A combined cycle fuel consumption figure of just 25.9 mpg (10.9 l/100km) means trips to the filling station are painfully frequent and expensive, while a CO2 emissions figure of 261 g/km places the petrol Murano in Band M for UK road tax purposes. That’s the highest tier and it means the cost of putting the car on the road each year is a whopping £435.
Realising that - for European tastes at least - there was a glaring gap in the Murano line-up, Nissan is finally producing a Murano with a diesel engine. So, to complement the existing petrol engine, it must have just used the 3.0 litre V6 diesel out of sister brand Infiniti’s FX crossover, right?
Wrong. It’s a 2.5 litre four cylinder, which produces 187 bhp (139 kW / 190 PS). There’s plenty of torque though, with the maximum 450 Nm available from 2,000 rpm. Even so, the Murano dCi is predictably slower than the petrol version: the 0-62 mph acceleration time is 10.5 seconds, and it’ll eventually get up to 122 mph (196 km/h).
The choice of engine and the distinctly average performance would be excusable if economy and emissions were anywhere near decent. Trouble is, they’re not. OK, 35.3 mpg (8.0 l/100km) isn’t too bad, but 210 g/km of CO2 only drops it down to Band K, which still means UK drivers will have to pay £235 each year in road tax.
Another problem is a potential lack of refinement, something inherent to large capacity four-cylinder diesels. To help address this, the Murano dCi has received several modifications. Among these are a fifth engine mounting point and additional sound absorbing material in the engine bay.
It’s especially unfortunate that Nissan chose to announce the Murano dCi in the same week that BMW has unveiled its brand new X3. Even though the BMW’s engine is ‘only’ a two litre with 181 bhp (135 kW / 184 PS), it still manages to be quicker than the Nissan (0-62 mph in 8.5 seconds and a 130 mph top speed).
But it’s when economy and emissions - the main reasons why most people opt for a diesel - are compared against the X3 that the Murano dCi begins to look really poor. The BMW will achieve 50.4 mpg on the combined cycle, while its CO2 figure is a paltry 149 g/km (although that falls further to 147 g/km if an automatic gearbox is specified). Regardless of the transmission, the X3 is in road tax Band F, which is just £125.
At £30,490, the BMW is also quite a bit cheaper than the Murano dCi, which costs £37,795 (incidentally the same price as the petrol version). Admittedly though, the Nissan does come with loads more standard equipment than the X3, including heated seats, colour rear and kerbside cameras, bi-xenon headlights, Bluetooth connectivity, touch screen satellite navigation, Bose audio system, hard drive music server and electrically folding rear seats.
Nissan estimates that the diesel will account for 90% of Murano sales. It must be hoping that the generous specification lures customers into its showrooms otherwise, given the strength of the competition, that could end up being 90% of a very small number.
The Nissan Murano dCi is available to order now, with UK deliveries starting in September.
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