The 2025 Nissan Murano and Toyota RAV4 are popular five-seater SUVs that provide families in Dover, Ohio, with the practicality and convenience to travel in comfort and style. However, while the RAV4 is famous for its no-frills frugality, the Murano’s plush cabin delivers a premium driving experience. As we compare the 2025 Nissan Murano vs. Toyota RAV4, we’ll look at their features, performance, comfort, and several other factors to help you choose the perfect vehicle.

Entering its fourth generation, the 2025 Nissan Murano received a more contemporary design reminiscent of luxury models. Its sharper exterior now consists of sportier lines leading to a curvy roofline, a more grounded stance, and slimmer LED headlights and taillights. To complete its modern appeal, the interior also received a makeover to ensure your journeys are always comfortable.

The 2025 RAV4 retains the boxy design of previous years, with the only change being the discontinuation of the Adventure and TRD Off-Road trims.

Both the 2025 Nissan Murano and Toyota RAV4 seat five people. The Murano’s maximum passenger volume of up to 112 cubic feet eclipses the RAV4’s 98.9 cubic feet of total passenger volume. This translates to extra comfort on the road. In the Murano, you get up to 41.1 inches of front headroom and 44.3 inches of front legroom, which easily outdoes the RAV4’s 37.7 inches of front headroom and 41 inches of front legroom.

Backseat occupants also get more headroom in the Murano, with 39.7 inches compared to the RAV4’s 39.5 inches. However, the Toyota SUV has more rear legroom of 37.8 inches, compared to the Murano’s 36.3 inches.

The Murano’s upscale cabin has a textured dashboard trim with a mesmerizing visual effect, climate controls you can access via a touch-sensitive panel on a wood trim piece, and Nissan’s Zero Gravity seats in both rows for supreme comfort on long journeys.

While the Murano SV, SV AWD, and SL AWD trims feature leatherette seats and heated front seats, selecting the Platinum trim gets you high-end features. Along with ventilated and massaging front seats upholstered in quilted leather, the Platinum comes with a panoramic moonroof and ambient LED lighting that lets you personalize the cabin’s color.

The RAV4 also has a comfortable interior, but the entry-level trims achieve their lower price points by incorporating hard black plastics and cloth upholstery. In the XLE Premium, Toyota incorporated nicer touches, such as faux-leather seating, high-quality plastics, and an eye-catching dashboard.

While the Murano has 32.9 cubic feet of cargo volume, which increases to 64 cubic feet with the rear seats down, the RAV4 edges slightly ahead with up to 37.6 cubic feet of storage that expands to 69.8 cubic feet when you fold the second-row seats. That said, all Murano models have a standard power liftgate for easy access to the cargo area, a feature that’s only available in the RAV4 XLE Premium and Limited trims.

The Nissan Murano comes with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 241 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque and a standard nine-speed automatic transmission. The SL and Platinum trims are equipped with all-wheel drive, a feature that is available for the SV.

Meanwhile, the RAV4 features a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 203 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. The engine pairs with an eight-speed automatic transmission and standard front-wheel drive, but all trim levels can upgrade to all-wheel drive.

When you look at the Murano vs. RAV4 in terms of performance, the Murano’s engine delivers zippier acceleration, is more responsive, and delivers a more precise steering than the RAV4.

The RAV4 has always been a winner in the fuel economy department, and the 2025 model, depending on its drivetrain, the EPA estimates it can get up to 27 mpg city, 35 mpg highway, and 30 mpg combined. The new Murano gets an EPA-estimated 21 mpg city, 27 mpg highway, and 23 mpg combined.

The 2025 Murano has a tech-savvy cabin, with a pair of 12.3-inch color displays that host the digital gauge cluster and the infotainment system. The infotainment system is Google-based and provides wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, voice recognition (either Siri Eyes Free or Google Assistant/Amazon Alexa), and Bluetooth connectivity. Higher trim levels feature Google Maps and a Wi-Fi hot spot.

Some of the Murano’s standard features include active sound cancellation, a wireless smartphone charging pad for front passengers, four USB ports, AM/FM/SiriusXM radio, illuminated audio controls mounted on the steering wheel, and speed sensitive volume control. A six-speaker audio system is available on the two lower trims, and the SL and Platinum come with a 10-speaker Bose sound system for a richer listening experience while commuting around Dover.

The RAV4 features an 8-inch touch screen in lower trims, but a 10.5-inch display is standard on the Limited and optional on the XLE Premium. The infotainment system offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and an available Wi-Fi hot spot. There’s also a 7-inch digital gauge cluster for the driver, but the range-topping Limited model gets a larger 12.3-inch full-color digital interface. You can upgrade the cabin experience in the RAV4 with optional features such as navigation, a wireless charging pad, and a JBL premium audio system.

Both vehicles come with a slew of safety and driver-assistance features. Standout features in the Murano include blind-spot monitoring, a 360-degree surround view camera, lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, driver attention alert, and parking sensors that give you a sense of security whether you’re running your daily errands or taking the family to Atwood Lake Park. Many of these features are also available on the RAV4 as part of the Toyota Safety Sense package.

While the RAV4 is widely popular for its no-nonsense delivery of comfort and reliability, the Nissan Murano goes beyond providing the basics you’d normally expect to find in a five-seater SUV. With better performance and a more luxurious cabin than the RAV4, the Murano’s ability to deliver a more engaging, comfortable drive in a tech-savvy and sophisticated cockpit makes navigating the streets in and around Dover a breeze.