Thoughts After a Year with the 2012

[Halwg]

I have just reached one year with my 2012 SL AWD version of the MO. I thought I'd relate a few of my experiences that have been for the most part positive since we see a lot of threads mainly asking for help with problems.

Firstly, I have been impressed with the smoothness of the vehicle. I owned a 2005 Maxima for 7 years and I can tell you the drive train on the MO, with the CVT, is so much smoother than the 5 speed automatic I had in the Max. The ride is much more compliant, and being an old guy, I especially like the higher seating position.

Although the gas mileage can't match what I was getting in the Max - 29 highway and 20 in town, I'm pleased with the mileage in the MO. It has exceeded the EPA estimates giving me 18.5 around town and 24.5 on the highway. Losing a little mileage and gaining tremendous utility in the MO is worth it to me.

People seem to either love or hate CVTs. I may not love mine, but it's a very strong like. It's really nice in the hills of WV where you don't have the constant down & up shifting you have in a normal automatic. It may not have the off-the-line scoot of the Max, but it's a much heavier vehicle and it does just fine for an old guy like me.

It's all not a love affair with me and Nissan. I don't like how they package their options, and for a $40,000 vehicle I think there are some things missing that you find on other vehicles at that price. But I knew that going in and I still like Nissan's 3.5L engines.

One place that I am pretty disappointed is in the OEM tires Nissan used on my MO. They are Goodyear Eagle LS. I have 8000 miles on the car and they are already down to 8/32". I don't see me getting more than 20,000 miles out of these tires. And I don't think they handle that well, and are not that great on slick roads. I'll be looking at something better come time to replace them.

So that's my take after a year in this car. Would I buy another one? That depends on how they are going to change the MO for Gen 3. I like it as is, but I'd like to see an upgrade particularly in the technology. My neighbor has a 2012 Ford Edge Limited, and he has a lot more technology in that car for a few thousand less than a MO. And he has more cargo room. BUT, it's a Ford...enough said on that subject!

If folks are considering buying a MO, I would definitely tell them to drive one. They are very nice cars, and although you hear a lot of horror stories on this Forum I actually feel the MO is not apt to be any more trouble prone than the typical car, and probably is better than most. I can tell you it's a LOT better than my Ford. So, I definitely recommend it.

[MuranoDriver]

Nice review Hal!

[katz_n_jamer]

Good review. It mirrors a lot of my feelings toward the Murano. I think it's a good car that gets some bad press on this forum, but that is to be expected, most folks use a forum like this to try to get help with problems.

[BANSwee]

HAL, WTH you're back?

I've been busy and have not logged in here. ANyways I was gonna do a year review also but its not until FEB next year. I would like to comment on some things.

*tires- right now I'm close to 15,000 miles and I think it's gonna make past 20K


*mileage-- have you tried calculating manually? I think mine is not working properly. It's always 20.2 no matter what. So I calculated manually and yes it's different.


* ride- again I think I have taken delivery on a bad egg. .. It's not complaint. for me its harsh on city speed. On highway with 4 passenger (2 adults, 2 kids) it's way better and yes very smooth.


how about thoughts on

paint?

market value?

seats?

service fee charges?

etc?

[HVT]

8000 miles? Holy shyte! We're up around 33k on our '11 already..lol...drive that thang! Good review.

[Halwg]

Yes, folks, I am back!

Paint - My paint seems very good. Very smooth, no orange peeling, and probably better than the Max.

Market Value - IDK. I think that's probably a function of where you live and the demand for this type vehicle. I can tell you my MAX kept it's value better than any Domestic car I have ever owned.

Seats - I really like the seats in my MO. I sit up well, they are comfortable on my creaky old back, and what's not to like about heated seats.

Service fee charges??? - I have no idea what these are. I know I didn't pay any service fees.

Other than not having a power tilt steering column in the SL (that's where I don't agree with Nissan's bundling of options) I'm really quite happy with the car.

Mileage wise, 8,000 a year is a lot for me. Normally I drive a vehicle about 6,000/year. My 7+ year old Max had 44,000 miles when I traded it.

[MuranoDriver]

Originally Posted by BANSwee

*mileage-- have you tried calculating manually? I think mine is not working properly. It's always 20.2 no matter what. So I calculated manually and yes it's different.

It will always be 0.1-2.0mpg difference in my experiences.

If you don't reset the calc it will continue to be a cumulative total which one tank will not make much of a difference and the # will stay close to the same even after 10 tanks or so.

If you reset it often you will see totally different #'s when it comes to city/highway.

Check out Fuelly.com if you want to try to track your mileage easily.

[katz_n_jamer]

BANSwee, on your ride, could your tires be over inflated? That would make for a rougher ride.

[jcman311]

I have 24k on my '10, and the tires are fairly gone. From what I've read, no matter what tires you get on the Murano they all wear pretty quick. (I should say, no matter what stock tires you get) I feel the same about most of the rest of your comments, the price from my SL to LE was too much for what the LE offered which needs to change.

Right now I'm looking at a Fusion hybrid for the wife. I know its a FORD, but it is way better than a Prius. Priced good too... for a hybrid.

[Orzel]

Nice review. Pretty much what I've experienced with our 09. However, ours came with the Toyo 20" and had it not been for an errant carriage bolt, I'd still be running the original tires. I have to admit, we’ve barely broken 24k miles on ours, and most of those have been long highway trips of over 3k miles per. So far, other than a couple of annoyances, we’ve been very pleased, and this is from long time Lexus owners..

[Cjr]

Hi I am new here and we live on the island of Guam.The 2011 has 26,000 miles on the toyos and we need new tires soon.No winter here but rough tropical weather,rough roads and slippery when wet! Any advice for good tires to replace the Toyos?
By the way we like our Murano a lot but it also needs new rear brakes now.

[HVT]

From all the reviews I've read, and you should do your own just to be sure a tire is right for you, I'll be going with the Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season.

[slriv]

Wow, guys, I'm at 48K miles on original tires and only recently feel like I need to get them replaced.

I have a 2010 SL FWD, rotated every 2 oil changes.

[Halwg]

It depends a lot on where you live and the roads you drive. I'm in WV, and the roads are hilly, crooked, and pretty rough in places. I'm pretty happy when I get 25,000 from a set of tires. Generally I get between 18,000 and one time I got 30,000 out of a set of Michelin's. Otherwise it's low to mid 20's. And remember, I'm old, so I don't do any hotrodding anymore!

What I don't know yet is how the AWD is going to do on tires. On my Explorer, which has 4 wheel drive and a low range gearing, it runs in auto mode, which is really like an all wheel drive setting. Only the Explorer drives the rear wheels until they start to slip and sends traction to the front. In snow this works pretty well. But it wears tires, too. I rotate them at each 5000 mile oil change and got 22,000 out of the last set. I have 45,000 on the truck and this is my 3rd set of tires.

I'm expecting about the same out of the MO.

[Glenn H]

Just bought a 2012 with 11K on the clock. SV model. I am pleased with the ride and handling (my wife has a Lexus RX330 and my 3 previous cars were BMW 7 series of various ages). I know that this won't handle like the BMW but for a crossover the handling is pretty darn good.

Driving from Denver to Dillon CO the CVT ran smoothly taking the hills of I-70 without a hiccup. I have rented Nissan's with the CVT before and have been very impressed.

Looking forward to learning and living with this vehicle