Used car buying guide: Nissan Murano

The Murano is one of those ‘if only’ cars: a large, family-sized SUV aimed at the BMW X5 that, if only it had had a diesel engine from launch, might have made a more positive impression on a sceptical British public. Instead, it arrived in 2005 powered by a large, thirsty petrol engine, albeit an exotic 3.5-litre V6 that it shared with the Nissan 350Z, admittedly producing 245bhp rather than 276bhp.

It was a marketing howler but explained by the fact that, at the time, Nissan was on a mission to make more of its products available in Europe, whether we wanted them or not. What was good for the smooth, arrow-straight highways and low fuel prices of the US, it reckoned, would be good enough for the twisting and pockmarked roads and overcharged motorists of the UK.

The company didn’t stop with the cooking V6 version, either. The following year, 2006, it sprang a special high-performance concept called the GTC. Its uprated V6 made 338bhp and it could dispatch the 0-62mph sprint in 7.0sec, compared with the standard car’s still-respectable 9.0sec. To keep the two-tonne beast in check, it was lowered by one inch and fitted with stiffer Bilstein suspension and AP Racing brakes. It was a one-off designed to remind everyone of the Murano’s existence and potential, but it had a few too many bugs and disappeared without trace.

Which left the standard car. Not too standard, though. The Mk1 Murano is packed with kit, including alloy wheels, xenon headlights, leather trim, a reversing camera and a Bose sound system. It’s a genuinely roomy car with space to spare. Practical, too; the rear seats and tailgate have remote releases controlled from the dashboard. Unlike more agricultural ladder-frame rivals of the time, it’s a monocoque. The 4x4 system directs drive to the front wheels by default and to the rears in extremis, unless you press the button that locks all four in play. It’s a good-looking car that’s smooth, neatly integrated and well proportioned. Rear vision is a bit restricted but there’s always the reversing camera.

The Mk2 Murano arrived in 2008 with an improved gearbox, restyled nose (in fact, every panel was new), sharper dynamics and even more equipment. All good so far, except that it was still powered by the same 3.5-litre V6, albeit boosted by 20bhp. In 2010, Nissan saw the light and introduced a 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel producing 187bhp and a very useful 332lb ft torque. Inherited from Nissan’s aged Pathfinder SUV, it required a lot of sound deadening to make it acceptable in the svelte Murano. It also required its own more conventional six-speed automatic gearbox.