Top 5 Reviews and Videos of the Week: 2019 Nissan Murano Topples Telluride

Every automaker and their brother is making a mid-size SUV these days, and the once-leader Nissan Murano doesn’t do quite enough in the way of updates with its 2019 model to stay at the head of the class. Even so, it tops our list of this week’s five most popular reviews.

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Cars.com reviewer Brian Normile said that, for the price, the 2019 Murano feels like a middling SUV at best.

“With a tried-and-true 3.5-liter V-6 instead of an increasingly common four-cylinder engine, you might expect the Murano to have one of the sportier driving experiences in the class,” Normile writes. “That’s … not really the case. Power is adequate for both city and highway driving, and the V-6 at least makes passing maneuvers and highway merges easy enough to not induce panic or require significant advanced planning. But the Murano is held back by its continuously variable automatic transmission, which simply isn’t responsive enough to push the SUV toward a rewarding driving experience. The Murano also lacks selectable driving modes that could tune transmission response for either sportier driving or greater fuel efficiency.”

Despite its overall averageness, Normile added that the Murano’s fuel economy is at the top of the mid-size SUV class for both the front- and all-wheel drive models.

As for what else went wrong with the 2019 Nissan Murano — and a few things that went right — be sure to read Normile’s full review via the link below.

Our most popular videos of the week have experienced a bit of a shakeup. Last week’s No. 1, our 2019 Compact SUV Challenge, is now fifth, moving last week’s No. 5, the review of the 2019 Honda CR-V, to the top slot. New to the party this week are some First Drives: the stylish 2019 Volkswagen Arteon, the hotly anticipated 2020 Jeep Gladiator and Nissan Murano competitor the 2019 Chevrolet Blazer.

Here are the top five reviews and videos of the week:

Top 5 Reviews

1. 2019 Nissan Murano Review: Updated and No Longer Up to Snuff

 2. 2020 Kia Telluride Review: The New Big SUV Benchmark

 3. 2019 BMW X7 Review: Late to the Party, Bringing Caviar

 4. 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan Review: All-Around Greatness

 5. 2019 Cadillac XT4: A Tidy Newbie With Teething Pains

Top 5 Videos

 1. 2019 Honda CR-V: Review

 2. 2019 Volkswagen Arteon: First Drive

 3. 2020 Jeep Gladiator: First Drive

 4. 2019 Chevrolet Blazer: First Drive

 5. 2019 Compact SUV Challenge

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.

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