With winter on our doorstep and the snow fast approaching, there is no better vehicle than Nissan's flagship Crossover SUV, the coveted Nissan Murano. With its sleek design, intuitive All Wheel Drive and its 3.5 liter DOHC V6 engine and 260 horsepower, the Murano is ideal for any winter climate.

The CVT transmission, which is Nissan's trademarked transmission system, first integrated into the mass market in 2003, the CVT, or Continuously Variable Transmission, has been a technology used in war vehicles since the 1940's, but in fact the ideology of the CVT goes back much farther than that. Leonardo da Vinci, in 1490, conceptualized a steeples continuously variable transmission. The first patent for a friction-based belt CVT was filed in Europe by Daimler and Benz in 1886, and a US Patent for a CVT was granted in 1935. Nissan designed its own CVT in the early 1990's that allowed for higher torque and included a torque converter. This gearbox was used in a number of Japanese-market models, but not seen in the US. Nissan is also the only car maker to bring a roller-based CVT to the market in recent years, as aforementioned with their introduction to the American market in 2003.

CVT transmission is a whole new feel for intuitive driving, geared towards eliminating shift-shock, improving acceleration, gas mileage, performance and handling. Vehicles with CVT are often quieter, smoother and have a better turn radius. CVT is another reason why Nissan innovation is truly a step above the rest.

The Murano, all new for 2012, has had its ups and downs. In fact, in 2007, they did away with the Murano for a whole year and there was no 2009 model year for the Murano. Back with a new body style in 2010, and a brand new mastered CVT, the Murano has been the staple of luxury for the Nissan lineup ever since.

The Murano S, the introductory version for the Murano, gives you more features and benefits than any other "base model" vehicle in its class. Giving you seemingly endless head and leg room, cruise control, and intuitive AWD (all wheel drive) system, 18" aluminum alloy wheels, a 6 disc CD player and auxiliary jack, dual ATC (automatic temperature control), 60/40 fold down seats and Nissan's intuitive Intelligent Key. The interior gives you Nissan's suede seat material, making for an exceptionally comfortable ride. The only thing missing from the S model are the roof racks, but they are available as an addition.

The Murano SV gives you all of the S features and so much more. The SV comes equipped with a dual panoramic moonroof, automatic on/off head lights, an 8 way power driver's seat and a 4 way power passenger seat, a rearview monitor (or backup camera), blue-tooth hands free phone system, a USB port connection for an iPod, a 3 month free trial of XM Satellite Radio and a leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. The SV comes in both suede and leather options.

The Muarno SL gives you all of the S and the SV features, but adds a few comfort and convenience features that raise the bar for the competition. The SL gives you the power driver and passenger seats now have a memory option equipped with two settings, heated seats and outside mirrors, Bose radio, auto-dimming rearview mirror and digital compass, Home-Link Universal Transceivers (programmed to your garage door), power return rear seat backs and a power liftgate, and rain-sensing intermittent windshield wipers.

If you think all of that is great, you are really going to love the Murano LE.

The LE is the total package, equipped with every standard feature Nissan makes. How can it get any better than the SL? Here's how: The LE gives you all of the SL features PLUS 20" aluminum alloy wheels, silver accented roof rails (the SV and SL are black), High Density Discharge (HID) bifunctional xenon projector headlights, heated rear seats, wood tone accents on the interior and a power tilt and power-telescopic steering column with a memory position (yes, that's right, a memory position for the steering wheel).

The Nissan Murano is the real deal. Affordability, meet style. Style, meet comfort. Comfort, meet intuition.

The Nissan Murano, drive one.

Post Written by Nissan Sales Rep - Chris McSwiggin