After a model-year hiatus (no 2008 model), the Murano comes back with a little more mustard on the ball, styling wise, but generally modest changes. The profile is about the same. The interior passenger room is about the same -- though rear cargo space is trimmed back a bit. The Murano is still based on the Nissan's midsize Altima platform, with routine model-freshening improvements in rigidity and quietness. It's still powered by Nissan's ever-present 3.5-liter V6, with a bump in output to 265 hp and 248 pound-feet of torque. And it's still routing power through a continuously variable transmission (CVT), though this generation of the device is much smarter and far more livable than the last. Compared to the earnestly plodding evolution in the rest of the Murano, the CVT retune is a thunderclap of innovation.




