So, we have a 2005 Nissan Murano. I like it! It's comfortable, lots of legroom for our tall family, lots of storage area, AWD so it does well in the wet, snow, and ice, enough ground clearance to make bumpy rutted backroads not problem but not so much that we need a ladder to enter, gets decent gas mileage, and it wasn't too expensive.
There's just one thing that drives me crazy:
the speedometer goes to 160.
Not 160 kilometers per hour.
Miles per hour.
This is not a performance machine. If I bothered to put Super Unleaded into it, we can get a respectable 240 hp out of the V6. It's not as square as some dedicated SUV's, but the aerodynamics aren't the greatest - I've never tried it, but I'd be very surprised if it topped 130. I've had it in the 80's in normal driving occaisionally, but I'm a 5-over-the-limit at most driver.
If I'm going over, say, 90, I don't need to know my speed. All I need to know is that I need to
slow the f$%^ down. Even freeway driving is in the 60-75 mph range - using less than half the dial, making it harder to tell your exact speed and your general speed at a glance.
Why, Nissan?
Why? Does the 160 top speed make buyers feel like the crossover is a sports car? Are you reusing parts from the Z (which probably could hit 160)? Would it kill you to use a 0-100 range instead? Are there some Japanophile Germans on the Autobahn that just need to get 5 mpg by flooring it in a quite large (by Euro standards) 'tall car'?
It's dumb, but it annoys me anyways.
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