The Altima coupe, which was unveiled this summer, is strictly for North American buyers and was designed in The States. It’s built at Nissan’s Smyrna and Decherd facilities in Tennessee and actually debuted at the Los Angeles Motor Show, in 2006.

Although it may look like the Infiniti G35, it’s a completely different automobile. For one thing, it has front-wheel-drive, as opposed to rear-drive, and, for another, it’s built on the Altima sedan - or “D” - platform. Suitably shortened, with a smaller wheelbase and different sheet metal, but the similarities are inescapable. Which is good. One of the reasons the Altima four-door is such a hot seller is because it’s one of the best looking sedans on the market. Even now, almost six years after its redesign, it stands up well.

Available in two trim levels - S and SE - the Altima Coupe also has two engine choices and two transmission options. The base S comes with a 2.5 litre four cylinder and a six-speed manual transmission, but you can get Nissan’s Xtronic constantly variable transmission CVT with this engine for an additional $1200. My tester had the VQ-series 3.5 litre V6, and the aforementioned CVT. This engine develops 270 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque in this configuration, and the V6 makes the Altima Coupe a pretty lively automobile.

However, my test car would have been even livelier had it not been equipped with the CVT. Although it does have a manual shift setting, this transmission is a bit of a disappointment and is just not suited to spirited driving, which, as far as I’m concerned, is what the coupe is all about. For straight-line schlepping and around town short-hops, it’s fine and works as well as a conventional planetary gear autobox, but typical buyers of this car who want that extra dash of performance and snap when they slip behind the wheel, just won’t find it with the CVT. So, if you’re an enthusiast, the six-speed manual is the best choice here. It also costs less. Interestingly, the CVT delivers superior in-town fuel economy, but is a titch thirstier on the highway.

Might as well get my other two complaints out of the way now. Number one; rearward visibility is poor, and when you back up, you can’t see much, no matter how you twist around or crane your neck. The side mirrors help somewhat, and my test car had the Navigation Package $3000, which included a rearview camera, but even so, parallel parking takes on a whole new dimension with this car, and I’m not too comfortable being at the mercy of a camera when I perform my backing-up maneuvers.

Number two is the keyless ignition button, which will not work unless you have the key fob close at hand. Standard equipment on the SE, this is one of the most redundant features in the car industry, and it’s not just Nissan/Infiniti that’s guilty of over-using it. Look: just let me put the key in the ignition the old-fashioned way. It’s not that difficult and I won’t have to worry about losing it or out-smarting the alarm system. I hate to sound like a Luddite, but this feature is a complete waste of time.

Having said that, the Altima Coupe is essentially a sports car and allowances must be made. If you want the performance and image that goes with it, there is always a downside. In this case, choose your parking spots carefully.

My tester, which was loaded, also had the $4000 “Premium” package, which included Bluetooth hands-free, XM Radio, rearview mirror compass, leather interior, and a vehicle dynamic control system, among other things. I’ve whined about XM in the past, but I’m starting to come around...I’ve found some killer stations lately, and, aside from the fact that it detracts from the act of driving the car, I love fiddling around with XM.... and Sirius, for that matter. All of these goodies, plus a fairly comprehensive list of standard equipment - heated front seats, tilt steering, 17-inch wheels and tires, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, block heater, 60/40 folding rear seat, power sunroof, tuned suspension, etc, etc - brings the price tag of my 3.5 CVT SE up to just under the $41,000 mark.

The last item on this list in particular - the sport suspension - gives the SE version a completely different flavour from the base model. There isn’t a lot of forgiveness there, and it tends to magnify every bump and ripple in the road. But that’s one of the prices you pay if you want to play.