Compare the2025 Nissan MuranoVS 2025 Audi Q5 Sportback

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

Safety

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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 Audi Q5 Sportback 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 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 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 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.

With its standard Automatic Emergency Braking, the Nissan Murano is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Audi Q5 Sportback, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

	Murano	Q5 Sportback
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
	Crossing Child - DAY
12 MPH	AVOIDED	AVOIDED
25 MPH	AVOIDED	-22 MPH
	Crossing Adult - NIGHT
12 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	-8 MPH
12 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	-1 MPH
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	-13 MPH
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	-2 MPH
	Parallel Adult - NIGHT
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	-2 MPH
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	No Slowing
37 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	No Slowing
Warning Issued-Brights	2.3 sec	No Warning
37 MPH Low beams	-29 MPH	No Slowing
Warning Issued-Low beams	1.2 sec	No Warning

Both the Murano and the Q5 Sportback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

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 Q5 Sportback:

	Murano	Q5 Sportback
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Chest Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Thigh/hip Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Leg/foot Rating	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
	Rear Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck Rating	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
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 Q5 Sportback:

	Murano	Q5 Sportback
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Structure	GOOD	GOOD
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	33	96
Neck Tension	134 lbs.	245 lbs.
Neck Compression	45 lbs.	89 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Shoulder Deflection	.59 in	.71 in
Torso Max Deflection	.83 in	.98 in
Pelvis	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	558 lbs.	1116 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	189	346
Neck Tension	134 lbs.	223 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.2 in	1.73 in
Shoulder Force	22 lbs.	402 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.91 in	1.54 in
Torso Deflection Rate	6 MPH	11 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	MARGINAL
Pelvis Force	915 lbs.	1249 lbs.
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 Q5 Sportback is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

Warranty

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. Audi only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Q5 Sportback.

There are over 3 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.

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 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.

Fuel Economy and Range

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.

Transmission

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.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Murano	Q5 Sportback
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	13.3 inches

Tires and Wheels

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.

Suspension and Handling

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.

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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

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.

Cargo Capacity

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:

	Murano	Q5 Sportback
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	39.7”/72.2”	36”/69”
Max Width	55.9”	48.5”
Height	29.8”	n/a

Ergonomics

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.

Compared to traditional radio, the Nissan Murano’s standard SiriusXM satellite radio provides an unmatched listening experience. Its extensive coverage guarantees consistent, crystal-clear reception across the continental U.S., and access to over 100 channels dedicated to a multitude of genres, including music, news, sports, talk shows, and comedy, many with only limited commercial breaks. Satellite radio costs extra on 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.

Model Availability

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.

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