FRANKLIN, TENN. — The Murano may have been a trailblazer for Nissan back in 2003, but in the decades that have passed, its popularity has undoubtedly waned. But that isn’t discouraging Nissan from pulling the wraps off the 2025 Nissan Murano. It heads into its fourth generation with a decked-out cabin, more tech, and a revamped powertrain—all wrapped up with some fresh sheet metal that is immediately familiar.
Many lauded the first-generation Murano for its style—and for a good reason. We hadn’t seen anything like it back in 2003, trading the box-on-wheels look for flowing lines and a swooping, albeit slightly bulbous silhouette. Two decades later, boxes on wheels are making a comeback, but the fourth-generation Murano stays true to its roots with a swooping silhouette, and by trading creases and folds for flowing lines and an almost “SUV coupe” look.
Nissan also thoroughly reworked the front and rear fascias. A prominent front grille with LED daytime running lights integrated into the horizontal slats dominates the front end, while a few inches further up, an almost Ferrari Daytona-ish trim piece with the Murano logo embossed into the corner connects the headlights. Around the back, a lightbar connects the taillights, and a hidden rear wiper and relocated licence plate cutout finishes off the look. It’s a lot cleaner and less busy than before, not to mention very Ariya-like. At least the badges don’t light up.
Inside, the Murano sees equally drastic changes that are also undoubtedly inspired by the Ariya. A new dual-screen layout headlines the new look, utlilzing two 12.3-inch displays for the all-digital instrument cluster and infotainment. Where it differs is the stitched binnacle hood; this one tweak alone does wonders in making the displays seem better-integrated into the dash, rather than coming across as tacked-on.
Keeping the Ariya-esque theme going is a flat-bottom steering wheel and centre stack arrangement shared between the two. Yes, this means the Murano loses its generous and easy-to-use physical switchgear, but the haptic-feedback touch panel finished in a wood-like veneer is slickly integrated and a welcome change from the gloss black trim that continues to be a thorn in our side. Plus, there’s still a volume knob. A P-R-N-D button arrangement replaces the shift lever on the centre console; say what you will about the mindless simplicity of a shift lever, the new, more compact arrangement opens up a massive storage pocket below.
Beyond all that, initial impressions are positive. Materials and fit-and-finish seem top-notch, Nissan’s so-called Zero Gravity seats extend to the rears as well and are as comfortable as ever, and there’s generous space regardless of where you sit. Cargo space punches in at 931 litres with the seats up—appreciably bigger than the outgoing Murano—and 1,798 when stowed, which is actually a bit tighter than the outgoing sport-ute. Still, it should be plenty for most.
The updates to the 2025 Murano continue under the hood. It’s a bittersweet update: Nissan’s buttery 3.5-litre normally aspirated V6 is no more, replaced by—you guessed it—a 2.0-litre turbocharged inline-four. Putting out 241 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, it’s less powerful but packs a bit more twist than the six. The CVT has been replaced by a nine-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel-drive is standard across the lineup in Canada.
Tech-wise, every single 2025 Murano comes standard with Nissan’s full suite of active safety and driver assists. That means adaptive cruise control, lane centering, blind-spot monitoring, emergency braking, and much more. Upper-spec Murano trims use Nissan’s ProPilot Assist 1.1 system; it’s not as advanced as the 2.1 version we recently sampled in the 2025 QX80, but it’s there, and it can adjust the speed around curves based by using GPS data on active routes.
Also new to upper-spec Muranos is Nissan’s updated 360-degree camera system, now including an “invisible hood” mode that helps you see what’s below the front bumper, as well as the option to select one of eight camera angles for a closer look at manoeuvring into tighter spots. Rounding out the tech updates, wireless everything—Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and charging—is standard across the lineup.
Though Nissan has yet to announce exact Canadian pricing and availability for the fourth-generation Murano, the heaps of thoughtful, attractive, and smart updates inside and out do wonders to freshen up this formerly fashion-forward nameplate and bring it back into relevance. Slap an Infiniti badge or three onto the 2025 Nissan Murano, and you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
