Murano SL

The first time I saw a Murano SL and the first time I got into one was at 9:15 pm last Thursday. I drove it to pick up DD from the train station. I was very nervous to drive it out of the driveway just because I am not used to it and I am not familiar with the dashboard and everything else.

It is a nice car. "Nice". Probably some of you are yelling, "Are you crazy???! It is a GRRREAT car!!!!" Sorry, I can't say "great" just yet because it is my first time in this car and I do not know how it will work in unison with the driver - that's me!

Anyway, I liked that the basic controls are in the same places as my oooolddd Nissan Quest.

Just like the Quest, SL's steering wheel can be tilted up, down, and even can be pulled out a little bit. Just like the Quest, the headlight and signal light controls are on the left and the wiper controls are on the right.

What I like:
1) You put in the key in the ignation, step on the brake and hit the start button. Yes, there is a start button.

2) The steering wheel is light...I can turn it with the palm of my hand.

3) The accelerator is easy on the leg. It runs smoothly - not a lot of jolts even on a bumpy road.
4) I like that the front seats are heated, a very convenient plus during a cold winter day.

5) I like the rear view mirror. There's this little digital thingie up in the right corner that tells me what direction I'm facing.

6) Oh, I must not forget to mention the rear view camera. The monitor is on the dashboard. As soon as you put the lever on reverse, it shows you the alightment of the car and what is behind the car. It doesn't show everyone who is behind you, just the bumper of the car nearby so that when you back up you don't get to hit anything or anyone. This one will take time to get used to. I still like the good old looking over the shoulder and checking the left, right, and rear view mirrors.


What I didn't like:

1) It is soooo bulky. As soon as I got in it, I felt like I was in a box! It was an awkward feeling.

2) I can't see very well on the front sides because of the big bulky "posts" that connect the roof to the rest of the car. Added to that bulkiness are the side view mirrors. I have to do a lot of body and head movements.

3) the speakers are on both corners of the dashboard close to the "posts" and they are a little higher than the rest of the dashboard, thus adding more bulkiness to the sides of the car.

3) the rear window is very tiny! What I mean is it is not wide enough for me to see more of what is behind me.

4) the head-rests at the back seat covered half of the the tiny rear window! so less for me to see, again! Then there is this head-rest for the middle seat which obstructed the view of the front bumper, license plate included, of any car behind me! At night, the rear window looked like a toothless smile; or more like a grin with a big gap between two teeth!

5) I cannot see the tiny side windows behind the side windows [where you are supposed to be able to see any car in your blind spot if you move your body sideways or forward!

6) I hate red lights on the dashboard! why didn't they make it green so that it is cooler on the eyes!

7) On the section of the dash board right behind the steering wheel, is a full circle, and a half circle on each side of the full circle. This is where the speedometer, odometer, gas, temperature, or whatever else, are located. OK, picture this. The full circle in the center is lit up with a VERY BRIGHT and VERY RED light along its edges. The half circles, let me think about this a little bit...I think they were more shaped like a quarter moon... are also lit up with VERY BRIGHT and VERY RED lights along the curved edges. So when I pressed the start button, these panels lit up and for a while, and every time I looked at them, I felt like I was being hypnotized! It also looked like the half or quarter circles were merging towards the full circle. Make them stop moving! Argh!

9) The lights on the dashboard are so bright! There is a dimmer, which I used to dim them but it is ABSOLUTELY USELESS!!! I didn't see any difference between bright, dim, and dimmer. They were still bright!

8) Driving home from the train station, I complained about a quarter mile that I cannot see the road. It is stuck in my mind that those big bulky sides are in the way of my view of what's in front of me. I saw a car coming in the other direction give me a "wink" with his headlights. That made me automatically reach out for the lever for the headlights to check if they are on. They weren't! DUHHH!!!! Don't tell me I'm "ulyanin" or that I have "old timer's disease". In all the other cars I've driven [including those I rented when I used to travel to different parts of the country], when I drive at night:

a) the headlights automatically turn on as soon as I turn the engine on; and automatically turn off a few minutes after I turn off the engine; OR

b) the lights on the dashboard are on DIM when I turn on the engine, this tells me to turn the headlights on. When the headlights are on, the dashboard lights are bright [and the lights are green!]
But with the SL, because those darn lights are very, very bright, I thought my headlights were on! Besides, the hypnotizing, moving, merging lights made me not look closely at the dashboard.

9) And why, if I turn on the "circulate" button, the "AC" button also turns on? I want the air to circulate at times when the traffic is heavy so the exhaust from the car in front of me doesn't go under my hood and into my lungs! People tell me that's not true. Why then do I always smell that nauseating poisonous gas? To me, those exhaust pipes look like machine guns aimed at me.

10) during the day, the monitor [where the radio station comes up, where the rear video camera pictures are seen] is too bright, one can't see anything - that's because of day light reflecting on the monitor. So you see, if in the future you'd want to install a GPS in that car, the map is useless as you won't be able to see a thing! They could have made a tiny "awning" over the monitor to protect it from the reflection of the glass window, the sky, the sun, etc.

Another reason, not the last one though, is that the dash board lights are red!!! and I don't like how they designed those circles with the lights all around them!!! I know I've mentioned that already but I hate red lights on the dashboard!

And no, I didn't buy the car. It's my brother's and he let me try it. Sorry, for the negativity, Bro, but perhaps if you lend it to me often enough, I will get used to it and will eventually love it.