[mgthe3]

There it was, backed into a space against the curb, waaaay at the end of the lot at our local costco. I looked at her and the first thought that went through my mind was the famous jaak line....a hot wheels car, king size, and in person.
WTF is this car?
Who makes it?
It is perrrrrrfect.
It's not a car, it's not any stamped out SUV, it's all on her own, the beauty, the dignity, the down right perfect lines.....they wooed me.

I was hooked on my first glimpse.
The lines....the beauty....those farkin huge wheels and her upswept angles.....they danced through my head on days forward.

Then I drove her.
Where are the shift points? Oops, I'm goin 80.
Quiet power.
Let me sling her into a curve...ohhhhh yeaaaaah, this is it.

Grand prix races me off a line, LMAO, what a joke.
Ricer challenges, WAAAAAAAAAAA.....Mo quietly dismisses the coffee can exhausted whatever it is.....quietly, confidently, supremely.
Oh yes, this is what she said when I saw her.
And she still delivers, 14 months later.
ABSOLUTELY...no complaints. She is what I saw, she delivers.

 

[jaak]

Sure know how to make a guy smile...

First time I saw a Murano, were pictures on the internet. I had a Maxima, which I really liked, but needed something that could take a large box that just didn't fit in the trunk. I was looking at things like the Toyota Highlander, but didn't want to give up my car.

When I saw the Murano in pictures, the large wheels really messed with my head. While I knew they were big, I just couldn't scale the thing in my head. I my brain kept looking at the pictures and shrinking it to the size of a Mazda 3. Or a PT Cruiser. I went to Nissan dealers and the only thing anyone knew about it, was on a single card stock flyer, which really didn't help.

Then I saw one in a showroom, mid November of 2002. WOW! It was perfect! I couldn't find a thing I didn't like! It just blew my mind and there I was with 6 months still on my lease... 3 months later I had one. As I was waiting for delivery of mine, I took the demo model out for a drive. Got on to the highway and I thought, it's not mine, I'm going to put this one in "S". Whoo Hooo, what a blast!!!

I've been hooked since! Brains and Beauty! Never had a vehicle that's made my face hurt from smiling so much!

 

[Gonzo]

My wife saw it first. That night she told me she saw a car that had my name on it. Many months latter while having work done on my Pulsar I saw a MO in the bay... I walked over to it. :drool:

A few months after that I needed a new car. We looked at the MDX and MO. My wife liked the MDX, I liked the MO... we know the outcome.

After 1.5 years and 18K miles, I still enjoy driving this car. Very comfortable and run to drive.

 

[pcs15394]

First Time

I saw an Ad in a car magazine, it was a foldout Mo Centerfold. I removed it and hung it up in my Cubicle at work. We had only bought our last car less than a year before. I had to go into hyper drive and start working on the wife as to why we needed to get rid of our other car. It worked, had her out looking at Pathfinders, got her to look at the Mo and she was hooked. I guess her calling my Murano Hobby "Looking at Car Porn" was born the day I removed the "Centerfold" from that magazine and hung it up in my Cubicle.

 

[Gonzo]

Ooooo that could be a collectors item. Be careful where you put the pin hole. :4:

 

[Eric L.]

I bought my Murano sight unseen. Having looked at all options in the midsize SUV category, only one was carlike enough for me to consider - the Murano. I had a Maxima before, and am very happy I chose "the Maxima of SUVs." Its been 23 months and still loving every minute driving the MO.

 

[Halo]

TV spot... "Smoke on the water"

It looked smaller in the commercial. More like a Toyota Matrix.

 

[jaak]

Got this in the mail shortly after I got my Murano... A little late for a promo, but still was fun to get.

 

[zofsuvs]

Like Jaak, the first time I saw a Murano was when searching for a new car on the Internet. I came across the picture below by accident and knew immediately that's the one I wanted. I called my girlfriend in to look at the pictures and she readily agreed.

But the one vehicle I liked wasn't even in dealerships yet!

So then came the long, agonzing wait to see one in person. Reading all of the reviews, calling dealerships about the latest update on delivery dates. But when the day came when I finally got to see one, frankly, I was a little disappointed. The weird smiling grille, the van-like dash. Wasn't exactly what I had expected. Perhaps I had built it up too much in my head. I took it for a test drive and liked it, but I still wasn't sure. So I showed some pictures to co-workers and friends who gave mixed responses. I even brought one person who didn't like it to a dealership to see it in person - no change.

