Compare the2025 Nissan MuranoVS 2025 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Murano have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 Stelvio doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Murano Platinum has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Stelvio doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Murano has standard Rear Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Stelvio doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Murano SL/Platinum has a standard Around View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Stelvio only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Murano and the Stelvio have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 and available all wheel drive.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Murano 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Alfa Romeo covers the Stelvio. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Stelvio ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Murano for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Nissan will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance (up to 3 visits). Alfa Romeo doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Stelvio.

There are almost 9 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Murano’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 60 more problems per 100 vehicles, Alfa Romeo is rated below average.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Nissan Murano uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Stelvio requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

The Murano has 1.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the Stelvio (18.7 vs. 16.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Nissan Murano, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Stelvio.

For better stopping power the Murano’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Stelvio:

For better traction, the Murano has larger tires than the Stelvio (255/55R20 vs. 235/55R19).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Murano has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the Stelvio.

The Murano has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Stelvio doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Murano is 3.2 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than on the Stelvio.

For greater off-road capability the Murano has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Stelvio (8.3 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the Murano to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Murano uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Stelvio doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Murano has 14.4 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Stelvio (112 vs. 97.6).

The Murano has .9 inches more front headroom, 7.7 inches more front legroom, 3.3 inches more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear headroom, 4.4 inches more rear legroom and 2.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Stelvio.

The Murano has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Stelvio with its rear seat up (32.9 vs. 18.5 cubic feet). The Murano has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Stelvio with its rear seat folded (63.5 vs. 56.5 cubic feet).

The Murano’s cargo area is larger than the Stelvio’s in almost every dimension:

The Murano Platinum has a standard heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Murano’s LED headlights produce a white, bright light using less electricity than the Stelvio’s xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlights. HID headlights can be slow to reach full brightness or power cycle, causing issues when flashing them to signal other vehicles; LED headlights light instantly. LED lights also last about three to four times as long.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Murano to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Stelvio doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

When the Murano SL/Platinum is put in reverse, the rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Stelvio’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Murano Platinum keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Stelvio doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Murano Platinum has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Stelvio.

The Murano is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Stelvio doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Nissan Murano outsold the Alfa Romeo Stelvio by almost six to one during 2023.