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 Driving on the Mumbai-Pune expressway seldom turns out to be such a fuss free and relaxing affair. The car�s exceptional NVH (Noise-Vibration-Harshness) levels cocooned us from the drama of the outside world and the silky smooth V6 motor under the hood was spinning away lazily even with the speedometer needle resting on the wrong side of 140km/h. While my colleague Sarmad almost dozed off next to me with the ottoman-style leg rest stretched out to the max , the exceptionally soft three layered seat cooled my bum and well as the backside. Effortless mile munching has been taken to a completely new level in the new Nissan Teana.
The Teana has always been an underrated vehicle in India. For those who have owned it , the car has delivered what is to be expected for an Rs 25 lakh premium sedan. It always had a class leading comfortable suspension with rich , well equipped interiors. On the outside , the design imparted a rather understated look , but that seems to have changed. To start with , this Nissan is the first in its segment to feature a stylish glass roof , extending the open and airy feel of the interior to the rear seat area. The bold yet elegant character design line which flows like a sweeping arc , stretches from the front to the rear and imparts a modern artistic look. The lights , both at the front and the rear , have also been changed and now sport a sharper and elegant look. Overall the new generation Teana seems to be longer and lower than the outgoing One , but on paper , it isn�t.
The interiors have always been this car�s strong point and the firm seems to have improved on it with the latest model. Most customers in this segment would expect luxurious and utterly comfortable interiors and the Teana  seems to have nailed this aspect very well. There seems to be an overuse of beige but with clever wooden inserts at places and the absence of an array of buttons works well. A small screen sits in the center with controls for the air-con below it laid out pretty nicely. Slipping into a comfortable seating posture is very easy and you can have your own set of seat adjustments memorized by the computer as well. The steering seems a tad too big but is very functional with buttons for various controls and feels great to hold with wooden and silver inserts. The speedometer console gets a multi-information display.
Nissan has utilized its newly developed D platform and suspension system here with the aim of providing a higher class of comfort. Needless to say , this car excels over its competition when it comes to ride quality. At speeds above hundred , you hardly get to feel minor undulations and the Superb suspension allows you to carry the same speed over potholes or hardly slow down for small speed breakers. It�s only at slow speeds that you can easily feel sharp imperfections like protruding manhole covers. The Teana rides with a planted feel without any hint of a floating sensation. It�s a car that you can probably drive from Delhi to Shimla with your kids sleeping comfortably on the rear seats instead of irritating you by asking �are we there yet?� However , a small feature that i sorely missed in this car are parking sensors - it�s a shame Nissan hasn�t incorporated them. I mean , for someone shelling out close to Rs 30 lakh (on-road) , this omission simply cannot be justified.
The handling , however , doesn�t seem to live up to an enthusiast�s needs. Agreed that the Teana is not a sports car but inspite of features like the start-stop button and a lovely sounding V6 motor that hints at excitement , the moment you hit a set of twisties at high speeds , the first indication that makes you let go of the gas pedal comes in the form of screeching tyres. For enthusiastic driving , the steering too is rather numb. While it functions perfectly well to turn the car , it won�t evoke thoughts of pin-sharp precision handling or  charging into corners with super late braking. However , as I said earlier , the Teana isn�t really intended for such owners. Nevertheless , with an updated 182PS and 228Nm V6 engine , the car is now more than a second quicker to 100km/h. The CVT gearbox does have the rubber band effect to an extent but the small �sport� button on the right side of the gear lever comes in handy for overtaking maneuvers. While slotted in D mode , with a light right foot , drivers will be able to extract close to 9km in the City and over 14km on the highway.
The new Teana comes in two variants � the 250 XL and the 250 XV. With prices starting at Rs 21.03 (ex-showroom) , this Nissan isn�t a bad deal at all. It completely justifies its premium tag and now sports the looks that invite second glances on the road. It is supremely comfortable and easy to drive as well. But there is a slight problem here. I can count the number of dealerships on the fingers of one hand which means the reach of this car among the rich and famous is very limited. Ditto for the service network. This is where the sales of the Teana will take a blow. Nissan should pull up their socks and do something about increasing their network in India. For now they have a car that can not only compete with but also overshadow its competitors in most aspects.
