Nissan Teana CVT

The Teana is powered by a 2.5-litre V6 is bigger than the old Teana’s 2.3-litre version and with 180bhp on tap. The motor is very smooth and refined, but its problem is with the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT); when you want to make quick progress, the gearbox keeps the engine spinning near the redline, which means it’s quite audible. It’s perfectly quiet when you aren’t pressing on though. Performance is more leisurely than urgent but there’s that nice linear power delivery thanks to the CVT dishing out the perfect gear ratio all the time. Still, there’s that irritating rubber-band effect when you press the throttle – this is an engine that prefers relaxed progress to drag-strip runs. The transmission’s ‘Sports’ mode helps when you want to go fast but it’s still quite a way off from being sporty.

The Teanas CVT means the engine revs quite a bit, ultimately affecting the fuel economy. The Teana travels 7.2kpl in the city and 10.1kpl on the highway.