Back in March, Nissan announced plans to introduce a diesel engine option for the very first time on its European market Murano crossover in September. The need for additional cooling airflow to the diesel engine and radiators meant that the Nissan had to redesign the front end of the Murano which enters the 2011 model year with a reworked fascia sporting a new grille and a reshaped bumper with larger air intakes and different fog lamps.

The Murano diesel makes use of a refined version of Nissan’s 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine producing 190-horsepower and 450Nm / 331.9 lb-ft of peak torque, hooked up to a six-speed automatic transmission. The new Murano 2.5 dCi returns 35.3mpg UK (8.0lt/100km or 29.4mpg US) economy in the combined cycle and 210g/km CO2 emissions.

The Japanese automaker also released UK pricing today for the Murano 2.5 dCi, which starts at £37,795 OTR and is available to order now with first deliveries in September.

UK market cars will come equipped with 20-inch alloy wheels, power tailgate and colour rear and kerbside cameras and a navigation system with 7″ touch screen, HDD 9.3 Gb music server, ipod, Bluetooth and aux connectivity combined with premium 11 speaker BOSE system, fitted as standard.

Nissan said that it expects the diesel model to account for over 90% of Murano sales in Europe.