Nissan Murano test drive since 2010 SUV
Test drive of an extraordinary Nissan Murano crossover with a folding top
We experienced a storm of emotions when for the first time we were inside the Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet AWD and threw back its large roof with electric drive. This is a crossover, he has a folding top, all -wheel drive and wonderful proportions. This is undoubtedly an unprecedented car that has no ancestors and, perhaps, there is no future. Nissan Murano partially reminds us of the infamous Chevrolet SSR, which was supposed to be a truck, a sports car and a relatives at the same time. He weighed like three cars, and at the same time, GM had the courage to call it a replacement of Camaro. Nissan avoids high -profile statements about the purpose of Murano Crosscabriolet, although the car is originally positioned as Nissan Murano for childless couples that do not plan to acquire numerous offspring.
We have not yet reached the age when it is customary to play golf, but still we will try to live side by side with the Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet one week.
Qualities
Sitting on a convenient, adjustable in eight directions and equipped with heated leather driver's seat and considering the well -equipped Murano Crosscabriolet salon, you begin to understand that this car is much more than just a two -door Murano with a cloth roof. The materials surrounding you are higher than in the usual Murano. Coming of panels and the quality of the finish is also at the proper level. I would say this is the level of Infiniti.
The list of standard equipment Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet is simply exhaustive. Murano is equipped with an intellectual system for opening doors and trunk, engine starting, folding the roof from Nissan, and the lighting system consists of Bi-ksenon headlights and LED lamps.
The heating system does not allow our backs to freeze, and the heated steering wheel takes care of our hands. The temperature comfort of the rest of the cabin is monitored by the automatic two-zone climate control system. A tree surrounding the rich leather details of the color of the camel wool that we got on the car’s test (this is a plus of $ 500 to the cost of standard finish), by the way, is the most present.
For the navigation factory system, which will be able to tell you and your Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet the way to a beautiful coastal highway, you will not have to pay extra, as well as for multimedia with memory of 9.3GB to store your favorite music and a system of automatic renewal of roads, and for the camera rear view, and Bluetooth. The USB port for your iPod is also standard. The rear seat
Having comfortably settled on the heated front seats, you can not worry about the comfort of passengers in the back seat: the Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet also took care of them. Despite the fact that the doors are rather heavy (they are 20 cm longer than the front are at the usual Murano) and they can cause you some inconveniences when leaving the car in a close parking lot, they, along with an electromechanical drive of the front seats, allow passengers to freely penetrate the back Sitting. It would be perfectly equipped with a front passenger seat with a motor and a button of memory (like a driver's seat), although it is already easily pushed back and returns to the usual position.
Compared to the four -door Murano, Crosscabrio offers only 83 cm of the legs for the legs of the rear passengers (versus 92 cm in the standard model), 131 cm of space on the shoulder line (versus 150 cm) and 98 cm in height (versus 96.5 cm), and Anyway, there is enough space here even for adult passengers.
Crosscabriolet’s rear seat, in addition to comfortable, is also safe, since it is equipped with six airbags (including innovative curtains hidden at the door, and not along the roof line) and a mobile frame.
Go
We expected that we could appreciate the 3.5-liter V6 tandem and the second-generation variator from Nissan, based on the results of tests of ordinary Murano and Quest minivan, equipped with the same units. In the case of CrossCabriolet VQ35DE V6, it develops 265 hp. and 336 Nm of torque by 5 hp. And 10 nm more than the version with a hard roof.
And again, we were convinced that this motor works so hard with this type of transmission that we even began to think that the variator is not such a bad idea. Nissan engineers calculated that at low revolutions the motor needs some time to achieve a good torque, and at the same time, the transmission should quickly respond to the actions of the driver in situations where a quick reaction is required from it. Both goals are achieved.
