2011 2012 Nissan Auto Cars Reviews

2011 Nissan murano review

Details on the 2011 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet were sketchy at the time of this review, but Nissan confirms it’ll be a two-door with four seats and that even top-down, it’ll have enough cargo room to hold a reasonable amount of luggage or golfing gear.

The 2011 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet will almost certainly share the basic grille, nose, and lower-body styling of the four-door Murano wagon. Its roofline obviously will be different and it’s expected to have a power-folding soft top — though Nissan wouldn’t confirm precisely what sort of convertible top it will have. The automaker also was mum about speculation that the Murano CrossCabriolet would have a cross-body structural-reinforcing hoop similar to the “basket handle” of the now-discontinued Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible.

Both the 2011 Murano CrossCabriolet and the 2011 Murano wagon feature minor styling changes that constitute a midcycle facelift for a basic design that dates to model-year 2009. The grille, front bumper, and taillight lenses are slightly revised, and Murano’s 18-inch alloy wheels have a new look. Inside, the instrument panel dumps gimmicky orange backlighting for more sophisticated and easier-to-read white illumination. Overall, the 2011 Murano remains an artsy compilation of curves and plains. Highlights of the wagon include a randy kink in the rear roof pillar and buffed-biceps body sides. Nissan equips the Murano wagon with unusually large 18- and 20-inch-diameter wheels that emphasize its ready-to-run nature. No word on what size the 2011 CrossCabriolet will wear but convertibles tend to use modestly sized wheels and tires to save their structures from the flex-inducing stresses of extra unsprung weight.

Convertible or wagon, Murano is a crossover because its high-riding SUV body and car-type chassis are a single unit. Old-school SUVs, such as the 2011 Nissan Pathfinder and Jeep Wrangler, bolt their body to a separate truck frame. A crossover’s “unibody” construction saves weight by comparison, but lacks the brawn for heavy-duty hauling and towing (that’s why pickup trucks shun it).

By combining “crossover” and “cabriolet” (a term for a convertible), Nissan intends the 2011 Murano CrossCabriolet name to highlight an important distinction about this vehicle’s place in automotive history. The crossover reference is important because there have been other open-air SUVs — but they’ve been body-on-frame types. These include today’s Wrangler as well as the Ford Bronco and International Scout of the 1960s and the Land Rover Defender 90 of the mid-1990s. Interestingly, Audi showed a concept version of a two-door crossover convertible in 2007, but never put it into production. The name? The Audi Cross Cabriolet.

Nissan hadn’t released dimensions for the 2011 Murano CrossCabriolet but they’re not expected to differ much from those of the Murano wagon.. Size-wise, the 2011 Murano wagon’s body is midpack for the midsize-SUV class, though its 111.2-inch wheelbase is among the longest of any crossover. Wheelbase is the distance between the front and rear axles and helps determine a vehicle’s passenger space. Murano’s relatively long wheelbase and modest body length help it cut a taut-looking figure, with minimal sheetmetal “overhang” front and rear. For drivers this means confident handling, for passengers, spacious accommodations — with especially generous rear-seat leg room. The downside is slightly less cargo volume than key competitors, though the Murano wagon still has a useful 31.6 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 64 cubic feet with the rear seatbacks folded. Cargo-volume figures for the 2011 Murano CrossCabriolet haven’t been released but Nissan suggest it’ll have more carrying space than other four-seat convertibles.

The addition of a new trim level expands the 2011 Nissan Murano wagon lineup to four models. The 2011 Murano S wagon is back as the base trim level. Slotting in one rung up is the new model, the 2011 Nissan Murano SV, which comes standard with a carefully chosen list of popular features. Its presence in effect pushes the returning 2011 Murano SL wagon up a notch, a move justified by its newly expanded list of upscale standard features. Repeating atop the wagon line is the luxury-oriented 2011 Murano LE. The LE is visually distinguished from other Murano wagons by its silver-accented roof rails and titanium-finish 20-inch alloy wheels; other 2011 Muranos have dark-tint rails and 18-inch alloys.

Nissan confirms the 2011 Murano CrossCabriolet will come in a single trim level but offers no additional details. Convertible buyers tend to favor well-equipped models, which suggest the 2011 CrossCabriolet will slot in at the equivalent of the wagon’s SL or LE tier, though it may not be badged as such.

Article Sources :   Iguida.com

Tags: murano 2011, murano detail, Murano reviews

This entry was posted on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at 9:37 pm and is filed under 2011 nissan, Nissan Murano . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.