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IS YOUR GARAGE PROTECTING YOUR CAR BETTER THAN YOUR BARGAINROTE CAR INSURANCE? D o n 't tr u s t ju s t a n y o n e to in su re y o u r car, se e me: An Oakville Beaver Automotive Feature · To advertise in this section call 905-845-3824 or Fax 905-337-5568 The Murano personifies new look and new attitude at Nissan It's safe to say that a vehicle which really stood out at the recent Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) annual Car of the Year testing was the Nissan Murano. It's one o f the new breed of 'crossover' cars that, instead o f blurring the line between a car and a sport utili ty vehicle, actually blends both. Helping this is the fact that with its standard 18-inch wheels, it looks like one of those concept cars we somehow only get to see at auto shows. And while concept-to-consumer is becoming more common, the Murano's interior has that special showcar look that for once, b u y e r s can enjoy instead of just look ing at. T h e Murano personi fies the . , , Jim Robinson new look . and new attitude at Nissan. From the 'sick man' of Japanese automaking just five years ago, the Altima has been a smash hit as has the 350Z. Now we have the Murano with a new Maxima coming in March. Next year there will be a new Quest minivan and a full-size truck. Yes, Nissan is on a roll. Based on the Altima sedan platform and widened about three inches, the Murano does share the same 3.5-litre, quad cam V6 producing 245 hp and 246 lb/ft of torque. The Murano won't offer buyers a choice of a manual or automat ic transmission. Instead it is Nissan's first use of the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). In essence, a steel belt runs between two, cone-shaped pulleys, one from the engine, the other to the drivetrain. The belt then slides back and forth so that it keeps the engine at optimal power. Ergo, while the Murano has only one gear, it really has thousands because the belt moves so that no power is lost going up or down the rev range. Nissan calls it the Xtronic and this is the first time I know o f where a CVT has been able to absorb this much power. All Muranos in Canada will come with all-wheel-drive, although there is a front-wheel-drive version offered in the U.S. In the 'Auto' mode it routes power where needed from 100 per cent front/0 per cent rear up to 50/50. In unstable conditions, the transfer case can be locked into 50/50. In the 'Lock' mode and at 50/50, the system switches back to Auto above 30 km/h, but returns back to Lock if speed drops below 30 km/h. The interior took me by storm. Dark caramel leather seating as well as door and panel trim is accentuated by the use of real brushed aluminum (not the faux plastic stuff) on the console, shifter area, doors and steering wheel spokes. The three-pod gauges done in an ochre face colour is hip. The centre control pod for heating and entertainment looks like it is floating on the dash, a concept borrowed from the Infiniti G35 Coupe. In the centre of the instrument panel is a 6.3-inch colour information monitor which also is used for the optional nav igation system. The back seats recline slightly for added long distance comfort. Or they can fold forward flush to create a flat cargo floor. The rear seats fold with one movement - thanks Nissan. Cargo area with the . second row seats up is 92.3 lites (32.6 cu. ft.) and 2,311 litres (81.6 cu. ft) folded. Lift the cargo hatch, and in this humongous well, is a full-size spare, something you're thrilled to have with standard 18-inch wheels. Imagine try ing to drive one of this puppies with a 'dinky' (compact spare) on the front! Another cool feature is the double-well, lockable front console that is big enough to hold a laptop. In terms of safety, there are airbags in just about any place Nissan could fit them along with front seat active head restraints. Brakes are discs front and rear with Brake Assists and Electronic Brake Force Distribution that distrib utes brake force to each wheel based on load and road conditions. There are two versions -- the SL at With a powerful 245 hp V6, and CVT transmission, the 2003 Nissan Murano can climb steep hills like a mountain goat. $39,500 and the SE at $46,500. There are only two main options on the SL, the power sunroof at $1,000 and the navigation system at $3,400. The SL is sumptuously equipped with eight-way power driver's seat, pri vacy glass, climate control, heated power mirrors, power locks and win dows and cruise, remote entry,immobi lizer, Homelink system, trip computer with outside temperature display, and steering wheel mounted audio controls. The SL also gets heated seats and speed sensitive audio volume control along with a Bose, 225-watt sound system.Opt for the SE and you get everything on the SL plus sports sus pension and special six-spoke alloy wheels, power sunroof, four-way power front passenger seat, leather, pitch and yaw control, traction