Considering a 2010 Nissan Murano
 

I am just about ready to get rid of this darn H2 I've been lugging around for 7 years...120,000 miles on it and I want to get rid of it before it's worth absolutely nothing (which is nearly is now, I'm sure).

Been REALLY considering the Nissan Murano. Platinum Graphite (to match my Zee, of course!) LE model, Nav, etc. I'm in the middle of searching to find posts about the Murano but they are mixed in here and there, so I thought I'd start a thread.

I'm bummed I'll be losing a 3rd seat but it is also the perfect excuse to not always be the Mom who can cart other people's kiddos around too....

Tell me why you love yours (if you have one?)

Thanks!

My sister has one, base model (S?) with some upgrades from Nissan you can get (not sure exactly which). It is a nice ride, good height, but I have only really driven it down the street. She has cloth seats, but I was not overly impressed with them but I love the snug style of the seats in the Z.

I had a coworker that had a purple one (wife made him get it), had 150k on it and he says he never had an issue. Curious though, have you considered an Xterra or Pathfinder?

Before you commit to any vehicles, check them out here:
Auto Recalls - View Car Recalls, Complaints and Ratings at myCarStats

I haven't really looked at those..I'm sorta wanting to get away from a "truck-ish" SUV type of vehicle (like I have now)...But then again, If my husband had his way, he'd have me get a Suburban but I'm just really not wanting such a "big" vehicle as my daily driver. Part of this is because now that I have my Z for my daily driver...I realize how EASY it is to get around in a smaller vehicle..the H2 is just so big and bulky..and I remember really loving the thing when we first got it in 03 (my husband loved the tax write off.) but now...I think I *am* getting older. :)

Admittedly, I don't look at the Murano and go "wow" (like I do my Z)..it reminds me of a "mom" car..but I am a mom :)

Sigh..

I will look into that vehicle recall link, thank you everyone! :)

The one I sat in today at the Nissan Dealer had black leather..they were okay..they had "puckers" in the leather..I'm not really a "puckery" type of person LOL... I like the seats in my Z MUCH better...but thought maybe I am just being picky. I also don't care for the "berly wood" type look either and it had that. I'd rather just have a nice graphite grey in there versus the "wood look." The SL model had the grey softer plastic instead of the wood, but it seems if you get the LE model, you get the wood look. Disappointing to me. I like the moderness/clean look of my Z interior.

I'm probably too picky!!

Muranos are nice. However, have you considered an Infiniti FX35 or 50? It's built on the same platform (but stretched) as the 370Z/G37. RWD or rear-biased AWD, better suspension and handling than a Murano, as well as more powerful engines. FX35 has same acceleration times as my FX45 (0 to 60 in 6.1 sec), and FX50 has similar acceleration times as the 370Z (5.0 sec to 60). Not too shabby for a crossover SUV...more room, but without sacrificing sportiness... just throwing out an idea.

Did you test drive it? I couldn't stand driving a CVT...

I haven't gone to look at the Infiniti's YET..because..I know I'll probably like them and I'm TRYING...(oh so hard...lol...) to be practical and not have to get the "best of the best" car, considering my husband just bought me this new Z... lol... Do I REALLY need two nice cars?? probably not... But then again, I probably don't *need* another car period..it's just that all these little things are starting to happen with the H2..and I forsee more issues as the mileage gets even higher...Ugh. Had to put 2 new catalytic converters on last year (I didn't even know it HAD two??) because those blew out... I hate putting a lot of money into it if its just going to continue to give me grief. Bummer is, it looks BRAND SPANKIN NEW..not even a single door ding. So it LOOKS great.

but maybe..I should head to the Infiniti dealer...:)

Edited to say: Maybe "being more practical" isn't the correct excuse to use considering I own an H2 and a 2 seater. Both impractical in their own rights. LOL!

hmm.. fx35, not a bad lookin car, if you're gonna have a mom car, why not have a baller mom car? Somethin the kids dont have to feel ashamed of when you take them to soccer practice lol

Hell i'd even drive this thing.
http://www.shoppalstores.com/remotes..._fx35_2006.jpg

My kids totally get what you are saying...They aren't all that pleased I'm considering selling the H2, which to them is a "cool car"..(but to me is just a bit obstentacious (sp?) and gets 10mpg. It was strictly bought for the tax write off when they had some loophole back in 03 where we could practically write the entire thing off for our business. Now I'm almost ashamed to own it, because of its environmental impact..LOL..)

That Infiniti is nice...My husband will kill you guys for steering me in the opposite direction he was hoping I'd steer....(Less expensive Nissan. LOL)

Not sure I like the satellite/gps (?) antannae thing right up front like that..its on the rear on the Murano I think?

