What Is The Most Reliable Nissan SUV?
I have been impressed by the recent array of Nissan SUVs and their safety features.
Nissan SUVs have it all in capability and reliability, making me feel good about my Nissan vehicles.
But which Nissan SUV is the most reliable?
Since I have some experience on the subject, I would like to break the SUVs down to find out.
What Is The Most Reliable Nissan SUV?
The most reliable Nissan SUV is the Nissan Murano. It has the best combination of features that make it highly reliable for the price. The Nissan Safety Shield 360, in particular, allows drivers to have the reassurance that their ride and passengers are safe from dangerous moments that can come out of nowhere on the road.
While the Nissan Murano is considering the most reliable Nissan SUV, it might not be the right SUV for your situation.
Read on to see other SUVs that are also reliable and see how your favorite SUV ranks on this list.
What makes an SUV reliable?
SUVs or Sports Utility Vehicles had seen their form and function morph significantly from the mid-1980s when they first became standardized and modern.
With the change in times, the definition of an SUV has changed as well as what it means to be a reliable SUV
It used to be that SUVs had to be station wagons designed for off-roading.
Still, now with the introduction of crossover SUVs and the urbanization of a lot of the United States, offroading is no longer a requirement to be classified as an SUV.
If that standard was now applied to modern SUVs, I’m sure a significant amount of them could no longer be classified as SUVs.
To find out what reliability means in the modern age, we must see today’s SUV’s function.
SUVs are popular today for extra storage and passenger capacity, which makes them popular with large families and people who like outdoor activities like camping or who have an activity that requires a lot of storage.
Safety and comfort are a big selling point of SUVs by these groups.
While not all SUVs are designed to pass over rugged terrain, the higher vehicle height and weight allow the vehicle to have smoother handling that enables them to tackle adverse or slippery road conditions and shallow standing water.
Therefore, a reliable SUV will maximize its function, safety, and comfort, without having to make significant sacrifices over the long run.
Allrounders will score hirer in reliability than specialists will.
With that standard in mind, let’s compare the different Nissan SUVs on offer to see how reliable their features are.
Comparing Nissan SUV reliability
Nissan Murano
The SUV that gets the top mark for reliability is the Nissan Murano.
It is the definition of the all-rounder; it is good at everything it does but not to the detriment of other things.
It is blessed with the VQ series V6 engine, not super fancy but is award-winning and has an impressive performance power of 260 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque.
It also has an excellent fuel economy for an SUV, not the best but undoubtedly respectable at 23 mpg on regular gas.
These qualities combine for an SUV that is among the easiest to drive.
It has superb handling and enough weight to enhance cornering while driving.
The Nissan Murano can accommodate up to 5 passengers in terms of seating, which may seem minor.
Still, there are versions with an extra seating row, meaning they can be expanded to hold up to 7 occupants if necessary.
It doesn’t lack aesthetic features either.
It has one of the most striking exterior designs, which is excellent for getting noticed on the highway.
The Murano has one of the most comfortable rides in its class, with Zero Gravity front seats and plenty of back legroom.
Perhaps its most appealing reliability attribute is valuable safety features no matter what trim of the vehicle you select.
The Nissan Murano has driver assist technology and collision warning to alert you to unexpected vehicles and automatically activate brakes if it detects a dangerous situation.
Again all of these features are standard on all versions of the Nissan Murano, which means you will reliability get them no matter your small budget and price range.
In addition to these impressive technological safety features, it also has an upgrade available to give you an around-view monitor.
This feature consists of a four-camera system that gives you an almost complete 360 view of your surroundings with built-in moving object detection.
They call this the Nissan Safety Shield 360 and is available as an upgrade on every Nissan Murano.
Nissan Rogue
The Nissan Rogue is the second most versatile all-rounder SUV Nissan offers.
It is also a crossover SUV and has excellent qualities, including a cheaper price tag than the Nissan Murano.
It boasts a 2.5: a 4-cyl engine capable of getting 29 MPG.
The Nissan Rogue is smaller than the Murano, which means it will get better miles per gallon.
Still, since the engine is also smaller, it will not get as much horsepower, only 170, sufficient for most things.
It only can seat five passengers, which can be compared to some sedans.
It falls short in its function as an extra room vehicle compared to the Nissan Murano.
Overall, the smaller size of the Nissan Rogue does have its advantages, but they come at the expense of some of the Rogue’s functions as an SUV.
Nissan Pathfinder
Next, in terms of versatility, we have the Nissan Pathfinder.
This mid-size crossover SUV seems to have been optimized for family-centric features.
It has an expansive cargo area and spacious first and second rows. It also includes a third row as standard that can fit 6-foot tall people while giving them legroom.
Overall, the comfort of the interior cabin seems to be at the highest level on this Nissan offering.
However, these quality of life features for the cabin come at the expense of other features.
Its offroad capabilities are worse for its price range, with its traction control system being good on-road, hindering its momentum on sand and ruts off-road.
The ride isn’t also the smoothest, as the extra room in the cabin leads to the chassis giving vibrations to the floor pan to drivers, even on slippery roads.
The Nissan Pathfinder is an example of an SUV striving towards maximizing one feature to the detriment of other features.
Still, a large part of the popular base for SUVs are people with a lot of passengers, and for them, they may find this reliable for its attention to cargo and passenger space.
Nissan Kicks
The Nissan Kicks is a quirky compact or small-sized crossover.
It has a unique look and is very peppy due to its turbocharged engine.
Because of its small size and weight boast the highest fuel efficiency, being rated at 36 miles per gallon.
It tries to create passenger space and cargo room and make the most of these features, but other Nissan SUVs will reliably hold more in both of these categories.
It has an independent rear suspension that gives it a smooth and fun ride on city roads but nowhere else will see it struggle.
Overall, the Nissan Kicks shoots for the stars and has the makings of a great all-rounder but comes up missing the mark and falling short in reliability.