Beautiful and quiet it was one morning recently along Colo. 14 in Poudre Canyon; the rafters on the river appeared in greater numbers than the motorists.

The lack of highway traffic added to the appeal of testing the slick-looking 2016 Infiniti QX60 all-wheel-drive luxury midsize crossover.

The QX60 is Infiniti’s best-selling model and for 2016 has undergone improvements in its suspension and steering. It seems a worthy competitor to the Acura MDX, Audi Q7 and even the Lexus RX350.

Jan, observing a wedding anniversary with me that day, commented on the nice ride after only a few miles into the canyon; the QX60’s stability was also effectively tightened with the new, updated shocks and springs.

The Infiniti is a good handler. A new electronic power steering system is tuned for more instant response to driver input at the wheel.

Performance is just average from the SUV’s 3.5-liter V-6 with 265 horsepower and 248 lb.-ft. of torque, and its continuously variable transmission. A rotary-dial drive-mode selector gives the operator a choice of four modes – Standard, Sport, Eco and Snow.

A chance to sit on the river’s-edge patio and watch the rafters float by lured us to the Mishawaka restaurant for lunch.

On the road again, we drove up the canyon as far as the old Sportsman’s Lodge, then turned back.

When I turned onto the Stove Prairie Road, heading for Masonville, the day became one of excellence for an automotive reviewer. With the narrow road and its twists and dips and ups and downs at hand, I moved the Infiniti’s shifter into manual mode, bypassing the CVT.

I drove the next 15 miles in 2^nd and 3^rd gears, only occasionally easing into 4^th. This lends tight control of the QX on the cornering and climbing, with little need for braking.

Our entire drive that day covered 160 miles and the Infiniti averaged 22.1 miles per gallon. Its overall average for the week was 20.5. That is low, for its EPA estimate is 19/26.

The Infiniti offers three rows of seating. Of the little cargo space behind the third row of seats, a portion of it is grabbed by a subwoofer for the easy-listening sound of the Bose Acoustic Wave system with 14 speakers.

Adding to the smooth-looking exterior of the QX60 are a bold mesh grille and wraparound headlights. Stylish wheels adorn the Bridgestone Dueler 235/55R20 tires.

The QX60 AWD’s base price is a competitive $44,400, but an inordinately long list of optional equipment pushes the sticker total to a pricey $59,345.

Among the add-ons are pearl paint for $500, a technology package including second and third-row moonroof with power sunshade and heated second-row seats, the theater entertainment package, premium-plus package with navigation 8-inch touchscreen display and around-view monitor, and premium option with heated steering wheel and remote engine start.

All the products for Infiniti, Japanese luxury car builder for Nissan, became identified by new nomenclature a couple of years ago.

The Q50 four-door models are formerly those with G37 identification. Q60s are coupes and convertibles, Q70s are the former M37s. SUVs and crossovers carry QX designations. The former EX37 is now QX50, the JX35 is the QX60, the FX37 and FX50 are QX70s and the full-size SUV, the QX56, is the QX80. Infiniti said its lineup, with the Q and QX designations, is more easily identified by the public.

Nissan engineers eked out another mile-per-gallon efficiency from the midsize Altima and its mild-mannered 4-cylinder engine for 2016.

Sleeker styling, including redesigned front and rear fascias for improved drag coefficiency, grille shutters, reduction in internal engine friction and continued taming of the transmission were points of focus in the midcycle product makeover.

The improvements raised the EPA highway estimate to 39 miles per gallon for the Altima 2.5.

Add a very quiet and comfortable interior to this, and it may explain the fact that the Altima has become the second-best-selling midsize sedan in the country for the first six months of 2016. The Altima is outselling the Ford Fusion and Chevy Malibu, the Hyundai Sonata, and even the Honda Accord. It trails only perennial sales leader Toyota Camry.

Of concern for many shoppers and eventual buyers of the Altima is its continuously variable transmission, which several years ago replaced its automatic shifters. The gearless, smooth-operating CVT is of much slower and weaker response than the traditional automatics. I would opt for the 270-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine to move the Altima up to par in power.

With the review model’s CVT and 182-hp, 4-cylinder engine, I was rolling along in busy I-25 left-lane travel at 75 miles per hour, when a driver 10 or 12 lengths ahead very briefly broke his car’s speed, then quickly recovered. The chain-braking reached my Altima, but its response after the slowdown was such that I couldn’t catch up with the guy ahead, couldn’t get out of the way of the guy behind and couldn’t move into the just-as-busy right lane. There are times, such as that, when the engine speed is far below that of the throttle position.

