A mid size crossover sport utility vehicle, the Nissan Murano was first introduced for the 2003 model year. The Murano is bases on the
Nissan Altima platform and very comparable to the
Honda Pilot. Nissan felt as though they had a void between the compact Xterra and the midsize
Pathfinder, so they designed the Murano to fall between those two vehicles and fill the void in their lineup, and it has done quite well. The Nissan Murano is the only crossover sport utility vehicle that is currently sold in the North American
Nissan lineup, making it a very visible vehicle to most.
Nissan worked hard to provide a more luxurious crossover SUV when building the Murano and they achieved just that with its biggest competition being the BMW X3, the Acura MDX, the Volvo XC90, the Volkswagen Touareg, as well as the Lexus RX. The Murano is well received by both the consumers and critics alike being nominated for the North American Truck of the Year for the 2003 year. The Murano is also noted as being one of the largest vehicles that is mass-produced that offers a continuously variable transmission. Though the Murano is relatively new to the Nissan lineup, it continues to do quite well in the very competitive North American market.
