Murano wins a crash test Oscar for safety

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Toward the end of ‘No Country For Old Men’ Anton Chigurh (the cold-hearted assassin) has his arm broken in a car crash. He should have been driving the 2009 Nissan Murano. That’s because the new Murano has recently won an award of its own. In this instance, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The IIHS took nine mid-size SUVs and crash-tested them, using data taken from front, side and rear impacts. Being the best overall performer (comfortably out-ranking a Hummer), the Murano earned the institute’s Top Safety Pick. It was also one of only two in this group of crossover vehicles to earn a good rating for protection against whiplash injury in rear-end crashes, one of the most common impacts. To see how the other eight fared, click onto the IIHS website .

The entry-level Murano (the front-wheel-drive S) has an MSRP of $26,330 and is available now. There’s still no protection from films with weird endings, but maybe that’s a good thing.

-- Colin Ryan