Compare the2025 Nissan MuranoVS 2024 Audi Q5 Sportback

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 Q5 Sportback 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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Murano and the Q5 Sportback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Murano 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Audi covers the Q5 Sportback. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Q5 Sportback 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). Audi only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Q5 Sportback.

There are almost 4 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Audi 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 Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 76 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi 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 Audi With 76 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Audi.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Audi vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 2 places higher in reliability than Audi.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Nissan Murano uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Q5 Sportback requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Nissan Murano, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for the Q5 Sportback.

For better stopping power the Murano’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Q5 Sportback:

For better traction, the Murano has larger tires than the Q5 Sportback (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 Q5 Sportback.

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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Murano is 3.1 inches wider in the front and 3.4 inches wider in the rear than on the Q5 Sportback.

The Murano uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Murano has 3 inches more front headroom, 3.4 inches more front legroom, 3.1 inches more front shoulder room, 2 inches more rear headroom and 2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Q5 Sportback.

The Murano has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Q5 Sportback with its rear seat up (32.9 vs. 24.7 cubic feet). The Murano has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Q5 Sportback with its rear seat folded (63.5 vs. 51.9 cubic feet).

The Murano’s cargo area is larger than the Q5 Sportback’s in every dimension:

The Murano’s standard Intelligent Key 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 Start standard on the Q5 Sportback only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle.

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 Q5 Sportback only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

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 Q5 Sportback.

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. Only the Q5 Sportback Premium Plus/Prestige offers wireless charging.

The Murano is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.