I will be moving shortly and I figured that the Holidays would be a great time, as my wife and I are off, to get a head start (never to be repeated...). The plan was to load up the Murano with odds and sods such as a couple of TV sets and some boxes containing my precious car magazines from the late 80s and 90s and drop them off at my parents (St-Pierre Storage Inc. as I call it).
Hatch opened, two of the four boxes and the two TVs fit fairly well. The bugger turns out that there's no way I can shut the big door given its pronounced angle. Mildly flustered, I remove the two boxes and dump them on the back seat; so much for taking the helpful sister in-law for the ride. Inches over, in the garage, I stare at my Volvo XC70 and I know for a fact that all would fit in the trunk and that I would also have room for a pair of helpful in-laws.
It then dawns on me (for the umpteenth time) that these stylish CUVs are more of a design exercise than an actual utility vehicle. My crude station wagon has more versatility and utility built into it.
Crossing over
The reason for getting a Murano or any other CUV is for the ability to literally cross cargo capacity and people moving. In that respect, with a mild amount of gear and four passengers total, the Murano is almost a star. The front seats require a period of adjustment as the seatbacks have a pronounced lumbar angle and short lower cushion that took my wife and I a week to acquit.
Rear-seat occupants are better served by the split-folding bench. Legroom is decent all around as is head and elbow room. What soothes the most in the Murano is the appreciable level of quality materials and fit and finish. My tested LE AWD DVD included all the bells and whistles (ever wonder what one has to do with the other? But I digress...) including a navigation system and twin LCD screens in the rear.
So, here we have a vehicle that parades around as a luxury car, but it isn’t, with some carrying capacity and decent comfort for a two-pair of occupants. Nothing special here... Do these lacklustre comments warrant a deeper look into the Murano? Not quite. What's next may help though.
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| The Murano is a competent vehicle overall. |
Hatch opened, two of the four boxes and the two TVs fit fairly well. The bugger turns out that there's no way I can shut the big door given its pronounced angle. Mildly flustered, I remove the two boxes and dump them on the back seat; so much for taking the helpful sister in-law for the ride. Inches over, in the garage, I stare at my Volvo XC70 and I know for a fact that all would fit in the trunk and that I would also have room for a pair of helpful in-laws.
It then dawns on me (for the umpteenth time) that these stylish CUVs are more of a design exercise than an actual utility vehicle. My crude station wagon has more versatility and utility built into it.
Crossing over
The reason for getting a Murano or any other CUV is for the ability to literally cross cargo capacity and people moving. In that respect, with a mild amount of gear and four passengers total, the Murano is almost a star. The front seats require a period of adjustment as the seatbacks have a pronounced lumbar angle and short lower cushion that took my wife and I a week to acquit.
Rear-seat occupants are better served by the split-folding bench. Legroom is decent all around as is head and elbow room. What soothes the most in the Murano is the appreciable level of quality materials and fit and finish. My tested LE AWD DVD included all the bells and whistles (ever wonder what one has to do with the other? But I digress...) including a navigation system and twin LCD screens in the rear.
So, here we have a vehicle that parades around as a luxury car, but it isn’t, with some carrying capacity and decent comfort for a two-pair of occupants. Nothing special here... Do these lacklustre comments warrant a deeper look into the Murano? Not quite. What's next may help though.
 |
| My tested LE AWD DVD included all the bells and whistles including a navigation system and twin LCD screens in the rear. |