Compare the2025 Nissan MuranoVS 2025 Subaru Outback

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Model Availability

Safety

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The Nissan Murano has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help 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 Outback 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 Outback doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

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 Outback only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The Murano has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Outback’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Murano has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Outback and its not available on the Base.

Compared to metal, the Murano’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Outback has a metal gas tank.

Both the Murano and the Outback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Murano is much safer than the Outback:

	Murano	Outback
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Injury Chance	20%	30%
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh/hip Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Leg/foot Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Leg Forces L/R	360/360 pounds	517/584 pounds
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
	Rear Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	POOR

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Nissan Murano is safer than the Outback:

	Murano	Outback
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Structure	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	33	69
Neck Tension	134 lbs.	156 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.59 in	.94 in
Shoulder Force	156 lbs.	201 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.83 in	1.54 in
Torso Deflection Rate	6 MPH	9 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	558 lbs.	1026 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	189	387
Neck Compression	112 lbs.	201 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.2 in	1.81 in
Shoulder Force	22 lbs.	469 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.91 in	1.42 in
Torso Deflection Rate	6 MPH	9 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

The Nissan Murano has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Outback is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

Warranty

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. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Outback.

There are over 66 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Murano’s warranty.

Reliability

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 Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 17 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated lower.

Engine

The Murano’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 59 more horsepower (241 vs. 182) and 84 lbs.-ft. more torque (260 vs. 176) than the Outback 2.5i’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Nissan Murano is faster than the Outback 2.5i 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder:

	Murano	Outback
Zero to 60 MPH	7.7 sec	8.7 sec
Quarter Mile	16 sec	16.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91.2 MPH	86.1 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Murano gets better mileage than the Outback:

			MPG
Murano
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/27 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/27 hwy
Outback
	AWD	Wilderness 2.4 turbo flat-4	21 city/26 hwy

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

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Murano	Outback
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	12.4 inches
Rear Rotors	13 inches	11.8 inches

The Murano stops shorter than the Outback:

	Murano	Outback
60 to 0 MPH	127 feet	132 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Murano has larger tires than the Outback (255/55R20 vs. 225/65R17).

The Murano’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Outback’s standard 65 series tires. The Murano’s tires are lower profile than the Outback Onyx/Limited/Touring’s 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Murano has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Outback. The Outback’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

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 Outback doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Murano’s wheelbase is 3.1 inches longer than on the Outback (111.2 inches vs. 108.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Murano is 4.8 inches wider in the front and 3.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Outback.

The Murano Platinum AWD handles at .77 G’s, while the Outback Limited XT pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Murano Platinum AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Outback Limited (28 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Chassis

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

Passenger Space

The Murano has 3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Outback (112 vs. 109).

The Murano has 1 inch more front headroom, 1.5 inches more front legroom, 1.4 inches more front hip room, 2.7 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom, 2.1 inches more rear hip room and 1.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Outback.

Cargo Capacity

The Murano has a larger cargo volume than the Outback with its rear seat up (32.9 vs. 32.6 cubic feet).

Ergonomics

The Murano has a standard Intelligent Key that allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless Access and Start costs extra on the Outback and isn’t available on the Outback Base.

The Murano’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Outback’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Murano Platinum’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The Murano’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Outback Premium/Limited/Wilderness/Touring/Onyx.

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 Outback.

The Murano has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Outback Premium/Limited/Wilderness/Touring/Onyx.

Both the Murano and the Outback offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Murano has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Outback doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Nissan Murano has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) for the front seat. Wireless charging costs extra on the Outback and isn’t available on the Outback Base.

Model Availability

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

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