Nissan unveiled the Teana 250 XV, its all-new luxury sedan, at Fidelity Motors Ltd last Wednesday. The Teanan XV is priced at $5.3m.- Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Teana. A township in the southern part of Italy. Located in Basilicata Population 750 (I guess Cheers theme music would be like the town anthem. People have Face- book accounts with more names than the Teana voters list). If you are a member of one of the 254 families that live there, you are called 'Teanasi'. I wonder if they have Burger King ... they do have a mayor, though.

But living there must be something else, huh? Everybody knows your name. There is a cosiness which living so closely imposes on well-meaning folks in that situation, kind of like the aura provided by a favourite comforter, or the security found in the imagination of children when they have found a place to play.

powerful concept

Nissan has attempted to bottle this simple, yet powerful concept and sell it to every man. Its Teana has a steel body, four wheels and four doors, but is configured to please and pamper from an almost subliminal level. Teana's interior has six airbags, a large, airy greenhouse, and large proportions. The features inside, though, are spectacular.

First-class accommodation begins with the seating. Front seat passenger can recline in jaw-dropping comfort as the chair reclines to full supine position, and it has an ottoman, too. Oh yeah! The driver's seat has no such luxury. Bummer.

What the front seats share, though, is a bit of perforated upholstery in the middle of the chair that allows pressurised air (heated or cooled) to ventilate your butt. Yup, turning the other cheek takes on another meaning in these things. 'Hot day hot bun' syndrome is a thing of the past in the Teana.

The panoramic roof lets passengers take in the surroundings from a safe distance, and the sunroof's sunshade - which in every other vehicle I've tested I've had to pull open and shut with my hands - is powered.

Keyless entry is not as sophisticated as the more upscale cars, as a button has to be pushed on the driver's side door handle to unlock the door. However, Teana will unlock as long as the car senses the key fob is on your person, and the car cannot be locked if the key is in the car ... attempting to lock the doors in such a case will cause the car to inform its driver audibly if the keys are inside. Locking the keys in the trunk is a physical impossibility as well; the trunk will close but not shut if this is tried.

comfortable interior

The leather interior on our tester was most inviting; the only problems with the interior were the faux wood appointments. That said, the amount of space Teana offers up is nothing short of astonishing. Ergonomically, the layout works; the dash sports a huge monochro-matic display, and all controls are in easy reach. Dual climate zones and a six CD changer Nissan sound system rounds out the package, which feature for feature offers more value than cars costing much more.

The 2.5-litre VQ25DE V6 is a tractable and willing engine, producing 180 hp at 6000 rpm and 168 ft lb of torque at 4400 rpm. The ultra-smooth V6 is mated to Nissan's XTRONIC CVT tranny, which does a decent job of keeping the engine at its torque peak under steady revs. This means that Teana's gas consumption on our drive around town was quite decent. We logged 35 kilometres on our jaunt, with the sedan delivering in the 9-11-litre per 100 km.

The leather interior on our tester was most inviting; the only problems with the interior were the faux wood appointments.

Teana's rear passenger accomodation is particularly spacious, and the overall ride quality excellent.

Performance was not earth- shattering, but body roll and braking were above expectations. The engine was brand new, so it was a little on the tight side, and Automotives felt that the digital throttle had too much lag; as a result, throttle response suffered. Once the CVT realises that its driver wants performance though, the tranny conjures up the ratios that the engine needs to work with. Having no step ratios, the car feels rather high geared (helps with economy). But swing the tach past four grand and the driver is rewarded with a quick and lively trip to redline.

Sport mode changes the fuelling and timing maps in the ECU and makes the experience more fun. But forcing the box to hold the low ratios by dropping to L really awakens the beast. The engine takes on a lusty, rorty, healthy six-pack howl and serious power is engaged. Doing this and planting the right foot shows how stable the chassis is, as torque steer is totally absent. Panic stops coming down Red Hills and over the rough stuff on Spanish Town Road did not boil the brakes or unsettle the chassis. Top marks.

Nissan's Teana is about value, and while there are other marks that are better in certain areas, Teana gives more bang for the buck. This car has some features that even Mercedes does not provide, and to do this in a class packed with Hondas and Camrys for less than the tried and true class standbys deserves kudos.

mario.james@gleanerjm.com.