Now more than a little unsure, I began looking at a lot of other cars. But, again, I kept coming back to the Murano. I even made the Nissan dealership a stop during a test drive for another car to compare it to the Murano! (My girlfriend thought that was inappropriate, but there was no salesman in the car, so I didn't feel so bad!)

Well, in the end I went for the Murano (surprise!). It was the only vehicle I drove that truly made me smile. I loved the way it drove, the roomy, comfortable seating, the sporty, unusual styling, the more than ample cargo room with easy fold-down seats, and above-average gas mileage for a vehicle its size.

As far as the people who didn't like it, I thought that I wouldn't pick for myself 90 percent of the vehicles out there, so I don't expect everyone to agree on cars. Also, I think the Murano is a little ahead of it's time in styling. A co-worker recently told me he's done a full 180 on his opinion of the styling - from hating it to considering one for himself. People are funny that way. So I just like to think the Murano crowd is just a little ahead of the curve.

After I finally got mine, it was fun honking and waving at other excited Murano drivers on the road, as there were so few Muranos out there at the time. And it was fun watching people stopping in their tracks to ponder/admire the strange, shiny new vehicle parked on the side of the road. I miss those days!

Anyway, I'm pleased with my decision to buy a Murano and it has served me well except for the alternator failure and the occasional hesitation in acceleration. I started holding back on recommending it because of those problems, but I think the 2005 may be the year they've finally got the bugs worked out. I hope so, anyway.

So if you're interested in the Murano, go for the 2005 and I think you'll be very happy. And when you do get it, be sure to wave at the guy in the black Murano with the Jersey plates. I guarantee he'll be smiling and waving back! :29:

 

[zofsuvs]

The second pic I saw. Those two summed it up for me! (Maybe those pics were of Jaak's Sunlit Copper Mo all along!) How about those chrome roof rails?!

 

[zofsuvs]

Well, I guess I can't leave off the interior! (Cool manual shifter and all.)

 

[TheGymKid]

"So if you're interested in the Murano, go for the 2005 and I think you'll be very happy. And when you do get it, be sure to wave at the guy in the black Murano with the Jersey plates. I guarantee he'll be smiling and waving back! "

okay, my girl makes fun of me all the time. Everytime I drive past another Murano, I wave :awais: ... one day, some one WILL wave back !!

Until then, I'll just take her abuse. :22:

 

[jaak]

There's still people that wave, but when they were first out, not only was it a wave, but a roll down the window and share stories, when possible.

I remember pulling up to a traffic light, next to a black one, rolling down the passenger window and saying... "Nice Wheels!!!"

Good thing it was a long red light, we used it up talking!

In the pictures above, not only are the roof rails chrome, there's no antenna... So it's not mine!

Oh and it's a " ". Not an SE or an SL, but clearly a " " and maybe not even AWD!

 

[zofsuvs]

Just wanted to report that right after posting my last post, I headed out and just turned the corner in my Mo when a driver I didn't know started waving frantically at me. I thought I must have done something wrong until I noticed that she was driving a Murano! Now, I hadn't been Mo-waved for several months, so I admit it took me by surprise.

So if that driver just happens to be reading this, I apologize for the startled look and momentary delay in the smile and wave back as was promised in my last post. And thanks, you made my day! I'll pass it on.

 

[hfelknor]

Decided to update the old Chrysler T&C.
Checked out the new ones.
Nice cars. But you still had to remove the rearseats to get the flat floor.........(fixed now, but not in 03. Or 04.)
Went to Nissan to buy a Quest.
It was OK, but really did have a "half baked" feel to it.
And no, I cannot drive a car that has the speedometer in non ergonomic position.
What were the "superior" japanese designers thinking of?
Has to be the bone headed play of the decade.

So I was pulling out when I saw my first Murano.
Actually completed the manuver and was heading for the house when I asked my wife "what WAS that?".
Did a U-ey and went back and the rest as they say.............

