Nissan Murano’s beauty and style worth attention 

Do you feel left out of all the fun? Has life become predictable? Perhaps you need to be spontaneous and daring. May be a new car can brighten up your life. I often desire to visit places far and remote. I would love to wake up in the morning and point my vehicle in any direction and drive off without a worry.

An offroader presents the flexibility to explore but is sometimes an impractical, ugly, fuel guzzler not ideal for everyday means of transport. Although an SUV gives freedom, it is expensive to maintain.

In comes the crossover and you have a vehicle that blends in with good looking saloon cars and allows you the ground clearance to venture off the beaten track. While most large SUVs are practical when put to the right tasks, they are not as aesthetically pleasing as CUVs (crossover utility vehicles).

Diesel engine

Nissan have their share of cars that will not comfortably be labelled ‘pretty’, like the outgoing Patrol, but they can boast of the best-looking crossover vehicles in the world — the Nissan Murano.

The Murano is eye-candy and now it comes without a roof for the American market. Murano CrossCabriolet shows how brave this Japanese nameplate is when it comes to daring designs. Our local SUV vehicle market is predominantly diesel and the Murano has previously only been available in petrol guise. In 2010, Nissan wisely included an oil burner and it now comes with a powerful diesel engine which means sales will improve as soon as it is introduced in this market. Although the diesel engine was engineered for the European region to improve its sales, it will enable Murano to begin to realise better sales across Africa. Our diesel quality still presents a challenge but that has not stopped Kenyans from going for their desire.

The diesel version is powered by a revised version of Nissan’s 2.5-litre common-rail four-cylinder unit. Changes include performance and higher emissions standards. It develops more power and torque than before — the headline figure is a remarkable 450Nm—yet is more economical and emits less.

The car’s aerodynamic performance has helped to drop fuel consumption as well as the regenerative braking that creates electricity which is stored in the battery reducing demands placed on the alternator and, in turn, lowering the load on the engine. The engine manages a combined fuel economy of 8.0 litres every 100km.

Just as significantly, the engine has been comprehensively re-engineered not just for greater efficiency, but also to deliver refinement. Among the changes are a switch from chain to belt drive for the power steering pump to reduce noise while a fifth engine mounting point has been added to lower levels of NVH (noise, vibration and harshness). Extra sound absorbing material has been added to the engine bay to lower noise intrusion into the cabin.

The installation of the diesel engine required design alteration at the front of the vehicle to take into account the different requirements for cooling and airflow. This represented an ideal opportunity to significantly update the Murano’s frontal aspect. With a new grille and bumper design, the styling is now even more elegant and masculine. The grille is now simpler with a more understated effect thanks to the use of a more matt finish. The mesh pattern behind the grille is more prominent and now in a traditional, honeycomb pattern, giving a sporty feel to the front appearance.