Toyota Highlander test drive since 2008 SUV

Toyota Highlander against Nissan Murano

Two Japanese crossovers in middle weight. Which of them will not win a question. But how quickly will he do it? There is nothing easier than choosing between Murano and Highlander. We look at the characteristics. If you want more, even more, as much power as possible, then Toyota has more with 24 horsepower.


And you either have an immense money (and in this case you need Porsche Cayenne Turbo), or there is no car at all and you do not sob every year over the receipt of the tax service. Because the modest Murano, having lost in advance by the number of horses, carefully fits 250 liters into the tax threshold. With. And if you are a purely rational person, then you may not read further. And if not ... Well, try it, but I warn you: with each next paragraph you will understand less who won this duel. And at the very end you get confused irrevocably.


Toyota made a high large crossover. Nissan made a squat and half -sports

Zero or two seconds on Underwood
Despite the advantage in power and the same characteristics of the torque, Highlander loses Murano in acceleration of 0.2 seconds. Do not think that I am mocking. It is not just zero or two seconds. In the case when we compare Nissan and Toyota, this is a lot. It feels like an eternity. Murano is very dynamic. He does not even have a sports regime in the transmission. Because there are enough full -time settings. And Highlander, if you do not transfer the automatic transmission lever to the sport position, will puff like a garbage truck.

The reason is simple. In an arrogant, pompous from its own importance, the Toyota brand of the Toyota brand has an automatic transmission is a five-speed typewriter from the time of Ilf and Petrov, some kind of Underwood. The fashionable and impudent Nissan is equipped with a quick and light, unacceptable variator, which, of course, is closer to the computer. He not only saves gasoline, but also noticeably faster when overtaking. What may look incredible for those who are familiar with the caliber of smaller caliber, but this is the established fact.


Drinking on two or three wheels is difficult
Nissan's diagonal hanging overcame easily

All cars can be conditionally divided into those that can be 200, and those to which it is painfully difficult. We do not advise anyone to check it on the road, besides, we have already done it ourselves. For Murano, 200 km/h is far from the limit. Highlander gives out only 180 km/h on the passport, and on the road with great difficulty a little more.

Former policeman on BDSM.ru
The advantage of Murano in dynamics is realized not only on asphalt. The designer crossover dashingly lights and just give on the ground. Press the pedal slightly, and he flies up the ambush places in which Highlander just sighed. That's what we really did not expect in this test is that Toyota asks for help and cries where Nissan passes even without even blinking an eye. Despite the excess weight of Highlander compared to the competitor, it is 355 kg heavier, we did not doubt his off-road abilities. As a result, disappointment.


Murano fully won a sand duel at the opponent, only a little did not meet the time ...
Highlander in the sand hinders like a real brake

This should not have happened. We remember that a constant all -wheel drive, namely, Toyota has it, always wins. Usually, a car with an electronically boiled coupling, that is, Nissan, can nothing at all. He either immediately gets up, or does not go long. Highlander summed up excess weight and too hard the electronic collar, which instead of simulating normal inter-long locks, imitated a strangle, handcuffs and a nationwide shirt at the same time as a kind of former policeman, fired at his own free will, and now a regular of Sado-Mazo sites. Against his background, the electronic assistant Murano works like Kasparov. He is very smart and does nothing superfluous. Helps in the right place and at the right time. Plus, the Nissan has a good ending coupling. Toyota has a certain self -block in the center, but, as practice has shown, with a not very intelligible algorithm.

Smoke constantly
The wonderful actually Nissan Murano car. At least it seemed to us so until he suddenly got up in the middle of the sand. I even thought: did we load it too much, carried away by the storm in the desert? Still, the SUV ... But no, everything turned out to be easier. He so inspired us with his charisma that we completely forgot about his toy clutch. No matter how delighted you with the insolence of a car with an electronically disconnected all-wheel drive, and the old truth will always remain fair to go to the first smoke break. And he wants to smoke constantly. The coupling does not like to work for a long time, it overheats banally. As one friend of mine said in the morning, I'm not for conscience, I am for joy.