Press the gas pedal to the floor, and by 100 km/h, the tachometer shooter will rush into the red zone 6500 revolutions per minute where it will remain until the end of the quota. Using a stopwatch, we found out that from a place to a hundred Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet, it accelerates in 8.2 seconds, and a quarter mile passes in 16.1 s, accelerating at the finish to 143 km/h. It spends 38 meters at a full stop at a speed of 100 km/h. That is, the dynamics is quite comparable to the indicators of the usual Murano, despite the fact that Crosscabriolet is 170 kg heavier. Another was much more surprised by us: Crosscabriolet was slightly faster than Murano (96.4 versus 95.2 km/h) on slalom. In the test for lateral acceleration, however, the usual Murano acts better than the option with an open top of 0.79G against 0.73G, respectively.
Paradise on Hayve?
Then we drove to Murano Crosscabriolet on the winding roads of the Malibu hills and the Los Angeles Highway. Crosscabrio confidently keeps the road and is no less confidently passing turns. We noticed a small vibration in the upper part of the windshield, although, given that this is a medium -sized crossover with a removable top, then this is not surprising.
Another was pleased with us: the level of road noise, if it exceeds Murano with a hard roof, is only a little. At a speed of 110 km/h, the noise level in Crosscabrio was 68.3 dB against 66.9 in the usual Murano. When the roof is removed, this indicator increases to 70.7 dB.
Apparently, good aerodynamics plays an important role in this. Despite the impressive indicators of the level of noise obtained on deserted drag-strip, the road noise of the real movement in the cabin is much more obvious, especially when traveling under bridges and overpasses.
Great design
If you do not take into account the road noise, then the Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet is such a perfectly executed transformation of the crossover into a convertible that you can imagine. You will probably notice that the model entering production does not have a massive stabilizer, noticed at the concept in last year's pictures. Nissan engineers and designers managed to strengthen the Murano body without this terrible handle from the basket.
It does not spoil the picture and a fussy cloth top, randomly folded behind the heads of the rear passengers, since this simply does not. Nissan developed a low -profile neatly folding roof, which is hidden under a special integrated cover by pressing only one button (the whole process takes 24 seconds). Everything is closed automatically. You can even remove the entire structure, while outside you just need to press and hold the button on the outer handle of the driver's door.
We liked the type of CROSSCABRIO with a raised roof more (takes 27 seconds) and lowered glass, or when everything is removed at all. If you do not take into account the thin front racks, the overall visibility is excellent, thanks to the thin roof, the absence of middle -sized body racks and a rather large rear windows.
When the Murano roof is raised, the capacity of its trunk is 350 liters is enough to take three bags for golf and the middle suitcase on wheels. When the roof is folded and raised a dividing, there is still 215 liters of space in the trunk with you one bag with clubs and all the same suitcase. One but
One week later, we ceased to notice the eccentricity of the Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet, which was striking in the first days of our acquaintance with him. Undoubtedly, a four -seater crossover with a folding top is very strange, but only he can offer you that other cars cannot do: a comfortable trip with a lowered roof in the cabin of a high spacious crossover with a drive for all four wheels. In addition, Crosscab offers a smoothly working motor, excellent handling, luxurious finishes and rich filling.
So what can we prevent us from buying such a car? To be honest, its price. The cost of the Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet starts at $ 47,200*, and this is without taking into account the cost of decoration of the cabin of the skin of camel wool and rugs. The car that we got to test will cost its owner $ 47,885. Yes, there are a lot.
Similarly, equipped Nissan Murano LE costs about $ 42,000, so for the ability to make an additional $ 6,000 for the opportunity to ride with the breeze.
Nevertheless, each time, sitting behind the wheel of Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet, you get evidence of the uniqueness of this car. You constantly hear from random passers -by: what brand is this car? Is it serial? Can I look into the salon? Yeah cool! Of course, it is not possible to avoid the question of value, and when you say that it costs 47 thousand dollars, a difficult expression appears on the face of the interlocutor. Although one of those who happened to take part in the test said that he was going to get rid of his Xnerra and buy Crosscabrio. The car entered dealerships this spring.
Of course, now it is unlikely that anyone will undertake how well this machine will be sold (Nissan hopes to sell about 5,000 copies a year), but most likely Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet will find its buyer. Nissan took the risk, which will ultimately pay off.
* Approx. Drom.ru: All prices are indicated for the US market; in Russia, the Murano Crosscabrio model is not officially sold.
A source: Insideline
