Any Murano owners? Nissan general comments appreciated, too.

Long story short, my wife and I are looking for a crossover to replace her Mazda Tribute. We're not in a huge hurry, since the Tribute is paid for and in good shape, so I'm taking the time and researching thoroughly. We're leaning mostly toward the Murano, Lexus RX350, or possibly the Toyota Highlander. I don't know many people with long term Nissan vehicles, except my father in law who has a 98 Maxima with 145K and no real issues. I know Matt (RJ) on here has some trouble with his Titan, and he's not alone amongst much of what I read online. I've read quite a few horror stories about working with Nissan dealers, and the CVT issues that came up in a few 08-10 Murano's (we are looking at 2011s) are starting to make me second guess this.

My wife loved the Murano's interior, ride, and look. $ for $ you get way more than the RX350, and about on par with the Highlander. Not a fan of the third row seating in the Highlander, and would just prefer the extra cargo space, and not have to deal with moving seats, but it is a Toyota (love the two that I've owned now both well into the 100Ks with no major issues).

My wife has also always love the RX350, and while I know they are very reliable, refined, etc. Their price tag just turns me off. I just don't think you're getting back what you're putting in.

This would be a long haul purchase, so we're looking at about 10yr ownership, so longevity is of importance, resale value (serving as a quality indicator aside) is not of as much importance.

So in short, the Highlander and RX350 are possibilities, with the Murano being the leader and wild card. Too many auto forums have biased members, so I thought perhaps a few members with Nissan ownership experience could comment on my concerns.

 

My boss bought one for his wife and traded it back in after 3 months. He found it cheap and without adequate head room and visibility. The head room won't be a prob for you or her, but I'd be looking towards the Lexus. He bought her a used GX 470 and she loves it and it's notably better made.

The few times I drove the Murano, I didn't feel it was a vehicle that you'd buy to keep for 10 years.

 

You calling me short?


I did notice the low ceiling, and I know a common complaint is the low visibility. I did love the roominess inside and the refinement, plus all of the features you get for the price (we were test driving a fully loaded SL). However, exactly what you stated about the longevity is what worries me. My wife loves the GX (bit pricey even used, however), and has always like the RX. We still need to keep shopping and test driving, but thanks for the input, Ben.

 

My mom got a GMC Terrain that she loves if that helps. She's always done her homework on cars, I've not really checked it out, but she's had it for a awhile now and has no complaints.

 

My wife has as an '05 altima....had a run in or two of dealing with idiots at the Nissan dealership, some sort of sensor issue? It has 110k on it now, and just decided to not crank the other day, battery was ok.

I really want to keep it to/ see if I can get it to 300 k

 

Matt - You already know my thoughts. I'll never own another Nissan again, and couldn't recommend them to anyone. Just waaaay too many issues. Especially if it's going to be a long term purchase......

 

My brother has the new Ford Escape and loves it. Personally, I'd look towards a CR-V, as you're going to be hard pressed to find a company with a track record as good as Honda. I have owned several Hondas (currently driving '11 Civic) and have nothing but good experience with them, to date. My friend has an accord that his third child is now driving, it has over 300,000 miles on it.

 

Highlander its a Toyota ....

 

As a master mechanic I would lean towards the rx or highlander. The rx's does cost but they are like floating on a cloud and zero road noise. The highlanders are great also close to the rx but don't have as many extras. A cr-v is also a true contender when I worked at honda we had lots of cr-v rolling over 200k but my dads corolla has 450k on it. All three are dependable and great over a 10 year or more span. All comes down to the perks and cost between them. I really wish I could recommend an american car but I just can't with the little rattles and constant repairs. I cheat with my imports I buy used so I can still support America but come on gm 30k outer tie rods ready to fall off. And chrysler just sign your life away.

 

Ford is the only "American" company worth a damn anymore. You know, Honda makes more cars in the US than GM. Sad, but true. Also, while I think Toyota is a solid company, Honda never had a "my gas pedal stuck and I ran into a building" fiasco like Toyota....

 

Thanks for the input guys. Greatly appreciated.

Honda has great quality, but the refinements on the inside of the CRV and Pilot don't do anything for us.

