The Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet is an interesting beast. Debuting in 2011, Nissan enjoy laying claim to creating the first-ever road-legal all-wheel drive crossover. There is even one in my neighborhood, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it with its top up when in motion.
Thanks to a tweet from @hoonable on Twitter and an article on Jalopnik, we now know the answer to one of life’s most never-asked questions.
With the convertible top up, there is a peculiar window located just above the rear glass. But why? Well, Bozi Tatarevic, Hoonable on Twitter, posted a couple of photos showing that the rear skylight is actually so that the rollover hoops can crash through the glass ceiling.
That is, however, neither here nor there.
I never knew that the little window on top of the Murano CrossCab was a spot for the rollover bars to pop out. https://t.co/9yOrnCPbAu pic.twitter.com/lyDM6j0FsY
— Bozi Tatarevic (@hoonable) June 26, 2019
Now, as a disclaimer, I have never driven the Murano Crosscabriolet, but I’ve never particularly cared for it. Regardless, that’s actually a pretty smart way to handle rollover safety. I remember the E36 and E46 3-Series BMWs’ rollover hoops actually shot out of the rear headrests and through the back window of the convertible top.
With a price of $47,200, the Crosscabriolet came with the Murano’s standard 3.5-liter V6 making 265 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque. Everything, sadly, was met with the disappointment of a CVT, and it weighed about 4400 lbs.
The Crosscabriolet was so cooky that Bloomberg did an article last year explaining why the car is still in demand even though it’s been off the new car market for five years. Oh, and I should say that I belong to a Murano Crosscabriolet private group on Facebook. It’s made up of both owners and people that are pretending to be in love with and obsessed over the convertible crossover.
There’s no way I could ever be interested in owning a Murano Crosscabriolet, but if you have one and live in North Carolina and would like to try and change my mind, I’d be happy to reluctantly drive yours. Even though my opinion is a general consensus by most people, you can’t blame a car company for thinking outside the box and trying something new.
The Murano Crosscabriolet debuted at the 2010 LA Auto Show and could be purchased at a Nissan Dealer from 2011-2014. Below you can watch a video of Doug DeMuro reviewing the Crosscabriolet after it departed new car showrooms.
Photos from Nissan
Source: Jalopnik via Twitter
