In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Murano are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The QX55 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Murano has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The QX55 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Murano’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The QX55 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Murano and the QX55 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Nissan Murano is safer than the Infiniti QX55:
|
Murano |
QX55 |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
342 |
384 |
Neck Injury Risk |
28% |
36% |
Neck Stress |
223 lbs. |
439 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
34 lbs. |
95 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
242/256 lbs. |
983/651 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
266 |
285 |
Chest Compression |
.7 inches |
1.2 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
25% |
37% |
Neck Stress |
124 lbs. |
219 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
78 lbs. |
78 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
169/236 lbs. |
452/534 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Murano its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The QX55 has not been fully tested, yet.