When the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet was first introduced it broke new ground as the world’s first all-wheel drive crossover convertible. Based on the highly versatile D-platform shared with Altima, Maxima, Murano, and Quest, the CrossCabriolet is now in its last year of a 4-year model lifecycle. It stands alone – blending all of the things people love in a crossover with the open air enjoyment of a convertible.
The Murano CrossCabriolet’s extraordinarily engineered fully automatic cloth convertible top folds to provide ample room for four adults and plenty of cargo space with the top up or down. With AWD standard, high ground clearance and a host of luxury features, the CrossCabriolet is a vehicle that can be enjoyed every day of the year, in any weather – not just when the sun is out.
The Murano CrossCabriolet is designed to overcome the traditional functional limitations of a convertible – limited trunk space, a cramped back seat or none at all and a lack of flexibility for everyday life. It overcomes all of these obstacles, combining elegant design and state-of-the-art engineering. One of the priorities in the convertible top design was the retention of the traditional Murano silhouette with the top up and a luxurious, sophisticated appearance with the top down.
Body Structure and Exterior
The transformation of the Murano body from Crossover to CrossCabriolet and from 4-door to 2-door meant more than just removing the top. This unique design required additional body structure compared with Murano. Along with creating new front doors (7.9 inches longer than 4-door Murano front doors) and eliminating the B-pillars, the structure was reinforced from the A-pillar rearward. The coefficient of drag remains close to that of the fixed roof Murano, just 0.39 Cd versus 0.37 Cd for the fixed roof design. The cloth convertible top also includes a rear glass skylight, helping create the feeling of a wide-open interior environment for the rear passengers even with the top in the closed position.
One of the keys to the CrossCabriolet’s design efficiencies is the convertible top’s exceptionally compact size when stowed, which allows both additional interior and cargo volume (normally taken up by a traditional convertible stowage design). The hydraulically operated top mechanism is fully automatic and includes a power latch/unlatch system. Operation switches are located on the center console and driver’s door handle. With the top down, the stowed size is similar to that of a conventional 2-seat roadster. Trunk capacity with the top down is 7.6 cubic feet, enough to fit two golf bags or two carry-on suitcases. With the top closed, cargo capacity expands to 12.3 cubic feet.
Along with the unique convertible top appearance, the Murano CrossCabriolet exterior also includes High Intensity Discharge (HID) bi-functional xenon projector headlights with auto on/off function, front fog lights and Nissan 370Z-inspired LED taillights. Other features include bodycolored front and rear bumpers, chrome door handles, body-colored dual power/heated outside mirrors, and rear window defroster with timer. Just like the Murano, the CrossCabriolet’s high ground clearance offers easy ingress and egress.
For the 2014 model year there are four exterior colors available: Super Black, Pearl White, Midnight Garnet and Gun Metallic.
Interior
The luxurious Murano CrossCabriolet interior starts with a foundation of the top-of-theline Murano LE and takes it to the next level of standard features and convenience items. The tall windshield and A-pillar design combines with the body’s high beltline and high rear seat shoulders to help reduce conventional interior air turbulence with the top down, allowing conversation between occupants.
Premium materials are used throughout the interior, with the standard diagonally quilted leather-appointed seats available with double-stitched appointments for added elegance.
The interior’s curving, sculpted lines, half-matte chromed trim finish and unique wood-tone trim, are tuned to match each of three available interior colors, and add an additional rich, quality feel. Interior colors include Black, Cashmere (light brown) and Camel (brown).
The Murano CrossCabriolet comes fully equipped, with a long list of standard features including 8-way power heated driver’s seat with power lumbar support, 4-way manual heated front passenger seat with easy entry function. Other amenities include the 2-position driver’s seat memory system for seat, and outside mirrors, seat easy entry release button on instrument panel for driver access. It also includes a driver and front passenger seatback pocket, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob and Nissan Intelligent Key® with Push Button Ignition.
Every Murano CrossCabriolet comes standard with a Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System, a HomeLink® Universal Transceiver and a RearView Monitor system. An advanced Nissan Hard-Drive Navigation System with NavTraffic Real-Time Traffic Information (SiriusXM subscription required, sold separately), Bluetooth® Streaming Audio, Voice Recognition and 7-inch VGA touch screen is optionally available.
