At its 2003 introduction, the original Nissan Murano was a standout, a mid-sized crossover that defied the boxy look of its mid-priced contemporaries.

Given enough time, though, and even the most interestingly-styled mainstream vehicle becomes mundane. When you factor in the second-generation Murano's very mild redesign in 2009, and you now have a vehicle that badly needed a full-on redraw if it was to maintain its place as one of the most recognizable vehicles in the segment.

Now, daring design isn't often the route to sales leadership, but it quickly became clear in Nissan's presentation at the media first drive event in Whistler, B.C., that taking over the market isn't the company's goal with the new Murano.

The difference is all in the details

Now,  the new look isn't really all that daring. After all, this is, essentially, a typical two-rowcrossover with rounded edges and some interesting details, many of which are borrowed from the Resonance concept shown at the 2013 Detroit auto show, plus “boomerang” head- and taillights that echo those first seen on the 2009 370Z sports car. Looks-wise, the Murano's going-away view works better than the front, where the “v-motion” grille and hood lines are a bit much to take in at first. The new design is also a bit longer, lower and wider than the Murano predecessors giving the impression of a sleeker vehicle, yet one that casts more or less the same shadow as the outgoing model.

Despite a $30,000 starting price that plunks Murano right in the meat of the mid-sized crossover segment, Nissan insists it's not going after mainstream family buyers with this new design. For those buyers, it has the Rogue and Pathfinder, both of which are boxier (and ostensibly more practical) and available as seven-seaters. Murano's target demographic is mid-40s, married empty-nesters, so the “social lounge” themed interior was designed around that couple and their friends, for nights out to dinner and the theatre, or weekends in wine country. Whatever Nissan says, this is still a five-seat, mid-sized crossover, and it's priced to compete with other five-seat mid-sized crossovers, notable among them the Ford Edge, Kia Sorento and Toyota Venza.

What is significant that there is no analog to the Murano from Infiniti, Nissan's luxury division. If you want to move up the ladder to a crossover from Nissan's upscale brand, you're looking at either the QX50 or QX70, which sacrifice interior practicality for a more engaging drive, or the QX60, which is an upscale take on the seven-seat Pathfinder.

Upscale, but not "upscale"

Either Nissan does not see the point of trying to compete directly with vehicles like the Lexus RX, Acura RDX, and Lincoln MKX, or the company feels that the Murano, especially in top-run Platinum trim, is nice enough to compel a few buyers away from those luxury brands on its own merits.

If anything about the Murano will help it win over “conquest” shoppers who might otherwise end up in an upscale-branded vehicle, it's the interior. The SL and Platinum trims (there are also S and SV models), feature impresseive finishes that easily  rival those of the luxury competitors. A “cashmere” theme includes beige upholstery and marble-look jasper pearlescent trim on the doors and console, while the “graphite” interior pairs black with brushed silver metal that looks like wood grain at close inspection. Both are gorgeous, and unlike anything else found in a $30,000-something vehicle.

The central dash display behaves like a tablet, with icons that can be arranged to suit your preference; more importantly, it boasts high-res graphics that put to shame the last-generation screen in the Infiniti Q70 in which I got a lift to the airport at the end of the trip. While the screen houses multiple touch controls for navigation and most sound system functions, the climate controls are all hard buttons. In short, Nissan has done a great job balancing technology with user-friendliness.

Comfort is the key

The Murano is the first Nissan to get the brand's NASA-inspired seats at all four outboard positions; designed to reduce fatigue and stress on the driver, comfort is their strength. The chairs are nicely supportive for relaxed driving, but lack somewhat in lateral bolstering. That fits the Murano's overall attitude. The media drive route, which went from Vancouver along the Sea-to-Sky Highway up to Whistler, revealed that this crossover is really tuned for ride comfort rather than sharp handling. The Platinum trim's standard 20-inch wheels, which replace the 18-inch wheels used on lower trims, improved steering feel on the twisty Sea-to-Sky, but even still, not much road surface information makes it to the steering wheel.

Familiar mechanicals

As in previous Murano's, a 3.5-litre engine and continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) come standard. Its 260 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque were plenty to pull the Murano up the steepest stretches of the scenic west coast route, but while Nissan's latest CVT tech performs crisper “downshifts” and behaves more like a traditional automatic, this one seemed to have a hard time finding and hanging onto a just-right ratio on the uphill bits.

Front-wheel drive is standard in S and SV trims; AWD availability begins in SV, and is standard in SL and Platinum models. Nissan quotes fuel consumption estimates of 11.0/8.2 L/100 km (city/highway) for FWD models, and 11.2/8.3 for all-wheelers. During testing, the average was about 9.5 L/100 km on the Vancouver-to-Whistler-and-back drive, all of which was done in AWD models.

Standard features in the base S model ($29,998) include 18-inch wheels, LED daytime running lights and taillights, heated side mirrors, heated front seats, Bluetooth with streaming audio, navigation(!), dual-zone automatic temperature control and a backup camera.

SV ($32,998 with FWD and $34,998 with AWD) and higher trims get a heated steering wheel, panoramic sunroof, power-adjustable driver's seat and power lift tailgate. SL ($38,398) adds standard AWD, power front passenger seat, leather upholstery and a suite of safety kit that includes the around-view monitor backup camera, moving object detection, blind spot warning and cross-traffic alert. Finally, Platinum models ($43,498) add 20-inch wheels, heated rear seats, power-return rear folding seatbacks, power steering column adjustment, intelligent cruise control, forward collision warning and emergency braking, and predictive forward collision warning.

As with the Maxima sedan (which will get its own redesign very soon), Nissan's goal with the Murano, which is in showrooms now, is to bridge its mainstream line with the upscale Infiniti brand, and we'd argue it's well-placed to accomplish that. As the original did in 2003, this new design is notable for how it competes with less-edgy designs on price, and yet stands apart from them in appearance. We'd hesitate to call it pretty, but there's certainly more to the Murano than its distinctive face.