New Nissan soft-top: Cool, luxe mom mobile

Convertibles aren't known for their utility. Cars that can be driven as open-air vehicles or hermetically sealed at the push of a button don't top the shopping lists of many moms who've got groceries to haul and kids to shuttle to skateboard lessons.

A two-door ragtop with a trunk that can accommodate only golf clubs just isn't practical. But with its new Murano CrossCabriolet, Nissan is hoping to change the perception that a vehicle of leisure can't also be utilitarian.

A soft-top version of its most high-end, all-wheel-drive crossover, the Murano CrossCabriolet is a spirited-yet-cushy mom mobile for those who value adventure and luxury -- and sharing those experiences with the ones they love.

The vehicle I was testing was an early-production version of what will be in showrooms later this month. The $47,200 CrossCabriolet is available in a single trim with different color options.

Powered with the same 3.5-liter V-6 engine as the hardtop Murano LE and equipped with all-wheel-drive standard, the convertible is a two-door four-seater, whereas the hardtop is a four-door five-seater.

Removing the rear passenger doors gives the vehicle a cleaner, more elegant profile, while removing the middle rear seat gives travelers in the back more space and comfort.

An added bonus for those traveling in the back is an up close and personal view of the convertible rooftop in action. This takes place at the push of a cockpit toggle switch, which must be held down the entire time the roof is moving.

Nissan says the canvas roof on the CrossCabriolet is the largest convertible top of any production vehicle on the market. Unfolding in five stages, it's a Transformers-esque engineering feat that takes less than 30 seconds.

Unfortunately, it stopped working toward the tail end of my week with the vehicle. And there is no separate warranty for the convertible roof.

A Nissan spokesman said none of the other early production CrossCabriolets in the field has experienced the roof problem, adding that my vehicle was not "100 percent production correct." Engineering refinements have since been made, he said.

The CrossCabriolet's interior is appointed with the usual luxuries that make life on congested roads bearable, all of which are stock: heated leather seats and steering wheel, a navigation system, Bluetooth hands-free phone calling and eight-speaker Bose audio, among other things.

The CrossCabriolet is fairly quiet, but not fixed-steel-roof quiet. Driving under overpasses, I was aware of road noise.

Driving through potholes, on the other hand, I was barely cognizant of the bumps because the independent strut front suspension and multi-link independent suspension in the rear were so effective in absorbing them.

Even with its convertible roof crooked and unclosed, as I drove through swarms of uniformed Boy Scouts, the last words I heard were from a fellow mom: "Oh my gosh. That's so cool!"

Fix the roof mechanism, and I agree.