Nissan is trying to breathe some life into the Murano with the Midnight Edition, but the SUV is starting to show its age.

The Nissan Murano is currently in its third generation and has been selling reasonably well in the United States ever since the launch of this generation back in 2014. The spacious and comfortable cabin along with superb refinement has always been the selling point of this mid-size crossover SUV. The punchy V6 motor is one of the smoothest of the segment and has more than enough pep for effortless cruising.

However, being in continuous production for more than eight years, many of the rivals, like the Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade, and Jeep Grand Cherokee have managed to edge the Murano in terms of space, interior, and luxury. The mediocre CVT transmission of the Murano is still a major deal-breaker as well. With the launch of the Midnight Edition trim for $38,145, Nissan is trying their best to ramp up the sales figures lost to its rivals. Before going ahead with your purchase, here are 10 things you need to know about the 2022 Nissan Murano Midnight Edition.

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The Midnight Edition of the Nissan Murano gets a load of blacked-out elements to the exterior, making it look sinister and hide its aging design language. At the front of the 2022 Murano Midnight Edition, you will be pleased with the LED headlights with LED DRLs, black grille, air dam, and vents, and the flat black lip spoiler that gives it the required presence.

We also appreciate the low-slung hood and the reasonable height and ground clearance this SUV possesses. As you get to the side, the 20" black multi-spoke alloy wheels, low profile tires, and subtle chrome window accents are on display. The rear end is relatively bland in terms of design. However, the LED taillights and the dual exhaust tips do uplift the design reasonably well.

Like the exterior design, people would appreciate the clean styling of the interior as well. The cabin comes with good quality materials all around, and we found it to be better than what the Ford Edge offers. The dashboard and door cards get soft leather inserts, injection-molded plastics that feel premium to the touch, and silver accents, all of which uplift the design well.

The two-step dashboard design doesn't stand out from the futuristic cabins of the rivals like the Palisade and Telluride, and that is one of the downsides of the Murano Midnight Edition. The infotainment is a bit too small for our liking, and the piano black element in the center of the dashboard is a fingerprint magnet. Nevertheless, the interior is very ergonomic. The chrome accents and the red contrast stitching does give it a premium appeal too.

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This mid-size family SUV comes with all the required driver-assistance features like forward-collision warning, automated emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert system, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, driver monitoring system, and collision mitigation system. The solid build quality remains unchanged as well.

Along with that, the Murano retains all the basic safety features, too. All of these helped this SUV to get an overall crash safety rating of 5-stars in the NHTSA crash test. It did get a similar score in all the subsections of the test, too. The IIHS gave it the 2022 top safety pick + title.

The 2022 Nissan Murano Midnight Edition is a forgetful SUV when you are behind the wheel. The driving experience is nothing to rave about, and many of the competitors like the Kia Telluride and the Ford Edge are much more fun to drive. The CVT automatic is easily the worst transmission of the segment and makes driving fast a hard affair.

The handling is on the sloppier side due to the soft suspension setup. The electrically assisted power steering lacks the feel and feedback that you would expect, however, it is very precise and direct. All of these translate to an SUV that doesn't enjoy sudden direction changes and accelerator inputs. However, the high-speed stability is excellent and the braking performance is spot on.

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The 2022 Nissan Murano Midnight Edition gets no forced induction like its rivals and still retains the 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 producing 260 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque. This motor comes mated to an Xtronic CVT automatic transmission and a FWD or an AWD drivetrain setup. The 0-60 mph comes in 7.3 seconds, and it has a top speed of 130 mph.

Even though the powertrain looks good on paper, with more than enough horsepower and torque ratings, the CVT automatic will let down most of the prospective buyers when out for a test drive. The laggy transmission takes its sweet time to respond to throttle inputs, and that makes the Murano Midnight Edition a lazy performer on the highway. In comparison, the Ford Edge and Kia Sorento with their lower-powered motors provide a superior driving experience.

The lack of any turbocharger coupled with the massive V6 motor under the hood makes the 2022 Nissan Murano Midnight Edition suffer in terms of gas mileage. This mid-size family SUV could do 20 MPG in the city and 28 MPG on the highways. The combined gas mileage of 23 MPG is lower than all its rivals in the segment.

If you want a more fuel-efficient offering for the segment, we would recommend you to get the Chevrolet Blazer or the Kia Sorento, as both of them could churn out a superior combined gas mileage of 25 MPG. However, the fuel tank capacity of 19-gallons is the highest for the Murano Midnight Edition, and that makes it similar in terms of range to its rivals.

The independent front and rear suspension setup that is tuned to the softer side make sure that you have a comfortable ride at all times. Drive this SUV slowly, and you would appreciate how well the suspension dampens all the irregularities of the road easily. Even the bigger potholes do not filter into the cabin like in the case of the Grand Cherokee.

We were also pleasantly surprised with the sure-footed and flat ride quality this SUV offers even during highway driving. The rear-seat passengers would appreciate the lack of any major vertical movement, and the suspension works silently. The body roll, even though present, is not very alarming, especially when taking the corners a bit too enthusiastically.

The braking performance has always been very effective ever since the initial launch of the Murano back in 2002, and we are happy to report that this ethos has been carried unchanged to this 2022 model as well. The initial bite is sharp, and hence braking in slow-moving city traffic is a breeze. The braking is not too grabby and sensitive as well.

When out on the highways, the brakes offered excellent progression. Stomp hard on the brake pedal, and you would be surprised with the top-notch stability and easiness with which this SUV sheds speed. The 12.6" front rotors and 12.1" rear rotors coupled with ABS with EBD, brake assist, and ventilated rotors give it a 60-0 mph braking distance of just 120 feet.

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The NissanConnect infotainment system is standard with the 2022 Nissan Murano Midnight Edition, and the 8" centrally mounted touchscreen display does offer all the functionalities you would expect from a family SUV. All the connectivity and entertainment features like Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, navigation, Bluetooth, Siri Eyes Free, and USB are standard.

We also found the interface to be more than decent for the price segment. There weren't any major stutters and lags when browsing through the menu, and we also admire the neat interface and great display quality. The viewing angle and screen brightness were better than that of the Chevrolet Blazer, too. The 6-speaker audio system offered punchy bass and clear vocals.

Space has never been a problem with the third-generation Murano. Coming with no changes to the overall dimension and space management, the 2022 Nissan Murano Midnight Edition turned out to be a comfortable five-seater SUV as well. The front row offers better headroom, legroom, and shoulder room than the Chevrolet Blazer. The wide armrest and soft leather upholstery are some of the other plus points.

We loved the supple seats with heat and power support on offer. The under-thigh and lower back support is excellent too. The rear row is equally good for three passengers, with sufficient headroom and legroom for even the folks over 6 feet of height. There are multiple cubbyholes and storage bins, and being a 5-seater, the 32.1 cu ft of cargo space is great as well.