On a much brighter note, for overall travels the Altima responded with an unusually high 35.9 miles per gallon, peaking through an easy highway drive to Wray. In visiting with sister Norma Wagner and her husband, Dave, recently, she expressed an interest in taking a ride with Jan and me to Wray, our old hometown. We’ve traveled with the Wagners (of Sterling) to Seattle in an Oldsmobile, Santa Fe in a Lincoln, Phoenix in a Ford, Branson in an Acura, Idaho in a BMW, Kansas in an Audi, and, now, Wray in a Nissan.

The Altima offers a roomy interior; this one dressed up with a new light finish of wood trim. Adding of sound-deadening insulation and an acoustic laminated glass windshield have quieted the cabin; its Bose premium stereo sound with nine speakers is pleasant. The leather seats are heated in front, along with a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel. A redesigned center stack offers easy access.

Pushing the Altima’s sticker price to $32,510 was a $1,700 technology package of 7-inch touchscreen color display, NissanConnect with navigation and audio, intelligent cruise control, forward-collision warning and remote start with Smartphone.

The Nissan rides on Michelin P215/55R17 tires with machined aluminum-alloy wheels, and is equipped with independent front struts and laterally stiffened rear multilink suspension.

The Altima is very closely lined up with the Toyota Camry. Even their trunks are identically sized at 15.4 cubic feet.

The Altima has been part of the Japanese-based Nissan line since 1992, when the first one rolled out of the assembly plant at Smyrna, Tenn.

Remember the old Fiat 124 Spider Convertible?

After an absence of almost 40 years, it has returned.

It showed up at my home early last week, and it’s a 2017 model.

What an Italian beauty it is.

“Che bellezza!”

The two-seater, though, has done some wandering, and has found other parts of the automotive world to its liking.

The assembly line for the revived ’17 model is not in Italy, it is in Japan.

In an ironic twist for the iconic sports car, the new 124 becomes chief rival for the famed Mazda Miata, yet the Fiat is being built by Mazda on the same assembly line as the Miata – in Hiroshima, Japan.

For Mazda, you might say, the faster it builds the cars, the more competition it has.

The Fiat/Mazda production agreement gives the Italian company a shot at owning a strong-selling sports car again, without undergoing the costly necessity of new factory construction. It re-emphasizes the intention of FiatChrysler Automobiles’ (FCA) boss Sergio Marchionne to seek global sharing of car production lines to pare costs.

The Fiat and the Mazda share a common wheelbase, yet the Fiat comes off the line somewhat distinctive, with a low-riding grille, hood bulges and a chrome finish around the windshield, all drawn from the old 124.

The Fiat, let’s just one time call it the Fiata, is 5 inches longer than the Miata in overall length and 100 pounds heavier. Interiors of the Spider and Miata are near identical.

To clearly cite differences in the two, Fiat supplies a small turbocharged engine for the Spider, while Mazda uses a 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder naturally aspirated block. Fiat’s 1.4-liter turboed 4-cylinder generates 160 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque.

The Spider, with turbo kicking in, is slightly quicker in low-end acceleration, though the two run very close through the mid- to upper range. The review model was mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission (a 6-speed manual is available). The Spider’s overall average was 31.9 miles per gallon (EPA rating is 25/36/29). I tested the ’16 Mazda Miata in November and averaged 31.5 with it.

The 124 Spider is offered in three levels, the base Classica, the sporty Abarth and the better-equipped Lusso, which is the model I drove. The Lusso, with leather seats and 17-inch aluminum wheels, was sticker priced at $31,335.

The Spider, with very tight steering, maneuvers quickly and delivers a good ride. Put the shifter over into manual-mode, then remember the trick is pull the shifter down to upshift and move it up to downshift, like Mazda and BMW and unlike most other systems. The Spider’s soft top is released up front with one latch, dropped into recessed area and latched down at the back with ease.

I remember the fun of driving those old 124s back in the ‘70s. I mentioned this to Richard Husted, who delivered the new Fiat to me from Rocky Mountain Redline last week. “I remember,” Husted said. “I bought a 1975 124 Sport Coupe in the early ‘80s and soon replaced the timing belt myself at approximately 90k miles on that 1.8-liter DOHC engine, because of the danger of destroying the engine if it broke. After my sons drove it, I also replaced the clutch, but when the right front ball joint gave way, while my middle son had it at Kansas State, I replaced it with another $500 car.”