Compare the2025 Nissan MuranoVS 2025 Mercedes GLA

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Murano are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Mercedes GLA doesn’t offer height-adjustable 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 GLA doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nissan Murano has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The GLA doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

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 GLA 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 GLA doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The Murano’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLA.

Both the Murano and the GLA have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

The Nissan Murano weighs 699 to 1054 pounds more than the Mercedes GLA. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Murano 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the GLA. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the GLA 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). Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the GLA.

There are almost 3 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Mercedes 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 Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 40 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes With 19 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Mercedes.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 12 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The Murano’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 20 more horsepower (241 vs. 221) and 2 lbs.-ft. more torque (260 vs. 258) than the GLA’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

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

The Murano has 5.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLA (18.7 vs. 13.5 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 GLA.

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

The Murano’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the GLA are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Murano has larger tires than the GLA (255/55R20 vs. 235/55R18).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Murano has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the GLA.

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 GLA doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Murano offers an optional space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the GLA; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some tire options on the GLA don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Murano’s wheelbase is 3.8 inches longer than on the GLA (111.2 inches vs. 107.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Murano is 3.5 inches wider in the front and 3.5 inches wider in the rear than on the GLA.

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

The Murano has 2.1 inches more front headroom, 3.3 inches more front legroom, 4.9 inches more front shoulder room, 1.6 inches more rear headroom and 3.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the GLA.

The Murano has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the GLA with its rear seat up (32.9 vs. 19 cubic feet). The Murano has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the GLA with its rear seat folded (63.5 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

The Murano has a 1500 lbs. towing capacity. The GLA has no towing capacity.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Murano has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLA only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side window, the Murano has a standard extendable sun visor. The GLA doesn’t offer extendable visors.

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

The Murano has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the GLA. The Murano Platinum also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the GLA.

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 GLA 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 GLA.

The Nissan Murano outsold the Mercedes GLA by over two to one during 2023.