Compare the2026 Nissan MuranoVS 2025 Kia Sorento

The Nissan Murano has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Sorento doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Murano Platinum offers an optional front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Sorento doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Murano. But it costs extra on the Sorento.

Both the Murano and the Sorento have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Murano is much safer than the Sorento:

The Nissan Murano has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Sorento is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.

The Murano’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sorento runs out after 100,000 miles.

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Murano for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Nissan will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sorento.

There are over 34 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Murano’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Kia vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan second in initial quality, above the industry average. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles, Kia is ranked 8th.

The Murano’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 50 more horsepower (241 vs. 191) and 79 lbs.-ft. more torque (260 vs. 181) than the Sorento LX/S’ standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Murano gets better fuel mileage than the Sorento 2.5T AWD (21 city/27 hwy vs. 20 city/27 hwy).

The Murano has a gallon more fuel capacity than the Sorento (18.7 vs. 17.7 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Murano has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Sorento doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Nissan Murano, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Sorento.

For better stopping power the Murano’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Sorento:

The Murano’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Sorento are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Murano has larger tires than the Sorento (255/55R20 vs. 235/65R17).

The Murano’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sorento LX’s standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Murano has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Sorento LX. The Murano Platinum’s 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the Sorento EX/SX.

The Murano has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Sorento doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Murano is 2 inches wider in the front and 1.6 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Sorento.

The Murano Platinum handles at .77 G’s, while the Sorento X-Pro SX Prestige pulls only .76 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the Murano has a 1.4 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Sorento (8.3 vs. 6.9 inches), allowing the Murano to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Murano’s minimum ground clearance is .1 inch higher than on the Sorento X-Line/X-Pro (8.3 vs. 8.2 inches).

The Murano uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Sorento doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Murano has 6.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Sorento (112 vs. 105.3).

The Murano has .8 inches more front headroom, 2.9 inches more front legroom, 1.3 inches more front hip room, 1.7 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom, 1.8 inches more rear hip room and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Sorento.

The Murano has a much larger cargo volume than the Sorento with its rear seat up (32.9 vs. 12.6 cubic feet).

The Murano uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sorento uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Murano Platinum has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction, incoming text message, infotainment and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Sorento doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Murano’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Sorento’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

The Murano’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Sorento’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Murano (except SV) offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Sorento.

The Murano has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Sorento S/EX/SX.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Nissan Murano has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Sorento S/EX/SX offers wireless charging.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Murano first among midsize suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Sorento isn’t in the top three.