My wife actually prefers the 4Runner over the highlander (as do I since it's more geared towards a utility based 4x4), but it's 4wd not full time AWD. I don't mind engaging 4wd when weather is bad, but my wife will be driving this, and her current vehicle is 4wd. She doesn't like driving up our back roads here not knowing if she'll be on wet pavement at the bottom and hit snow accumulation at the top (believe me, it's happened before). Having AWD for her not having to think about engaging would be nice.

As for the accelerator recall, definitely a black eye for Toyota, but they have now included their version of the fix in all vehicles (called Smart Stop) which essentially cuts acceleration if the gas is pressed, and then the brake is held for .5", engine power is decreased to aid in vehicle stopping in an emergency. I'm still not sold one way or the other on whether it was truly a mechanical issue (pedal) or their electronic throttle control.

 

Yeah, Honda never has been one to make flashy interiors. That's not the reason to buy them

Audi has the best overall crossover based on USnews.com (usually pretty good resource). The problem with some of these companies (audi, lexus, infinity) is the labor rates on them are so high. So if you're planning on keeping them 3 years, go for it, but if you're wanting to make it a "drive it til it dies, or the wife cries" type car, I might stay away from them.

My dad has a Chevrolet Equinox and they are really happy with it. They are on their second one, not because something went wrong, but because they like to upgrade.

VW makes a quality vehicle with nice interiors. Nicest interior for the price range when I was shopping a few years ago (I leased a jetta for 3 years, until my honda that I drive now). Years ago, VW was not an impressive quality vehicle, that has changed (based on reports).

My mom owned a toyota, gave it to me for graduation, and I sold it for $1500 when it was nearly 20 years old with 250k miles. Outside of the accelerator issue, I think Toyota has been a very strong company. Hopefully they've fixed the issue, otherwise I wouldn't consider it to be worth it. The "maybe" is enough to keep my family out of it.

 

You can only lean on reliability and dependability for so long. In a lot of my research recently, there is a shift from previous RX350 owners to the Murano and even the Venza. Most cited the reason for the switch as paying a premium for a little improved, and even somewhat date design/feature set.

Many current Tundra owners are previous 2nd Gen Tacoma owners who switched for one of two reasons:

-Need full size capability
-Like the increased amount of standard features offered in the Tundra that aren't offered in the relatively bare bones Tacomas (I own one, and can attest to this).

Is proven reliability more important than filling a vehicle full of creature comforts that may pose long term dependability issues and raise cost of ownership? I think so, but my wife and I know we want our next vehicle to have all of the bells and whistles and creature comforts. We travel a lot in the summer, and so we will be spending a fair amount of seat time in whatever we choose, so feature sets do have some priority in our decision making.

 

Audi is pretty decent, but no local service means it's a no go as an option. Infinity is essentially Nissan's luxury brand (like Lexus is to Toyota). The odd thing about labor and service (which is why we aren't considering Audi, Volvo, BMW, Range Rover, Land Rover, etc) is that our local Toyota dealer will service Lexus vehicles, but our local Nissan won't service Infinity.

 

Wow, you're on top of this thread! lol

 

You probably didn't catch it, because I edited a few times, do you have a local VW dealer? They are impressively well equipped inside.

 

I'll just point out, that it really sounds like you've already made your choice. You're seeing if we can convince you of another car, but so far unable to do so. Toyota it is! :D

 

Yeah, I really like the Touareg, and we do have a VW dealer, but they're really pushing it price wise.

Actually far from it.:D I loved the Murano both in and out, and at the price point I thought it simply couldn't be beat. I have mixed feelings about longevity and dealership quality. However, Toyota does not make vehicles as solid as they used to IMHO, so they aren't the end all be all, either. In reality, with every car manufacturer, if you search hard enough, you will find both horror and love stories.

I tend to research things to death, and so I sometimes may over analyze things. Whenever I encounter a few bad reviews, my judgement is all thrown off (hence the reason for me starting this thread):D

 

My wife has one and she loves it. Its a 09 with about 45000 miles. Its a great and comfortable ride, I don't drive it much but when I do its a good ride. We have had zero issues with it, maybe we got lucky but so far so good.

 

Matt, have you looked at the new Subaru Forester? Thoughts?