Nissan’s approach to the 2027 Murano is to trim the menu, add a sporty variant, and extend a useful winter feature to every buyer. The 2027 lineup drops to three grades, SL, Dark Armor, and Platinum, adds Snow Mode as a standard drive option across all of them, and introduces the new Dark Armor edition as the line’s visual centerpiece. Prices start at $43,990.
The Murano’s comeback has been sharp. After selling 19,317 units in 2024, the fourth-generation model reversed course in 2025, with US deliveries more than doubling to 42,291, a gain of roughly 119 percent year over year. That momentum gave Nissan enough confidence to give the Murano its own distinctive trim rather than another standard package, and the J.D. Power 2026 APEAL segment win suggests buyers are responding to what the fourth generation delivers.
Dark Armor Does What the Name Promises
Dark Armor sits between the SL and Platinum at $46,990. The visual package is thorough: gloss black side moldings, gloss black window moldings, sporty front and rear bumpers, a Dark Armor badge, Nissan gloss black badges throughout, and 21-inch alloy wheels finished in black. Inside, it steps up to Prima-Tex leatherette with perforation rather than the plain leatherette of the SL, adds 10-speaker Bose audio with Engine Harmonic Cancellation and Engine Harmonic Enhancement, multi-color ambient LED lighting, and a panoramic moonroof. Google built-in 2, with Google Maps, Google Assistant, and the Google Play Store integrated into the dash, also comes standard on Dark Armor and Platinum but not on the SL.
The SL opens the lineup at $43,990. It rides on 20-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with 255/55R20 all-season tires, wears body-color door handles and manually folding mirrors, and carries six speakers, a 12.3-inch display, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto via NissanConnect, and a full suite of Safety Shield 360 driver assistance features. Power steering is electric assist with manual tilt and telescope; memory comes on the driver’s seat.
Platinum tops the range at $49,790 with 21-inch wheels, power-folding heated mirrors with memory, automatic rain-sensing wipers, heated and ventilated front seats with massage, a 6-way power passenger seat with lumbar, heated rear outboard seats, semi-aniline leather-appointed upholstery, Nissan Zero Gravity outboard rear seats, rear door sunshades, a power tilt-and-telescope steering column with memory, HomeLink, and acoustic glass on the front door windows. The Platinum also unlocks the optional Technology Package at $3,300, which adds ProPILOT Assist 2.1 for hands-off freeway driving, a 3D Enhanced Intelligent Around View Monitor with full 360-degree rotation, Driver Attention Warning and Driver Distraction Warning, a head-up display, ambient lighting linked to ProPILOT Assist mode, and a driver seat-mounted front-center supplemental airbag.
One Powertrain, Across the Board
All three grades run the same 2.0-liter VC-Turbo four-cylinder paired with a 9-speed automatic and Intelligent AWD. Output is 241 hp at 5,600 rpm and 260 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm, with a compression ratio that varies between 8.0:1 and 14.0:1 depending on load. The engine uses idle stop-start as standard and returns EPA estimates of 21 city, 27 highway, and 23 combined. Paddle shifters and a drive mode selector, now including Snow Mode for 2027, give the driver options beyond the default setting.
The suspension is an independent strut front with coil springs and twin-tube struts, and an independent multi-link rear with twin-tube shock absorbers. Front brakes are ventilated discs at 13.78 inches in diameter; rear ventilated discs measure 12.99 inches. Curb weight runs from 4,290 pounds for the SL to 4,350 for the Dark Armor and 4,386 for the Platinum, with a 59/41 front-to-rear weight distribution across all grades.
Interior Tech and Space
Dual 12.3-inch displays are standard across the lineup, one for the instrument cluster and one for the infotainment. The SL gets NissanConnect with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Dark Armor and Platinum add Google built-in 2, Alexa Built-in, in-vehicle Wi-Fi via 5G powered by SiriusXM, and Hybrid Radio. All grades include two front and two rear USB Type-C ports and a Qi2 wireless charger.
Passenger volume measures 112.0 cubic feet in the SL and 107.1 in the Dark Armor and Platinum, a difference attributable to the taller first-row headroom in the SL (41.1 inches versus 39.4 in the other two grades). Cargo space behind the second row is 32.9 cubic feet across all grades, expanding to 63.5 with the 60/40 split bench folded flat. The panoramic moonroof, standard on Dark Armor and Platinum, is absent on the SL.
Standard safety equipment covers the full Safety Shield 360 suite: Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Blind Spot Warning and Intervention, Lane Departure Warning with Keep Assist and Intelligent Lane Intervention, Intelligent Forward Collision Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Rear Automatic Braking, and Post-Collision Hazard Warning. ProPILOT Assist, which combines Intelligent Cruise Control with Steering Assist, is standard on all three grades. The upgrade to hands-off ProPILOT Assist 2.1 is reserved for Platinum buyers who add the Technology Package.
Destination and handling runs $1,545. Premium paint adds $450 across all grades; a two-tone finish runs $1,000. The SL has one mechanical option, a 20-inch alloy wheel delete for buyers who want to step down from the standard wheel, available at $1,855.
The Murano doubled its sales volume in a single year on the strength of a fresh design and a willingness to lean into a luxury-adjacent positioning rather than compete on cargo volume or entry price. The 2027 updates, especially the Dark Armor grade, push that positioning further. Whether a gloss-black sport trim turns into the segment’s preferred spec or ends up a slow seller at the middle of the price ladder is a question the order books will answer.
Source: Nissan. Images courtesy of Nissan.
