The Murano is a premium Sports utility Vehicle (SUV) that was first manufactured by Nissan in December 2002 and sold as a 2003 model and was launched in the United States as a crossover vehicle to complement the Pathfinder.
The Murano was initially scheduled for a rollout this year. It will be imported as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) from Japan.
The SUV is likely to be priced between Rs 35 Lakh and Rs 40 Lakh and will stand against the Toyota Prado, BMW X3, Mitsubishi Montero and Mercedes Benz M-Class.
The Nissan Murano is likely to come in three variants, namely, the base S, the mid-grade SL and the top of the line LE. This all-wheel drive (AWD) SUV is expected to carry a 3.5-litre petrol V6 engine under its bonnet.
The Nissan Murano is likely to have aluminium interior accents, leather seats, rain sensing wipers, memory seats and mood lighting. The Murano will also boast an 11-speaker Bose unit along with a 9.3GB hard disk storage device.
It was been revealed that Nissan will first assess its prospects in the competitive SUV segment in India before getting into small cars. Nissan is expected to launch the small car Micra by March 2010. The small car will be manufactured at the Renault-Nissan plant in Chennai. The Micra will be manufactured in five countries including India, China and Thailand.
After launching the hatchback in 2010, Nissan plans to unveil a sedan in 2011 and a compact Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV).
The name 'Murano' comes from a region of Venice, Italy which is known for the hand blown glass produced there.
Labels: Nissan-Cars, Nissan-Micra, Nissan-SUVs, Premium-SUVs, SUVs-India
