Just the other day in the middle of the afternoon, I was seated comfortably and watching the world go by. As I sipped my coffee, I noticed for the third time this middle-aged, bespectacled man squinting curiously in my direction and every time I turned, he'd pretend to look away. For some reason, he didn't look very pleased either and I was wondering what on earth he was looking at.

And then it struck me. You see, here I was looking relaxed and absolutely nonchalant, considering the fact that I was driving the new Nissan Teana 250XV and not a Nissan GT-R. He was in a Cefiro. And apart from the fact that a newer model would draw attention, it's also supposed to be an "uncle's car" and most other males around my age wouldn't want to be caught dead in any car that's associated with "uncles". So it was only natural for him to look slightly befuddled; maybe he was wondering why the new Teana wasn't being driven by a guy like him. But I really couldn't be arsed.

Speaking of which, that lower bit of my body had cool air blowing at it. And, further up along my seat, my back was being chilled as well. There was plenty of legroom in the foot well and visibility from the driving position was good. The layout on the centre console was neat and pretty intuitive, and on the whole, I couldn't really think of anything to complain about.

A 2.5-litre VQ25DE V6 resides under its bonnet, producing up to 182 hp at 6,000 rpm and a decent 228 Nm of torque. Despite those figures, it isn't what we would call "quick" and a zero-to-hundred sprint is finished in a slightly disappointing 9.6 seconds. Well, at least it revs smoothly.

But who cares about the acceleration? It's not Golf GTI fast, but 9.6 seconds is still better than most normal cars on the road, and it isn't as if it's crucial for anyone to always get from standstill to 100 km/h in a short time, the Teana really doesn't give a crap about that sort of thing.

Comfort first

What it is concerned about is whether the passengers are comfortable and always happy to coast around in it. And we're pleased to say, it has definitely nailed it, spot on. Nissan combined their newly-developed "D" platform (also found in the Renault Laguna) and suspension system with the aim of providing a higher class of comfort. The front shock absorbers have built-in rebound springs while its rear gets a newly-developed multi-link suspension and with its dampers placed closer to the tyres, all with the aim of improving driving stability.

On a highway, the Teana rides with a planted feel and with barely a hint of floating sensation. It's one of those cars you could drive up to Kuala Lumpur in, with your kids fast asleep in the back instead of driving you nuts with "are we there yet?"

Its handling, however, won't meet the expectations of any Fairlady driver. The steering is rather numb and, while it functions perfectly well to turn the car, it won't evoke thoughts of pin-sharp precision handling and charging into corners with super-late braking. But again, you see, that really isn't what the Teana is for.
Working brilliantly as the executive sedan that it had set out to be, you won't see young punks trying to drive the wheels of this car. What you will see, in fact, are men in nicely-pressed shirts and pants driving themselves to the office in the city. Family-oriented, middle-income and above, respectable middle-aged men and not some clean shaven, but slightly suspicious-looking 30-something who's actually on his way to a hooker. And even if you spot a driver who is under 30, chances are that he would be too busy chilling out inside rather than be bothered to race the similarly-aged twit in the loud-revving Honda Civic next to him.

That said, there are anomalies in every gene pool and one can never accurately predict the male ego's behaviour.

Too close for comfort

If power is an issue, you can spend around S$10,000 more to get the 350XV. It has a 3.5-litre V6 with 251 hp, which goes from 0-100 km/h in 7.6 seconds. But if you're the sort who spends most of your highway journeys in the second lane, we recommend the 200XL, which goes from zero to™ never mind, because chances are if you want less power, these acceleration figures shouldn't interest you.

In the same league, buyers would be looking at the Honda Accord 2.4 and also the Toyota Camry 2.4. But those don't have cooling seats, and the V6 engine in the Teana is easily smoother than the other two. Mated to Nissan's XTRONIC CVT, it adds to the overall ride experience and makes commuting in the city a lot more pleasant.

At a current price of S$87,000 with COE (as of press time), the Nissan is also the cheapest of the trio. The Camry costs S$87,988 while the Accord tops the list with its S$96,800 price tag. On top of that, the Teana is the only "pedigree", being built in Japan, while the Accord and Camry are assembled in Thailand. However, the Accord has the highest overall market value (OMV), at around S$33,000, compared to the other two, whose values hover around the S$29,000 mark.

The rest of it really boils down to the math and looks of the car. It has sneaked a little out of the "uncle" class and, somehow, has a bit more coolness about it. In fact, I wouldn't be embarrassed to drive the Teana around - it's cool enough, literally.