2015 Nissan Murano

I recently spent a week driving the thoroughly revamped 2015 Nissan Murano, which, as unlikely as it may seem, made me think of John Keats.
 
One of the unluckiest chaps ever to put quill to paper, Keats once wrote that “poetry should surprise by fine excess and not by singularity.” Well, there’s certainly nothing singular about the new Murano, but as for fine excess, it has that covered.
 
For $42,540, the Murano Platinum model I drove was positively jammed with the latest technology (intelligent cruise control, Around View® monitoring, advanced safety features), comforts (Nissan’s NASA-inspired zero-gravity, no-pressure seats, Bose® premium audio system, heated front and rear seats, heated steering wheel), and conveniences (remote start, one-touch power windows, power rear liftgate, a back seat that has plenty of legroom, and a user-friendly infotainment/connectivity system).

 

 
So does that mean the new Murano is poetry? Ah, no, not really. But it is one of the smoothest, easiest to drive, most comfortable, provocatively styled vehicles I’ve tested in quite some time.
 
Overall, the new Murano is as smoothly contoured as the glass from which it takes its name (specifically, the Murano region in Italy), and it drives just as well. I think its target buyers — kid-free, fashion-conscious professionals aged 35-45 who disdain truck-like SUVs — will share the same effusive praise for the Murano.