Hey everyone, my wife's lease is coming up in July on her 03 Accord coupe and we are in the market for a small/midsize SUV. We LOVE Honda/Acura cars, but are open to a worthy opponent such as the Subaru B9 Tribeca and Nissan Murano.

What are your thoughts on how these two SUV's stack up against the RDX? Assume the additions of the Touring and Navi packages to the Murano and Navi to the B9. All three should be in the same ballpark price wise ($34-$37k).

 

I must point out that Nissan's reliability has me in doubt in purchasing one of their cars and the MPG with the B9 isn't great...hmmm, what to do, decisions, decisions.

 

So, what have you been hearing/reading about Nissan quality?

 

Have they had any issues with the CVT? I haven't heard anything, but it's one of the things that makes me think twice about the Murano.

 

I think the Murano is a great vehicle. I almost bought one myself! In many ways, I wish I did because it would have made my life so much easier when I wanted to buy bigger items.

Anyway, I had an Altima before and I thought that the quality was pretty good. To be honest with you, I had fewer minor problems with it than I do with my TSX... ouch! LOL

The Tribeca proably is a nice SUV, but IMHO it looks way too much like a mini-van.... OUCH!

 

It's too early to say without a proper test drive of the RDX. We can revisit this thread when someone has actually had an opportunity to drive it.

 

I owned a 2003 Murano for just short of 3 years. I loved the vehicle and never had any issues with it. I traded it in for a 2006 TL because I wanted something more sporty and fun to drive. In the winter I averaged about 18.5 mpg, in the summer around 20 mpg.

The Murano's handling is excellent for a vehicle that size. I think the 0-60 time is around 7.5 seconds. The VQ engine is one of the worlds best especially for torque. The CVT is awesome, very smooth and keeps the engine in the power band. The Navi system is as good, and in some ways better than Acura's. The birds eye view mode is one I wish Acura would have in their Navi. Nissan has had issues with the Titan which is built in the USA, the Murano is built in Japan. You should check out Fresh Alloy and Murano.org to see whta Murano owners are saying and to learn more. I really don't think you could go wrong with the Murano, I'll be curious to see how the RDX stands up to it in comparisions.

 

From what I have been told the RDX will be taking the current MDX's pricing--$39-43K. Ouch!!!

 

You have been told wrong...

 

I did check the boards and what I found scared me (about the Murano). CVT failures left and right. Issues at 2k miles, 5k miles, 20k miles, 80k miles etc. We are looking for a car that will last us at least 6-10 years. I don't want to be spending $5000+ on a repair bill once the warranty expires.

The one thing you know with Honda/Acura, they will go the extra mile to ensure their product is of high quality and that the customer is satisified with their service.

 

 

http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/s...?threadid=2002

 

I had 43,000 miles, no issues. If you go by the poll you're referring to, that would be 35 failures vs. how may thousand of Murano's sold? How many TL/CL transmissions have failed? Check Consumer Reports, I believe the give the Murano a "recommended" rating.

Nissan is going forward with expanding CVT's into the rest of their line-up, I doubt they would make such a move if failures were rampant

It's your money, but I would not discount the Murano just over 35 transmission failures.

 

Actually, it's 35+ failures from those that frequent that board which is a very SMALL minority of all the Murano owners. Don't twist the information please.

 

I was just using the example you've cited. My point is I don't think you'll find data that will support that Murano CVT transmissions fail as a percentage, more often than say an MDX or RX330. If you read the comments below the poll, you'll find most owners love their trouble free Murano's.

 

That's true, tktommy. I think the boards definitely attract the dissatisfied, so who knows how that compares to other vehicles. Look at how the boards looked over the old TL transmission. You never heard much about it in the press. It didn't seem to hurt sales or ding Acura's reputation. Interesting.

 

So if you guys could rate Nissan's dependability compared to Acura, what would it be? I'm not in any way trying to come across as a person biased against Nissan, I'm just a little skeptical as we are in for the long run with this new vehicle. We love the Murano's exterior styling, the interior is not as refined as the RDX (from what we've seen). The FX is too much money and the B9 has a snout for a grill. The CX7 is nice, but again, not as luxurious as the Acura.

 

For Nissan's built in Japan (like the Murano), I'd put the quality up there with Acura. I agree the interior of Nissans semm to lack the quality feel of Acura. The one downside to Nissan is the service department atmosphere. At the risk of sounding snobby, you're rubbing elbows with a guy whose driving the Sentra.

 

I think you are looking to compare apples to oranges. A first and second year car will almost always have more problems than a mature product. I would put money on the fact that a Murano (mature) will not give you the problems you would be looking at from the RDX (young) 1st and maybe 2nd year. Given that Acura will be using a Turbo, using the SH-AWD on a brand new SUV, the Ohio plant will be assembling the SUV (Japan does the RL and its SH-AWD) there will be problems with all that tech and Ohio on a learning curve for all that stuff. So if you accept that from the start of your purchase....