Front seats are comfortable and supportive. A big pod juts out from the center dash for audio and climate controls. We weren't crazy about the appearance of the pod, but it does put the controls close to hand. Buttons on the stereo are on the small side, but easy to use. Pressing a preset button, for example, automatically switches from an FM station to an AM station if that's the way you programmed it, saving you from having to press a separate mode switch first. Buttons on the steering wheel make it easy to change volume levels. The navigation display has a new-generation three-dimensional map view, which we find easier to follow. There is a large center console between the front seats, separating the front seats so that no one will confuse this with a minivan interior.

Since the walls and glass of the Murano curve inward toward its occupants, your expectation is that it might be crowded inside. But because Murano is a five-seater that's the same size as a seven-seater, the backseat is like a limousine's. I could still cross my legs in the rear seat even though my hip-to-knee dimension is off-the-chart on some automakers' anthropomorphic scales. The rear seatback rake can be adjusted by pulling on a strap. That makes it more comfortable than the second row of the Honda Pilot, where passengers must sit uncomfortably bolt upright.

The rear seats flip forward in one step and hide flush to the floor with clever manual levers, turning the Murano into a two-seat wagon with a big cargo area. It measures about the same length as the Honda Pilot's with all of its seats down. Murano's load height is now lower than the Pilot's, however. The bulky cargo cover flaps around and takes up room. We'd be inclined to toss it in the garage.