More photos:
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The Teana has always been an underrated vehicle in India. For those who have owned it , the car has delivered what is to be expected for an Rs 25 lakh premium sedan. It always had a class leading comfortable suspension with rich , well equipped interiors. On the outside , the design imparted a rather understated look , but that seems to have changed. To start with , this Nissan is the first in its segment to feature a stylish glass roof , extending the open and airy feel of the interior to the rear seat area. The bold yet elegant character design line which flows like a sweeping arc , stretches from the front to the rear and imparts a modern artistic look. The lights , both at the front and the rear , have also been changed and now sport a sharper and elegant look. Overall the new generation Teana seems to be longer and lower than the outgoing One , but on paper , it isn�t.
The interiors have always been this car�s strong point and the firm seems to have improved on it with the latest model. Most customers in this segment would expect luxurious and utterly comfortable interiors and the Teana
seems to have nailed this aspect very well. There seems to be an overuse of beige but with clever wooden inserts at places and the absence of an array of buttons works well. A small screen sits in the center with controls for the air-con below it laid out pretty nicely. Slipping into a comfortable seating posture is very easy and you can have your own set of seat adjustments memorized by the computer as well. The steering seems a tad too big but is very functional with buttons for various controls and feels great to hold with wooden and silver inserts. The speedometer console gets a multi-information display.
Nissan has utilized its newly developed D platform and suspension system here with the aim of providing a higher class of comfort. Needless to say , this car excels over its competition when it comes to ride quality. At speeds above hundred , you hardly get to feel minor undulations and the Superb suspension allows you to carry the same speed over potholes or hardly slow down for small speed breakers. It�s only at slow speeds that you can easily feel sharp imperfections like protruding manhole covers. The Teana rides with a planted feel without any hint of a floating sensation. It�s a car that you can probably drive from Delhi to Shimla with your kids sleeping comfortably on the rear seats instead of irritating you by asking �are we there yet?� However , a small feature that i sorely missed in this car are parking sensors - it�s a shame Nissan hasn�t incorporated them. I mean , for someone shelling out close to Rs 30 lakh (on-road) , this omission simply cannot be justified.
The handling , however , doesn�t seem to live up to an enthusiast�s needs. Agreed that the Teana is not a sports car but inspite of features like the start-stop button and a lovely sounding V6 motor that hints at excitement , the moment you hit a set of twisties at high speeds , the first indication that makes you let go of the gas pedal comes in the form of screeching tyres. For enthusiastic driving , the steering too is rather numb. While it functions perfectly well to turn the car , it won�t evoke thoughts of pin-sharp precision handling or
charging into corners with super late braking. However , as I said earlier , the Teana isn�t really intended for such owners. Nevertheless , with an updated 182PS and 228Nm V6 engine , the car is now more than a second quicker to 100km/h. The CVT gearbox does have the rubber band effect to an extent but the small �sport� button on the right side of the gear lever comes in handy for overtaking maneuvers. While slotted in D mode , with a light right foot , drivers will be able to extract close to 9km in the City and over 14km on the highway.
The new Teana comes in two variants � the 250 XL and the 250 XV. With prices starting at Rs 21.03 (ex-showroom) , this Nissan isn�t a bad deal at all. It completely justifies its premium tag and now sports the looks that invite second glances on the road. It is supremely comfortable and easy to drive as well. But there is a slight problem here. I can count the number of dealerships on the fingers of one hand which means the reach of this car among the rich and famous is very limited. Ditto for the service network. This is where the sales of the Teana will take a blow. Nissan should pull up their socks and do something about increasing their network in India. For now they have a car that can not only compete with but also overshadow its competitors in most aspects.
More photos:
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though i luv d car but i dont feel dat its performance is upto d mrk....
Krishnansh : It isnt that bad. But then the Teana is more about luxury and comfort than outright performance