| Tyler_Canada |
Exterior:
Fender flares are plastic (less chips), but the paint is just as thin as the Murano. Personally I don't care for the chrome only wheels on the R/T, but that's just me. The exhaust sound is quite deep, sounds almost like a V8, without any drone. The license plates bulbs can be changed with nothing more than a flat screw driver and 5 minutes! The hood uses an old school prop rod. There is no locking fuel door to screw up!
Handling:
Steering response is tighter / quicker, due to the 50 profile tires. The tires are also a bit wider than stock Murano tires, at 245/50/20. Overall diameter is the same at about 30". Suspension is softer to make up for the firm tires. While the Murano SE is great at handling smaller bumps, but not so good at larger ones, the Nitro R/T is the opposite. You feel every little crack, but large bumps are very smooth. Handling is a little less tight than the Murano SE. Traction control is pretty much the same, although it feels like the ABS uses a faster pulse speed, which feels smoother. It has Electronic Rollover Mitigation, which works the same as the traction control (applies brakes to individual wheels and reduces throttle), but I haven't tested it :) The Nitro R/T is rear wheel drive, with a switch for a locked 50/50 front/rear split, with no speed limit. Both front and rear differentials are open. Clearance is about the same, the Nitro is not meant for more than mild offroading. It feels a bit faster than the Murano, which is what the magazines are reporting. With a weight distributing hitch, the Nitro can tow 5000 lbs. The R/T has manual shift mode, with the ability to downshift to whatever gear the computer thinks it should when using engine braking.
Interior:
Fit is above what my '03 Murano was, but materials are lacking a bit. However, the materials are also more durable than in the Murano. The front cup holders have rubber inserts that grip any size cup and hold it. The rear cup holders do not hide, but are not easily broken either. Data that was displayed on the main screen on the Murano has been moved to a small dot matrix LCD in the left gauge pod. This is a double problem. The passenger can't see the compass, outside temperature, CD number / track if you have it set to show the CD text on the CD player. Also, you can't view quite as much stuff at the same time (compass and outside temperature, OR tire pressure, OR miles to empty, OR mileage). The tire pressure display shows you which tire each pressure is for! The stereo controls are on the back of the steering wheel, which I like, and the display controls are on the front of the steering wheel (and lighted!). Using the steering wheel controls you can adjust all sorts of settings, such as
-unlock on driver's door with first press of unlock button
-unlock all doors when in park and front door is opened
-lock all doors at 15mph
-turn on headlights when unlocking with remote
-how long to have accessory power after taking key out (opening door shuts off power immediately)
-how long to have interior lights when unlocking with remote
There is no seat / mirror memory, and the climate controls are fully manual. The driver's seat recline is manual, and the front passenger seat is entirely manual. The rear seats recline, and the front passenger seat folds flat. The heated seats go to ultra high for 4 minutes before switching to high, for extra fast warmup. There is a 115V outlet in the back of the front armrest for a laptop. The front armrest contains a large storage area much like the Murano. The door map pockets do not open / expand. There is no way to fold the rear seats from the trunk. The loan'n'go sliding trunk floor is a cool idea. The jack and lug wrench are stored in a side compartment in the trunk, so if you have heavy stuff in your trunk, you don't have to remove it to get to them. The Homelink buttons are on the driver's visor, so a bit easier to reach for me (as I almost always have the visor down).
The upgraded stereo consists of 4 door speakers, 4 tweeters and a (real) subwoofer, all by Infinity. The head unit is made by Harmon Kardon. All stereo options come with satellite radio with a 1 year free subscription. I have the 6 disc in dash changer, which supports CD / DVD and MP3 / WMA on either. So I can put 6 DVDs of MP3s in at one time. There is also an auxiliary input. There is no speed sensitive volume. The MyGig adds a touch screen, GPS with live traffic via Sirius, bluetooth, voice control over stereo / GPS / cell phone, 20 gig hard drive for GPS data and the Gracenote CDDB and for ripping MP3s to, a usb port, and the ability to play DVDs on the screen.
The gauges are lighted all the time, and there is no auto setting for the headlights. The headlights are halogen, but have a very wide spread similar to the Murano (good for spotting deer). The wiper switch rotates for intermittent / on, and you can press down for a single wipe, meaning you can do a single wipe without changing the current wipe setting. The sprayers work much better at cleaning the entire windshield than the Murano ones. The tilt steering wheel does not tilt up nearly as far as the Murano. The material is a rougher leather, easier to grip. There are floor lights under the dash. There is no dead pedal. If you tap the signal switch, the signal light will blink 3 times then stop.
Well, I've tried to list all of the differences, if you have any questions, just ask :) |
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| njjoe |
TC-
Nice review. It sounds like you are happy with your new toy. Good luck with her.
-njjoe |
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| Tyler_Canada |
| A picture of my Nitro |
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| njjoe |
T_C-
It looks like a PT Cruiser on steroids!
-njjoe |
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| Tyler_Canada |
| It's actually a lot bigger than a PT (it's taller than a Murano), but that would make sense since they're both Chrysler. But I can't stand the huge Chrysler badge they put on the front of their vehicles. |
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