THERE'S been just one thing missing from the impressive armoury of Nissan's highly respected Murano crossover ¦ diesel power.

The lack of an oil-burning motor has undoubtedly been a major obstacle as rivals like Land Rover and Mitsubishi have cashed in on the growing demand for diesel-powered SUVs.

Now, the Murano is at last getting the diesel power it has lacked in the shape of the new Murano dCi which spearheads a facelifted range.

And its significance is underlined by the fact that Nissan expects the diesel to account for more than 90 per cent of Murano sales when it arrives in showrooms in September, priced at £37,795.

The Murano dCi's 2.5 litre, four cylinder, diesel engine has been specifically engineered for Europe and is mated to a revised six speed automatic transmission providing Adaptive Shift Control.

With 190PS and 450Nm of torque at just 2,000rpm, the Murano diesel boasts 35.3mpg average economy and 210g/km CO emissions.

The need to provide additional cooling airflow to the diesel engine and radiators has led to a front-end styling makeover with a new grille and bumper design.

Specification is impressive and includes 20-inch alloy wheels, power tailgate and colour rear and kerbside cameras all fitted as standard together with a premium satellite navigation system with 7" touch screen, HDD 9.3 Gb music server, ipod, Bluetooth and aux connectivity feeding an 11 speaker BOSE system.

In addition, the kit list includes rear privacy glass, bi-xenon headlamps, cruise control and electrically folding rear seats, which can be raised or lowered easily and conveniently from the luggage area.