Nissan seems dead set on exploiting every SUV niche it can think of at the moment, which is how it comes to be with five of the chunky beasts on its books. These range from the handbag-sized Juke to the maisonette-sized X-Trail.
This king of the soft-roaders, the Murano, was designed alongside the 370Z's predecessor, the 350Z, and sought to inject some coupe chic into an otherwise dull sector. All was well, until an ill-advised mid-life facelift tried to add bling to the car and tipped the styling over the edge.
The car remains distinctive and appealing in an individualistic sense - and despite that sleek roofline there is actually plenty of room in the Murano for five people to sit comfortably and a decent boot for all of their luggage.
But that's about as family-friendly as the car gets. There are only two engine options; the 2.5-litre dCI and the 3.5-litre V6 which is shared with the 350Z (and is correspondingly expensive to run).
The diesel offers reasonable economy at 35mpg, but the V6 is the memorable engine, and propels the Murano from 0-62mph in a mere 8 seconds. Keep your foot on the accelerator too often though and you'll struggle to make it past 20mpg.
This would all be acceptable if the Murano's driving experience could match the gravitas of its engine, but the steering is too heavy and distanced from the road to be any fun behind the wheel.
Nor is the Murano a particularly comfortable cruiser - the driving position is good, but general refinement is poor and there is too much noise intrusion into the cabin at motorway speeds.
The Murano is a strange mix of cars, and doesn't manage to pull it off all the time. That said, look past the heavy depreciation and fuel bills and perhaps view the Murano as an alternative to some of the luxury SUVs on the market and it could start to look more of a bargain.
The car's standard equipment list is quite impressive and includes a sat-nav, but the Murano can't really cut it on a premium level.
Like many of Nissan's more distinctive cars you'll either really want a Murano or you'll be forced to ignore it, there's no in-between. For our money it fulfils its brief well and provides an interesting alternative to the mainstream, but it certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea.