Category: Sporting 4x4s 
Price Range: £30,085 to £30,085
Refined, comfortable, willing 3.5-litre engine.
Pronounced body roll, only one engine option.
Very much a niche product, the Murano is the car for non-off-roading fans of 4x4s.
The Murano was first launched in the UK in 2005 and, although fairly accomplished in its own way, hasn't exactly set the car market alight, selling just over 1,000 units a year.
The new version, due in the UK in October 2008 but already available in the US, has a new body that maintains the slightly arty feel that made the original iteration distinctive. A new front end includes a revised grille, lights and bonnet, with more pronounced wheel arches. At the back, there's a new shape to the rear window and large LED tail-lights. The interior has also had a makeover.
Mechanically, there have a been a number of other changes, including revisions to the 3.5-litre V6 that have added 35bhp, taking the power output up to 265bhp, and torque has also been increased to 248lb-ft. The engine is mated to a second generation of Nissan's Xtronic CVT (continuously variable transmission) gearbox.
A niche product, the Murano is the kind of car that urban 4x4 drivers buy: high-riding, distinctively styled and comfortable, it's only ever going to get muddy if parked at the likes of Glyndebourne or the overspill car park at Twickenham.
And there's also something of a contradiction at the heart of the Murano: its looks will appeal to fairly trendy, design-conscious metropolitan buyers, but this is exactly the kind of audience that baulks at being thought of as planet-destroyers, so a 3.5-litre V6 engine is likely to be beyond the pale for them.
There's also a caveat to our review: we tested an early US-spec car, so there's likely to be some fine-tuning done before it arrives in the UK in the autumn of 2008.
The price is yet to be confirmed, but it's thought that there will only be a small premium of the £30,190 charged for the previous iteration.