It has been an up and down relationship.
6 failures in the first 6 months soured me on the car for quite awhile.
Then it went over a year with no problems.
I am now on a driving trip and have had the dreaded "no accelleration after hours of high speed".
OF COURSE, there was no code thrown and OF COURSE it won't re appear (Untill I drive many hours at high speed?).
If the tranny and/or the Alternator go bad on this trip I suspect I will finish the trip in a new Dodge Magnum. It would be a shame but I have received such good service in my domestic autos for the past 20 years that I can't accept poor reliability.
I would always remember the Murano tho.
She is like the little girl that lived in the lane.
When she is good,she is very, very good.
But when she is bad..............

Let's hope that all will be well for the remainder of the trip.
The trip is scheduled to end on May 17th back in FL.

It is still one of the NEATEST looking cars I have ever owned.

Homer

 

[jaak]

Well Homer, I hope it treats you well... I remember how delighted you were with it at first, so it's an absolute shame you've had to go through all that.

Having had worse, and not running into any significant issues (knock on wood) myself, I'm still delighted with it and will most certainly consider another when it's time to change it.

However, I too have looked at the Magnum as an alternate, when the time comes. Still can't manage to do it though. It's just not quite there, compared to the Murano.

 

[Tyler_Canada]

I believe the first time I saw a Murano was in the fall of '02. I saw an SUV on the road, and immediately loved the look of it. I didn't know then it was a Murano, but it must have been, because the Murano is the only SUV I've ever seen that makes me feel that way from looks alone. :drool:

After I wrote off my Jeep, I was browsing the web for a new SUV, and decided to check out Nissan... This was in Jan. '03. When I saw the Murano and read the specs/features, I knew I would do anything to own one. Good thing I didn't need to do anything more than had already been done! After waiting a month for the features I wanted (I told them any colour would do!), it was in my hands. :runaway:

 

[zofsuvs]

I am now on a driving trip and have had the dreaded "no accelleration after hours of high speed".
OF COURSE, there was no code thrown and OF COURSE it won't re appear (Untill I drive many hours at high speed?)

Homer, this happened to me again on my last drive, and it sure is frustrating/embarassing/unnerving. I assume you already do the engine restart when it happens. Works every time for me, but it sure would be nice if it wasn't necessary.

 

[Eric L.]

Homer, this happened to me again on my last drive, and it sure is frustrating/embarassing/unnerving. I assume you already do the engine restart when it happens. Works every time for me, but it sure would be nice if it wasn't necessary.

This does indeed appear to be a fairly serious problem. I would guess the only way to really diagnose this for certain is to have some scanner hooked up to the diagnostic port to monitor output from the various sensors, in order to locate whatever is going nuts. The fact that it returns to normal on restart suggests that the ECU is actually reading or calculating some parameters incorrectly, and it might not be a bad sensor, as it is so much a bug in the programming.

 

[9495]

My experience was a little different from you guys. My first view of it was online, researching vehicles that met my criteria (of which there were very few). I looked at it and shuddered. Did NOT like the look at ALL! Looked like a bubble-car, trying to be hip, with a huge clown smile on the front. Yipes! No thank you.

Then I started driving a few of the top vehicles that I had put on my list (the MO wasn't even on there). One by one I crossed items off my list. The only one left on the list was the Volvo V70R, but once the wife drove that it also had to be crossed off the list. So I was back to square one, no car suited to what I wanted.

So I had to broaden my list a bit, which added the Highlander, VUE, XC90, Murano, Grand Cherokee, etc, the MO being last (I really hated the look). Again, one by one I crossed them off the list. They were either uncomfortable or handled like a truck. Finally got down to the MO.

When I climbed INTO the MO, that's when it finally hit me. Wow! Now THAT'S a good layout for an SUV! Look at the room, the dash, the ergonomics of everything! If you have to have an SUV, THIS is how it should be configured! Hmmm..... I guess it doesn't look THAT bad from the outside, does it?

Then I drove it. Wow! The handling and the CVT won me over immediately.

My wife also drove it. She liked it. We've NEVER agreed on cars. Never. Ever. EVER. We both like the MO. What are the chances of that????

So, over the course of the next few weeks we did more research and found that you could get different front grills for the MO, which drastically improved the looks (in my opinion), and guess what? My wife and I agreed AGAIN that the new grill helped the look!

The rest is history, just waiting forever for the 05 to come out and then for our factory order to arive.

But the point is that while most of you fell in love with the EXTERIOR looks, that is exactly what turned me OFF. The INTERIOR is what I fell in love with!