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The 2009 Murano is a 4-door, 5-passenger sport-utility, available in 5 trims, ranging from the S 2WD to the LE AWD.

Upon introduction, both trims are equipped with a standard 3.5-liter, V6, 265-horsepower engine that achieves 18-mpg in the city and 23-mpg on the highway. A variable speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard.

The 2009 Murano is redesigned for 2009

The ‘09 Murano was rated a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety earlier this week, one of nine midsize SUVs so designated. The Murano scored well in front, side and rear crash tests by IIHS, and stability control now is standard, not optional. “You don’t know what kind of crash you’re going to get into, so you want a vehicle that affords the best protection in the most common kinds of crashes,” says Joe Nolan, IIHS senior vice president. Test results are at www.iihs.org.

Two weeks in a high-end, $37,000 all-wheel-drive version was pleasant because:

•Murano’s based on the redesigned Altima sedan, new for ‘07, and that’s a nifty foundation. Delivers good handling and a confident ride, among other advantages.

•Nissan’s 3.5-liter V-6 is a champ. Though tuned for smoothness in the Murano, rather than the squealing delight it provokes in some other models, it slings and zings the two-ton SUV as your right foot requests. Of course, the more requests from your right foot the more you’ll wear out your wallet reaching for gas money. You’ll be lucky to hit 16 mpg in the burbs if you’re an enthusiastic driver.

•The CVT — continuously variable automatic transmission — is upgraded for the ‘09 Murano and upholds Nissan’s reputation as among the best. Such transmissions, done wrong, make you feel as if you’re piloting a machine with a slipping clutch.

Nissan’s voodoo doctors have breathed on the system so the vehicle does, in fact, snap ahead more or less on par with the engine speed. And there’s a distinct kick-down feel. The CVT jumps from a cruising ratio to a sprinting ratio without going through everything in between.

There is no manual-shift mode with a few preselected ratios for your frisky days, though. Nobody bought it when it was offered, and the revised CVT gives you about as much control, Nissan says. For instance, tap the brakes on a steep slope, and the transmission shifts into a ratio that’ll use engine braking to keep the Murano in control without requiring riding the brakes.

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