I haven't test drove one yet...I'm not even sure what a CVT means?? lol.. :confused:

That is a picture of the first generation FX. The current 2nd generation also has that antenna in the back. The FX35 isn't that much more than a Murano, really, but what it gives you is a totally different type of crossover that emphasizes more on sport...much more like your Z.

CVT = continuously variable transmission. It doesn't feel like a typical automatic with predetermined shift points. The CVT keeps your engine RPM constant while you accelerate, so feels very unconventional. You get used to it or you don't (love it or hate it). :-)

Ohhh..Good to know. I may swing by the dealership and take a look at it. I really love the sportiness of my Z...and now despise the sluggishness of the H2.. (Its like 0-60 in 5 seconds and 0-60 in 5 minutes, with my cars. LOL)

So many decisions..I appreciate all this feedback guys!

P.S. LOOVE the color of your 40th anniversary edition, DJpathfinder!

Well..I went to the website and by the time I configure one similar to the Murano with the Nav..its over $50k :( The Sticker price on the Murano is $39K. I already know what my husband will say. hehe...

But I may still go look.... :)

Thanks! I just took some pics of my new Z, so I'll post them up some time soon.

I love my FX and would highly recommend it to anyone. Back in Dec 2004 when we were looking to buy a new vehicle, we were expecting our first child, so a sports car was out of the question. The FX was the closest thing I could get that fulfilled that desire...Not the most spacious SUV by any means, but sportiness was important for me in addition to the ability to put a baby seat in the back. That held me over till now...I've always been a big fan of the Z car. Just picked mine up 10 days ago (walked in at the right time on a 40th anniversary edition that wasn't spoken for), and I'm glad I did even though it's still a highly illogical purchase. Oh well, you only live once. :happydance:

It's highly illogical that I should have a Z myself, considering I have 3 children. LOL. But if he can have a race van and race trailer and 400 dirtbikes..................... hehe. (I used that as leverage.) :) :)

P.S. I have a friend who lives in Edmonton, Canada..I need to double check, but I think that is where she lives! I go up to Harrison Hot Springs, over in BC every year with some girlfriends!

Uh-oh...I get a feeling this conversation is going to go like this:
"so you're from Edmonton. Do you know a (insert name here)?":icon17: Just kidding!

Well, good luck on your decision and purchase. The Murano IS a good vehicle.

nah..I just looked. She lives in Bentley, Alberta? So not in Edmonton, not sure why I thought Edmonton. Interestingly, she won the lottery back in 1999 there or something...lol!

I realized I hijacked my own thread. hehe.

I swapped my 2006 H2 for a 2010 Pathfinder in January and love it. I bought the H2 right before the bottom fell out of the HUMMER market and I loved the truck, but I did not appreciate being cut off in traffic and flipped off for owning it. People would put door dings in it without any regard no matter how far out I parked it. Mine got a solid 11.4 MPG city/highway/towing/up hill/ down hill, just didn't matter.

The Pathfinder is great and I got it for like $26k, so that was less than half what the H2 cost. You may want to give them a look. We enjoy the Pathfinder so much and the buying experience that we bought the 370Z two months later and traded our 2006 Infiniti G35 coupe. It helped Nissan's cause that the Infiniti dealership here is apparently doing so much business that they did not need us anymore. We had only bought 2 G35 coupes from them.

Plus the V6 Pathfinder tows more than the H2, believe it or not.

E

Surprisingly, I haven't been given that hard of a time about owning an H2 where I live. They are EVERYWHERE here..yet interestingly, I FEEL GUILTY owning the thing now. Your the second person who has mentioned the Pathfinder, I may have to go check those out as well. As for the towing, I'm not too concerned about that-- did you think the H2 towed very well? I towed my 23 foot Sanger boat with it and I never really felt comfortable. If I towed the boat with my husbands Chevy truck (longbed, diesel) It was like I couldn't even feel it back there. I always attributed that to the short wheel base of my H2..but I digress....lol..I don't plan on towing anything with whatever I get after this. He has his truck and I just want something smaller and less bulky/better gas mileage. (I got about the same as you with my H2) I feel like I need to stick with a crossover or SUV still, with the 3 kids and their sports, etc. But it's tempting to go look at a sedan (like the G37 coupe)... I'm so undecided. (I'm also oddly attached to my H2, so getting rid of it will be sad for me..even though I don't seem to "want" it anymore..I'm weird.)

Thanks!

I don't give a crap what peolpe think. I drive what a I want, and you should too, Some people like to tell what others should drive! and at the same time those judging are runing around in smart cars and prius's doing 75 on the freeway.... Don't let others tell you what you should drive.
Have a good one and good luck in what every you decide, by the way I saw a great deal on a H1 :tup:

I thought the H2 was horrible at towing. Something that weighs that much should not have a problem towing anything, but 5k was the limit. I haven't towed with the Pathfinder yet, but my V6 Pathfinder tows 6k stock.

