My mom might be looking at one of these as an 'interim car'.

I guess they're looking to spend around $40k tops, and they (my parents) like this the most so far.

Things she's looking for- basic modern luxuries like automatic climate control, heated seats, sun roof, cargo room, rear leg room and enough foot room to accomodate my size 14's. Dad wants all the gadgets like Nav, Bluetooth, built in XM,DVD system, etc...

I don't really like them that much, but I'll deal- it's not my car. I prefer truck based SUVs. She doesn't want or need anything that big. We looked at a QX56 when they first came out, and they were just too huge.

I'm trying to keep them into foreign cars, because she's not going to have this car more than a few years and when she goes to sell it, she'll get **** for resale. Plus, the American SUVs are just ****ty. Used cars aren't out of the question either. I like the idea of a year or two old GX... Maybe.

So, thoughts? Alternatives

 

Its not a bad car, im not a big fan of the cvt transmission. How about the rx330?

 

Mom doesn't like the RX. She says they're too wimpy.

I'm off to the Virginia Beach internation new car show. What should I look at while I'm there?

 

It is a lowe price version of the Infiniti FX35. Same motor but detuned.

 

The updated 06 Honda Pilot is a good choice in my opinion or if you can find a good deal on a used Lexus GX 470 would be even nicer.

 

I'm not trying to be Pro-Lexus here, but the RX330 is wimpy with the 5 speed compared to the CVT..?

Check out the FX35, the Touareg, maybe an X5, Pilot is a good suggestion as well

 

Don't forget the Acura MDX.

 

A loaded Murano should come in at a sticker price of around or under 40k and has all the features your mother and father want, a friend of mine just got 1 and I thought it was a Loaded RX with all the features Nissan has stuck into it, the CVT get some getting use to but the 3.5 hauls.

I still don't care for the front dash shelf but other then that I'd say it's a great buy

http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/

 

Clearly your m om is into looks and image, instead of the better vehicle. I suggest Hummer H3 to satisfy her cravings.
The Murano is cute, nice size, nice style, usual crap job Nissan interior, nice engine. FWD, this car is not based on the 350Z/G35/M35/45/FX45 but shares its award winning engine.

Its not truck based, go to the Nissan Xterra for that or the 4-runner.

 

The Nissan truckbased SUV is the Pathfinder. Xterra is sold as a nonluxury car for those who like off roading and no leather seats.

The new 2006 Pathfinder is actually pretty nice and was high on my list (we eventually ordered a GX470). I had actually picked out a limited one with just about everything - moon roof, nav system and whatever trimmings Nissan has other than the DVD in back. The V6 engine is based on the 350ZX, and seemed peppy in my test drive even on the highway. They were looking at about $35K for it - a lot less that my GX will cost!

One nice thing on the Nissan website is that you can specify exactly what you want, and it will give you the closest matches at your local dealers. I was able to get an actual VIN number for a specific vehicle on the dealer lot and try it out.

We have another old car, a NIssan, which we will have to replace one of these day, so I may be looking at the Pathfinder again.

 

Not picking on you in any way - just want to clarify what is a common misconception. Despite their similarities in size, the Murano and the FX have very little in common and are built on a completely different platform.

The FX is built on Nissan's FM platform that is shared with the G35, M35/45 and 350Z, predominantly a RWD base, longitudinal (front-back) engine mount. The Murano is built on the FF-L platform that the Altima, Maxima and Quest use - front wheel drive, transverse (side-side) engine mount.

The Acura MDX as someone else mentioned might be another good option to explore, or the Honda Pilot.

 

Not really.

I'm pretty sure the Murano is built on the Altima platform while the FX is actually sitting on the G35's platform.

M.

 

LOL, how'd you come to that? She's into looks as far as design, but definitely not image. She drives a damned Sebring right now.

The H3 wouldn't work. It's ugly and my dad is a die-hard Jeep guy.

This was copied from another thread on another forum:

They put a $40k number out because we'll only have the car for a few years. After my 14 year old sister gets a car, they'll sell whatever this SUV is and mom wants a sedan. She was thinking 7, A8L, or LS.

We did go to the new car show today and sat in the Pilot (meh) the MDX (okay) the X5 (stereotypes and maintenance) the Murano, and the FX. I actually convinced dad to check out the FX more; I really love these SUVs. I think they're gorgeous.

So, things in the running are a new Murano/FX (hopefully the 45), or a used Grand Cherokee. The idea with the GC is that it's a disposable car and we can do an even trade for it with my mom's '04 Sebring 'vert. Other used cars might not be out of the question, though.

We looked at the QX because she was considering her big, end all car at the time when they came out. Also because I just wanted to check it out.

 

Thanks for posting this. I was kind of wondering about it, but didn't know for sure.

Can someone break down the CVT and tell me what's special about it compared to the conventional automatic?

 

CVT stands for "continuously variable transmission". The big differentiator is that there are no pre-set gears. From what I understand, simplistically, it is like a bicycle (!!), where you have two sets of variably sized pulleys. When you change gears on a bicycle, it moves the chain from a smaller pulley to a larger one or vice versa. That's the basic idea of a CVT, except instead of having a set number of steps on each side (i.e. 3 front, 7 back = 21 speed bicycle), it allows for almost infinite variation between the two pulleys. That's about the extent of my knowledge on it, I don't understand all the differences.

I could be mistaken, but I believe Audi and Volvo use a form of CVT in many of their vehicles, as do MINI and Saturn, and the Toyota and Honda hybrids.

We've had two Grand Cherokees in the family (mine and my brother's), and we both had big problems with them. My bro's was a 1998 and mine was a 1997 (or was it the other way around ). It was great in bad weather but by the time I got rid of it in 2001 for my LX470, it had so many squeaks, rattles and other little annoyances I couldn't stand it.

For more Murano information, try nissanmurano.org or for FX information try InfinitiFX.org.

Good luck with your choice.