Open-air road tunes are provided by a Bose® AM/FM/CD audio system with eight speakers including subwoofer, automatic audio adjustment for soft-top up/down position. An integrated Interface System for iPod®, speed-sensitive volume control and auxiliary audio input jack, and SiriusXM® Satellite Radio (SiriusXM® subscription required, sold separately) is also standard.
Murano’s Drivetrain
The Murano CrossCabriolet’s drivetrain is shared with the all-wheel drive hardtop Murano. Its equipped standard with a 3.5-liter 24-valve DOHC V6 producing 265 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque. The VQ35DE engine includes Nissan’s variable Induction Control System (NICS), twin knock sensors, low exhaust pressure, a 10.3:1 compression ratio and 6,600 rpm redline. Fuel economy is rated at 17 mpg City/22 mpg Highway despite the added weight of all-wheel drive and structural reinforcements.
The V6 engine is mated to a second-generation Xtronic CVT® with Adaptive Shift Control (ASC) for sporty response and smoothness. The ASC is an advanced, sporttuned controller with adaptive logic for driving comfort or driving performance as conditions require.
The Transmission Control Module (TCM) senses vehicle operating conditions through various sensors or signals and controls the optimum shift position to reduce shifting and lock-up shocks. In order to select the gear ratio that can obtain the driving force in accordance with driver’s intention, the TCM monitors the driving conditions, such as the vehicle speed and the throttle position. The TCM then selects the optimum gear ratio, and determines the gear change steps to the gear ratio. Then the TCM sends the command to the step motor, and co ntrols the inflow/outflow of line pressure from the primary pulley to determine th e position of the moving-pulley thus controlling the gear ratio.
Intuitive All-Wheel Drive (AWD)
With Murano CrossCabriolet’s standard Intuitive AWD, all four wheels receive drive power, as needed.
The intuitive all-wheel drive system helps in all driving conditions: cruising and cornering, dry or wet roads, and responds accordingly. The intuitive AWD is used with the Murano VDC system’s yaw sensors, wheel slip sensors and steering angle sensors. By receiving the steering angle sensor signal, yaw rate sensor signal, side G sensor signal and decel G sensor signal, the vehicle’s VDC helps correct the torque distribution for the front and rear wheels according to the driver’s inputs. When the sensors located at each wheel sense the wheel at that corner is starting to slip, the VDC reduces the amount of torque being sent to that wheel helping to maintain traction.
AWD Control Unit
The AWD Control Unit controls the driving force distribution by signals from each sensor from front wheel driving mode (100:0) to 4-wheel driving mode (50:50), and improves drivability and traction or control on a slippery road surface. Intuitive AWD helps provide maximum traction at start, and higher efficiency while the vehicle is traveling, as well as helping maintain traction in the corners.
The Murano CrossCabriolet’s lightweight 4-wheel independent suspension features MacPherson struts in front, a cradle-type front sub frame and front stabilizer bars. The rear suspension features a multi-link rear design and rear stabilizer bars. Also utilized are dual-flow path shock absorbers for responsiveness and reduced ride harshness.
Steering is provided by a twin-orifice vehicle-speed-sensitive power-assisted steering system, while the braking system includes 4-wheel vented disc brakes with Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Brake Assist and Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD). Every CrossCabriolet comes with 20-inch split 5-spoke titanium finish aluminum-alloy wheels – and 235/55R20 Toyo Proxes A20 all-season tires.
Safety Features
Standard Murano CrossCabriolet safety features include the Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with dual stage supplemental front air bags with seat belt sensors and an occupant classification sensor. Front seat side-impact supplemental air bags, and door-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bags with rollover sensor are also included along with front seat belts with pretensioners and load limiters. The CrossCabriolet features Zone Body Construction with front and rear crumple zones. Other standard equipment includes front seat Active Head Restraints, Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS), Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC), Traction Control System (TCS) and Dual Pop-up Roll Bars for rear passengers.
