OK. I have to admit something. The only reason I requested the 2008 Nissan Altima Coupe as a test vehicle is because my boss mentioned that he thought it looked really cool. At least once a week. Since the Chicago Auto Show. In February.

While I agree that it looks great, there are some other vehicles I probably would have put above the new Altima Coupe in terms of testing preference. The Corvette, the 350Z, the new TT, the new CTS . . . those are the cars that would top the list. But once I was behind the wheel of the Altima Coupe, I found it to be close to perfect.

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2008 Nissan Altima Coupe

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Tops & Bottoms

Favorite features:

• Comfortable seats
• Peppy acceleration with 3.5-liter V-6
• Attractive redesign

Needs improvement:

• Placeholder for seatbelts
• Poor turning radius
• Coupe-related blind spots

Let's start with the price. For the base 2.5-liter I-4 engine with a manual transmission, the starting MSRP is $21,115. If you want to jump up to the incredibly peppy 3.5-liter V-6 and an automatic transmission, the price increases to $26,015. The test vehicle had almost every option including the pricey Premium Package ($3,200) and Technology Package ($2,000), and the as-tested price was $31,980. I don't think that's too bad for everything you could possibly want in a car and then some.

For the money, it looks like it could be a much more expensive car. From the taillights to the petite shark fin antennae to the overall lines of the car, Nissan really did a great job pulling the Altima Coupe together. Taking a critical look at the car, you can see design details reminiscent of the Nissan 350Z as well as the Infiniti G35, yet the outcome is pure Alitma Coupe.

The interior with the optional packages was just as posh as the exterior. The navigation was easy to use. The leather seats were comfortable and conforming, and all the gauges and controls were easy to see and easy to reach from the driver's seat. Even without the $5K in add-ons, I think it's safe to say that Nissan has finally shed the previous stigma of cheap interiors.

Then you add in the fun factor, and that accounts for just about everything else. To say I enjoyed the test week in the Altima Coupe is an understatement. It was one of those cars that I actually looked forward to driving.

The test vehicle had the Xtronic continuously variable transmission (CVT), which was fine and adds $500 to the price tag. But in a car like this, I would probably opt to keep the base six-speed manual transmission.

In terms of ride and handling, the Altima Coupe behaved exactly as you would expect a sporty coupe to behave. It hugged the corners, bringing a smile to my face as I swirled around the Ohio feeder ramp on my way to the Sun-Times building in the morning. Plus acceleration was quick, smooth and everything you'd expect from a 270-horsepower engine. Since the CVT lacks the traditional gear shifts, you move from stopped to fast in one smooth motion.

Gas mileage in the Alitma Coupe is only so, so. Especially with a CVT, I would have expected higher ratings. But the Altima Coupe has city/highway EPA estimates of 18/26 mpg.

I drove the Altima Coupe during that massive, destructive storm a couple weeks ago, and I'm pleased to report that though conditions were treacherous, I felt perfectly safe. The car didn't feel like it was being pushed around, the headlights cut through the sheeting rain as good as any lights can, and the windshield wipers worked exceedingly well.

Plus, the car fit a soggy driver and three soggy passengers. Entry into and exit from the back row is a bit tight, so while my female passengers were able to contort their way into the backseat, men would have more difficulty.

As much as I liked this car, there were a trio of items that marred the complete perfection: seatbelt comfort, blind spots and turning radius. The first two you'd expect in a coupe, the third was a bit disappointing.

The seatbelt did not have any kind of a placeholder on the seat, and without having a B-pillar close to the driver's shoulder -- especially a driver in the far-forward position -- the seatbelt slipped up and down the side of the seat. Depending on what I was doing, the seatbelt was either cutting into my neck or curling around my left bicep. I typically have this problem in convertibles and coupes. Some kind of placeholder would alleviate the problem but would also make backseat entry/exit that much more difficult. In terms of safety alone, I'd vote for the placeholder.

The blind spots are relatively self-explanatory due to the severe slope of the rear window. Thus, I depended heavily on my mirrors to make sure it was OK to switch lanes or back out of parking spaces.

While the seatbelts and blind spots can be explained, the turning radius is a problem that was a bit troubling. The length of the Altima Coupe is just 182.5 inches. Yet, as I would pull out of my garage in the morning, the turning arc was so wide that I just barely missed my neighbor's fence post as I left my narrow garage. Parallel parking also took me a couple tries as I tried to figure out the right angle. For a small, sporty car, I'd expect a little more.

I'm sure I could find something aftermarket to deal with the seatbelt, and the blind spots and turning radius are all a part of "know thy car." So, in all, I don't think any of these would be deal breakers.

While I say the Altima Coupe is close to perfect, I mean close to perfect for a single driver who won't be carrying people or stuff too often. It's comfortable, it's fun, and it's very driver-centric.