An all-new 2025 Nissan Murano is set to debut next year, bringing a fresh face to the competitive mid-size crossover segment. We have details regarding its design and potential powertrain, with Nissan making some surprising changes.
The Nissan Murano is quite special for a mid-size crossover, but in a bad way. The CrossCabrilet version sold back in 2011 is considered to be one of the ugliest vehicles ever made. And today’s model is fundamentally the same as the 2015 Murano, so it’s also quite outdated.
There have been rumors of the Murano being discontinued, and it’s not available in RHD markets, where the Murano was replaced by the Pathfinder. But about a month ago, Nissan revealed a concept to preview the potential replacement model.
In April 2023, the Nissan Pathfinder Concept was presented at Auto Shanghai in China. It obviously previewed a production vehicle, having features you’d find on the road, such as door handles and mirrors. But about a month ago, the concept was filmed in Japan at one of Nissan’s special display areas.
So why is this the Murano and not the Pathfinder, as the illuminated badge says? Well, in America, we already have one of those. The 2022 Pathfinder was introduced in February 2021 as an all-new model. It’s not due for a refresh, and it certainly doesn’t resemble this concept.
Using details from the concept, but also recent spy photos, Kolesa was able to craft its usual renderings. These digital images predict the design of the 2025 Nissan Murano with a fair degree of accuracy.
As you can see, the design of the 2025 Murano differs from Nissan crossovers or the Frontier pickup. Those have LED lights shaped like a C-clamp, but here, the lights cascade down to form a big wing together with the glossy black grille. This styling is quite similar to the Ariya electric vehicle as well.
But there’s one difference between the 2025 Murano and the 2023 Pathfinder concept: the roof. The concept in Japan is supposed to be a 7-seat family vehicle, so it has a straight back, but the Murano will keep its trademark coupe-like design.
The 2025 Nissan Murano will have the internal codename Z53, and it will be closely related in terms of platform to the R53 Pathfinder. They even share the Nissan Smyrna assembly line in Tennessee.
Details regarding the powertrain remain unknown. But the most likely engine for this sub-$40,000 vehicle remains the 3.5-liter VQ35 V6 engine. The current 2024 model year Murano only makes 260 horsepower, but this will be upgraded on the new model to 284 horsepower.
Another notable improvement is expected for the gearbox. After many years of criticism from customers, Nissan will replace the CVT. Thus, the 2025 Murano will have a new nine-speed automatic transmission, equipped with a manual shift mode and paddles behind the steering wheel. It’s actually a Mercedes 9G-Tronic made under license.
