on the conversation, I don't question the appeal of the Maxima or the Murano. Clearly people buy these cars. You do see them on the road. There's plenty to like about each of them. I just look at where they came from The Maxima defined its segment. It was the only reasonably priced sporty mid-sized sedans. Similarly the Murano was possibly the first mid-sized style-oriented CUVs. Competition for each of these from the market was inevitable. The problem is that Nissan let its own products compete with each of these too much.

langjie

I own a rogue and will probably get a murano because the rogue is a bit small and doesn't quite have enough cargo space