[RUHockey44]

Hey all,

I recently inherited a 2003 Murano SL from one of my parents last week so they could get the new RX and I could get rid of my Gas Hog Land Cruiser.

I was at Duck, NC last week where they have the Drive-On beach and was deciding whether or not to take the MO on it. So I went out with my friend in his Wrangler. The sand was pretty choppy and people were getting stuck left and right. I decided against taking the MO out.

Anyone ever taken theirs off the road? If so, how did it do?

 

[MightyMo]

Do some searching on the forum and you'll find lots of off-road stories, it does pretty darn good. Ground clearance is the only occational issue I've seen.

 

[95se]

There's also the infamous story of a writer who was reviewing the Mo when it was first released and got it stuck in the sand, requiring it to be towed.

Everything else I've read about it offroad has been positive.

Like this:
http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2129&highlight=costa+rica

 

[Gonzo]

Without DIF I can't see how one could feel comfortable off road. (Do I have the term DIFF - Differential correct?)

 

[MightyMo]

It has 3 diffs, front rear and center, but that's not really the point, the front and rear are open diffs, they are not limited slip LSDs or lockers. In spite of the sexy electro-hydralic LSD/Locking center diff, you can theoretically get stuck with just two wheels spinning (one front and one rear).

I remember hearing a story here or over on FA a while back where somebody parked on a hill with two wheels off the side in the snow, placed the transmission in park, did NOT set the parking brake, got out and watched the thing roll down the hill. Of course the two weels in the snow were actually rotating BACKWARDS because the tranny was in Park...

Another issue I can think of is that the ECU limits the power the engine will deliver to the CVT when stationary. If your wheels are really quite stuck it's not going to bust out without a fight.

But in practice I've been delighted, no problems, and I've heard of no first hand "I got stuck!" posts here at all.

 

[Eric L.]

There is no way to know whether the MO can make it in the sand unless you actually take it out there and give it a shot! Granted, a Land Cruiser is the king of the offroad utes, so you can't take the MO where the Cruiser might have had no problems, but I bet you can drive a MO on the beach unless the sand is really really loose.

 

[senza]

Without a low range transfer case and the fact the CVT is programmed not to receive a lot of power at low speed, the MO doesn't work well in loose sand/gravel on an incline....the traction is fine...the vehicle justs seems to strain and bog down...it's not designed to be an "off roader".

 

[Hawaii_SE-R]

Granted, a Land Cruiser is the king of the offroad utes

Um . . . I hope you meant Land Rover Range Rover:

Granted, the Land Cruiser is good:

. . . but I don't know if one would call it the king:

 

[NVMYGT]

Um . . . I hope you meant Land Rover Range Rover:
Granted, the Land Cruiser is good:
. . . but I don't know if one would call it the king:

Nice!:4:

 

[Eric L.]

A Range Rover is excellent offroad but I like my cars to not break down in the middle of the woods, hence I'll take the Toyota! But you are right, I think if you were to say which can go anywhere (with a good set of tools), the RR is the one.

 

[Kris]

If you want the answer, look what people are driving in the Australian Outback........

 

[RUHockey44]

Yea, my Cruiser could climb a tree with the insane ground clearance and 400 different ways to tune the 4x4 capabilites. But I live in the city, so I took it offroad maybe 5 times...I had no use for a gas barge that averaged 10 miles per gallon. Toyota's are very dependable though, traded it in with 60k miles, never broke down on me..At 22 k miles, my MO has twice. . I still <3 it though.

 

[SIM]

I beg to differ on the best off-road machine... For open land, the Hummer is certainly the best but it is too long and wide for any use in the real woody areas. The best that I have tested yet in all terrains and situations is the true AWD Land Rover Defender 90 with front and rear autolocking diffs. Little aluminium V8 bought from Buick decades ago. This baby could get out of anything we've encountered and I have pics of it submarining its way through a swamp and where I have a big smile on my face...