So, Toyota Highlander first disgraced, and then, rummaging in the sand, got out and proudly traveled all day. Nissan Murano painted in the rays of glory for several minutes, and then burst into the paint of shame for the rest of the time. This scene in the sand was a turning point in the duel of the two Yakrasun. Then Murano went down the rolled. The charm of charm was asleep.


- The back row of Toyota is more spacious than that of a competitor
- White leather, of course, is not for off-road sorties

Lobe glass eyebrows
Suddenly it turned out that it was impossible to sit in Murano. The driver's seat pillow does not have a separate height adjustment. You can imagine: navigation, premium-audio system, leather, glass roof. And one small button, which decides, is convenient for you or like under the bunks. It was very expensive to put. As a result, I found only two ergonomic positions. The first knees to the chest, the neck is stretched like a goose. The second eyebrows rest against the windshield, the steering wheel presses into the crotch. By the way, Ivan Evdokimov did not agree with me, the landing in Nissan seemed good apparently, so he put his head on the glass several times on the go. Until the bone is broken and the blood is from the artery, our technical expert smiles.

I would also endure, if not for a tight and slippery steering wheel. It requires much more effort than Toyota, and is covered with such a strange material, as if lubricated with lard. If not for the painful suspension ... Because of it, the cracks of asphalt, fossa and tubercles seem to poke into the body of Murano with needles, forcing to shudder. The bad, capricious and wayward Russian road favors Highlander and caresses him as a native, but clearly does not like Nissan.

What do you think?
Which car do you choose? Drogy, with a sebaceous heavy wheel and your eyebrows on the windshield? Or comfortable, spacious, convenient? I would think about Nissan, because I love dynamic machines and I like it when the crossover does not get in the sand rut, but vigorously jumps out of it. What is the difference that he will overheat the coupling in ten minutes and stand up. I'm not going to stick out in the ambush dunes for so long. All that is needed from the SUV is instantly flying a heavy plot and get out to the solid. And the vaunted Toyota with its mythical constant all -wheel drive cannot even this. Who needs her reliability then?


Real American interior. The only large -scale miss of the speedometer is not in the middle
A very convenient block of windows and mirrors is located right at hand

At the same time, I am not a finished nerd to buy a car from which the driver has abrasions on his head. Therefore, I definitely like Highlander more. After all, he has more the trunk and the front panel, unlike Murano, is made much more ergonomic than the climate management and multimedia function easily and without any troubles. Buttons and regulators of the desired size. Only for these fitulki will have to overpay 300 thousand rubles. Still return to Nissan.

OR NOT?
I deliberately did not want to draw clear conclusions. In the end, the task of the journalist to give the reader food for thought, and not to impose his point of view. But, you know, I could not restrain myself. I tried my best to be silent about the fact that Highlander was better, but I could not: there is no reason to prefer it to Murano!







Caution, technical details
From a technical point of view, the main difference between subjects is not even a type of transmission, although this is very important. First of all, when it comes to off -road qualities, we are talking about weight. More than 300 kg of the difference is about 15 percent. So with the same wheel size, we get much more problems with Highlander on weak soil (sand) and in lifts. Toyota’s slightly larger clearance helps to compensate for the lack of larger weight in the rut, but this is not enough in the sand. But a real all-wheel drive and hydromechanical automatic transmission can fight the difficult conditions of Russian roads for a very long time, in contrast to the light and cheap variator and vi-muffa Nissan, subject to rapid overheating during significant loads. Although this is compensated by the impeccable operation of electronic protection, which does not allow an inexperienced driver to kill the transmission, but simply stopping the car. So lovers of squeezing on a beach sand will have to choose something else both cars for this are not suitable.

Author: Dmitry Leontyev, photo of Alexander Ortnova-Baranov

 

Source: Magazine 4x4 [August /2011]