Giving up the H2 was harder than I thought it would be, but the first time I put gas in the Pathfinder I forgot all about the H2. I (like you) was paying over $4 a gallon for a time there and it was costing $100 to go about 300 miles. We are averaging 18.4 MPG with the Pathfinder. Plus the Pathfinder drives great (so did the H2), has rear air controls (H2 did not) and is very quet.

I also drove the Armada and the Xterra before deciding on the Pathfinder. Armada gets the same gas mileage (if not worse depending on what you read online) as the H2 and is actually a hair bigger. I felt like if I bought the Armada, I might as well keep the H2 because of the size and mileage. The Xterra I did like, especially with 2 labs, but the armrest for the driver is out of position in my opinion and solely for that reason I did not buy it.

We loved our H2, but we are loving the Pathfinder also.

E

Good, I'm glad it's not just my towing capabilites (being a woman and all..pfft! ha!) I can pull my boat with a 40ft motorhome no problem...but behind the H2, it just plain sucks. Heck, it was easier (for me..lol) to back the boat down the boat ramp with the motorhome versus the H2..again, the short wheel base is to blame (I think?)

See..interesting about the Armada. One of the reasons I feel so guilty about the H2 is that everyone always talks about the horrible gas mileage, the environmental impact, etc. Yet you don't seem to hear them saying that about the Suburbans, Armada's, etc that cost the same (if not more) than H2's, get the same gas mileage, etc. Yet the Hummers are the scapegoat for all things environmentally unfriendly. Ugh..LOL (off soapbox now)

Thanks for your input--It's great to get it from another H2 owner, gives me more perspective.

I could not agree more about the judgement against the H2 when other vehicles get just as bad, if not worse, gas mileage. My work truck is a Durango with the Magnum V8 engine and the gas mileage is the same as the H2.

Nobody wants to hear that though, they just want to criticize.

There is a great comparison between the H2 and the Prius on the internet that says in terms of entire life cycle, the Prius is actually harder on the environment than the H2 due to the batteries and such. Interesting read.

Feel free to holler if you have any questions/concerns about the Pathfinder and good luck with your decision.

E

So far, my girlfriend and I love the Murano we bought a few months ago. It's a used 2006 model (with under 20k miles), so it'll be without a few of the luxuries and features that the 2010 model has, but we are very happy with it.

It gets great gas mileage (around 18 to 20 with a mix of city and highway), rides comfortably, and is one of the safest SUVs out there. It doesn't have the power that a V6 should have, imo (perhaps just the contrast between the Z's V6 and that!), but my GF says it's more than peppy enough.

Good luck!

My GF has a 2009 and I drive it quite often. Great ride...

Does her model have the CVT transmission that was mentioned above? I've been too busy with school to get over there and actually test drive one.. I need to do that!

Same questions...the CVT transmission? Love it or hate it? I haven't driven one yet..but I hear both~ Need to get over and drive one I guess.

CVT Transmission is smooth, and there's plenty of power when needed. It's not like you'll be taking a Murano to the track, or running the 1/4 in it. ;)

True...lol.. Wonder what all the young people would think if I showed up at the track with my Murano and my Z and drove my Murano to the line. LOL! hehe.. too funny...

Yeah that would be funny. The Murano has plenty of power and a lot of cool options like power liftgate, power rear seats (up or down from driver seat). Plus all the tech options Nissan offers. The dual pane sun/moon roof is cool as well. Very comfortable to drive for short or long trips.

I would definitely want the LE, which I think has all the options your mentioning.. I didn't know it had power down seats from the drivers seat. That is sorta cool. Thanks for the info!

Yeah it is cool, but the power up is what I thought was wild on the rear seats. :)

My GF's Murano does not have the CVT Transmission. However, I did get a loaner 2010 Altima from my Nissan dealership during my Z purchase (long story).

It had the CVT and I was impressed. I liked it. It was smooth, had plenty of power when I needed it (and it was only the 2.5L model), and overall felt really good.

I actually stopped a lady at Costco today after she got our of her car (Murano) and asked her how she liked it. She said he liked it alot, drove well, etc. I didn't spring the 'so, do you like the CVT transmission thing" on her because I didn't want her to think I was a total freak..lol.. She did say that it drives "just like the Maxima" drives, which is why she likes it. So..whatever that means. I drove by the Nissan dealer today and they have a PG Murano there...hmmmm

Get a FX35!
:D
That's a great car and much better on gas than that h2.

Anything's gotta be better than this H2. LOL!

I need to go to the Infiiniti dealer...

Now my husband is trying to talk me into a Denali. Ugh... SOO not sporty.

Denali:confused: FX:yum:
:tup: