The diversity of products is one of the unique features of the automotive industry. Buyers can choose from numerous shapes and sizes, as well as engines and trim levels, which significantly affect their driving experience. And the pre-owned car market is especially diversified with all kinds of used vehicles for sale.
However, the Indy Auto Man car dealer notes that while some unconventional solutions attract buyers, others fail, such as the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet (CC).
Few people remember that in the late 2000s, Nissan was riding the crest of a wave, successfully reviving the legendary GT-R with the R35 engine, and its 370Z became the benchmark for two-seater sports cars. In addition, the company achieved impressive results with the Rogue and Juke crossovers. The market prospects for the Murano seemed less straightforward, although Renault/Nissan Alliance CEO Carlos Ghosn believed it could also become popular. Moreover, given the growing sales of SUVs and crossovers, Ghosn was sure the Murano new version would be a real hit. He decided that a cross convertible would appeal to the female audience. The project was eventually completed, and in 2011, the Murano CrossCabriolet debuted in the United States as a locally marketed car.
The resulting CrossCabriolet was unique. There was nothing to compare it to, even though several two-door SUV models have always been in the US market. In its final form, the Murano CrossCabriolet was a two-door crossover with a soft top (with electric drive) equipped with a slightly modified version of the award-winning 3.5-liter VQ35DE V6 engine used in the regular Murano. The modifications were necessary to compensate for the increased weight resulting from the significant chassis strengthening and to maintain the roofless body rigidity. The engine was mated to an automatic CVT transmission, and its power went to the wheels through the proprietary all-wheel drive system. The company unveiled the Murano CC at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show and boasted that it was the world's first all-wheel drive convertible crossover. After the presentation, Nissan waited for sales to explode, but the expectations never materialized.
As it turned out, buyers were not interested in a crossover that could not function as a crossover. Everyone expected it to be more impressive and practical than hatchbacks and sedans, but the Murano's two-door body reduced any practicality to zero. It had four seats, but to access the second row, you had to move the front seats forward, and it was uncomfortable. The soft roof took up almost the entire trunk. Targeting a female audience didn't work, because most often men and women who love cars like the same things.
The Murano's price wasn't that attractive either, coming in at just under $42,000, significantly higher than the regular Murano's price of around $28,000. And considering that the only advantage this version had over the base model was a folding roof, it didn't appeal to regular buyers. The CrossCabriolet's failure is reflected in its sales figures: only about six thousand cars were sold between 2011 and 2014. It was eventually quietly discontinued in 2014.
Despite the Murano's failure, Nissan wasn't the last to try to create impractical convertibles. In 2017, Land Rover released a convertible version of the two-door Evoque, calling it the first luxury SUV with a convertible top. Like the Murano CC, the Evoque convertible featured a power-folding fabric roof that folded into the trunk. It had the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that powered the base Evoque, producing 237 horsepower.
Thanks to the hard work of Land Rover's engineers, the Evoque Convertible handled well but suffered from the same shortcomings as the Murano CC. The roof took most of the cargo area, which was big enough to hold a few small duffel bags. As with the Nissan Murano CC, Land Rover couldn't sell as many convertibles as expected, and the model was discontinued after just two years of sale. It proved once again that the concept of a convertible crossover isn't what buyers are looking for in the US, despite the SUV craze.