control, a tire pres sure monitoring system and high dis charge Xenon head lights. There is no question Murano is after Honda Pilot (approx. $41,000), Acura MD-X (approx. $48,000) and Lexus RX 300 (approx. $51,600). How they are going to do it is by using the same method they did with the Infiniti G35 price, performance, and looks. The looks department, especially the interior, is simple enough as is price, but what about performance? Similar in engine size, configuration and power, the Murano is'less 'trucky1 than the Honda cousins and it outsprints the RX 300 handily. The closest I can come to Murano is the Volvo XC90, which is also impress ing a lot of people this year.I was able to test drive the Murano in and around Santa Barbara, Ca. with no regimented route, which was a relief. My co-driver and I headed up into the hills and the national forest parks where the switch backs can be gruelling on the right arms and left leg if you are driving a lowpowered manual transmission vehicle. I was interested to see if the CVT would pull the vehicle uphill as advertised without a lot of shunting in the transfer case. More importantly, what about coming down hill? Would engine brak ing help me slow or would it be absorbed by the CVT as lost kinetic power and leave everything up to the brakes? Happily the Murano simply zoomed uphill and behaved like a normal auto matic transmission vehicle on the descent. All the way, I kept feeling the leather and the metal with my hands. What a wonderful place to be. It felt very leading edge and I was kinda proud to be driving it. About the only negative is the liftover to the cargo area is high, but thankfully the composite hatch is no heavyweight to lift. The other has to do with remembering that this is a SUV not a dedicated off-roader. One of our more esteemed Canadian writers drove the Murano out on the beach in front of the hotel and promptly went down to the axles in soft sand. I guess he never watched the Paris-Dakar Rally where even specially-built $200,000-plus sand runners are useless in soft sand. The moral of this story is if you want a knock-out good looking SUV, the Murano is probably for you. If you want to go out into the Canadian Shield searching for moose, get a Hummer H I. So I will be looking forward to the results of the AJAC Car of the Year event because I want to see if Nissan's decisior to go with aggressive pricing and concept-to-real-world-styling is going to pay off. It did with the Altima and the Infiniti G35 and I'll bet it happens again with the Murano. A U TO PA R K SU PER STO R E ON DISPLAY - ALL MAKES & MODELS LUXURY VEHIC LES to ch oose from including 283 PRE-OWNED VEHICLES 26 SPO RTS VEHIC LES L in c o ln , C a d illa c , B u ic k , J a g u a r, A c u ra , B M W , V olvo 2002 Lincoln LS a n dS a a b Autom atic, 8 cyl, 1,200 kms, cruise, pow er m oonroof, leather interior, 17" chrom e wheels. Stk#2-77448 refused. reasonable offer to c hoose from including M u s ta n g , C a m a ro a n d C o rv e tte 1999 Chevrolet Automatic, 8 cylinder, 50,543 kms, spoiler, multi-disk CD, power windows and locks, 5.7L, T-roof, leather interior, chrome wheels, air conditioning. Stk#9-31093 * 39,900 * 21,900 CO M PACT VEHIC LES to c hoose from including C a v a lie r, F o c u s , S a tu rn , S u n fire , C iv ic a n d A c c e n t M IN I VANS to choose from including W in d s ta r, C a ra v a n , A s tro , M o n ta n a , V e n tu re a n d M P V 2000 Pontiac Sunfire SE Automatic, 4 cylinder, 50,335 kms, air conditioning, 2.2L, 4 door, CD player, spoiler, power locks. Stk#0-36452 1999 Ford Windstar A utom atic, 6 cylinder, 67,501 kms, air conditioning, pow er m irrors, locks and window s, 3.0L. Stk#9-22973 * 9,900 down SUV's to c h oose from including P IC K U P 'S to c hoose from including 14 * 12,900 J im m y , B laze r, E x p lo rer, Y u kon, E x p e d itio n G M C , D odge, F o rd , C h e v ro le t, 4 x 4 's a n d 2 W D 's 1999 Chevrolet Blazer 4x4 Automatic, 6 cylinder, 76,224 kms, alloy wheels, tilt steering, power mirrors and locks, 4.3L, air conditioning. Stk#9-05083 payments' t i l May 2003 4315 N _ S i n B e u 2000 Ford F150 XLT Automatic, 8 cyl., alloy wheels, cruise, PL, tunnel cover, 4.6L, tinted windows, PW, extended cab, air, PM, 3 dr, dual air bags, CD, box liner, 86,470 kms. Stk#0-24295. * 17,900 * 19,900 Sale e n d s Nov. 10/02 *N o p a y m e n ts 'til M ay 2 0 0 3 O .A .C . E xa m ple: 1998 C h e v ro le t M alibu, S a le P ric e $ 1 0 ,9 0 0 + a dm in , a n d ta x e s = $ 1 2 ,7 6 3 .8 5 a m o u n t borrow ed , $26 5/m o. for 6 0 m os. @ 7 .7 % A P R . Total o f p a ym e n ts $ 1 5 ,9 1 2 .6 0 . Interest b le n d e d o v e r te rm o f fin a n c e . Total c ost o f b o rro w in g is $ 3 ,1 4 8 .7 5 o r $ 6 2 9 .7 5 p e r year. **5 .9 % fin a n c in g on m a xim u m te rm o f 36 m o n th s, m a xim u m a m o u n t fin a n c e d is $ 1 5 ,0 0 0 O .A .C . 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