The Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego in southern California seemed an appropriate venue for the introduction to the Australian press of the second generation of Nissan's Murano crossover. Because the radical styling of the SUV people mover ties in beautifully with the hard-edged character of the Hard Rock franchise.

The shape of the Nissan is very much in the love-it-or-hate it category. The seriously rounded front end, huge shiny grille and dramatically sloping rear tailgate make a statement about a Murano owner’s outgoing attitude to life. Those who don’t like it can find a large selection of mundane models in the people mover category…

Though Murano has an all-new exterior, it retains with the same exciting theme as before. However, the interior now has a new look, one that, while being radical, has a real touch of class. Indeed, it almost has an air of upmarket elegance. The quality of finish has quite a few clues to the Infiniti range, Infiniti being the topline marque within Nissan.

It’s not only the in-cabin quality that Nissan has flowed down from Infiniti to Murano, the satellite navigation, Bose audio system, remote key and leather trim all reflect technology and materials from the upmarket brand.

Good as it looks, there's a lot more to Nissan Murano than simply futuristic looks because this is a vehicle that defies convention and manages to combine style with substance. It’s big inside, with seating for four large adults in stretch-out comfort with plenty of legroom. Or three children who won’t have a good reason to squabble over elbow space.

The boot isn’t quite as good as the cabin as its floor is high and the stylish slope in the tail compromises the carrying of bulky objects. Then again, should all five seats not be in use you can greatly expand the size of the boot by folding down seats. In the upmarket variants this can be done using power operation. The tailgate also benefits from push-button operation on the topline models.

New generation Murano will be powered by an uprated version of the 3.5-litre V6 engine used in the current model.

The engine is eerily quiet at idle, being almost hybrid-like in its minimisation of sound and vibration. On the road it remains remarkably subdued and will make an excellent long distance cruiser. Naturally we can’t comment on its ride on Australian roads, but there are some pretty rough and ready surfaces in southern California and it handled them without a whimper.

As before the transmission is an advanced continuously variable transmission (CVT) unit. This offers an infinite range of seamless gearchanges between preset low and high ratios. We were disappointed during our introductory drive program to find that the transmission doesn’t offer drivers a set range of ‘manual’ options for specialised road conditions. This may become available on cars before importation to Australia begins.

On the road the new Murano displays excellent refinement, indeed in some ways it’s in the same class as upmarket German saloons in the way it dampens road, tyre and general mechanical intrusion to the cabin. A spacious cabin and a class ambience seem sure to attract many buyers looking for a fine family transport.

Road behaviour, while safe and stable, isn’t in the sporty class, but is likely to more than fulfill the desires of the average buyer. This time around the Murano has slightly firmer suspension than the outgoing model. Our test cars were fitted with US-spec suspensions, there may be a modified system for Europe, if so this is likely to find its way into Australian imports.

Final specifications and prices for the second generation Nissan Murano for Australia will be announced closer to the release date in February 2009.