From outside, the Mercury Milan features a unique, toothy grille that growls with aggression.The sleek nose and canted headlight-surrounds express a dynamic, sporting character, and the car's flanks have a similarly attractive muscularity.In the homogenized world of low-priced mid-size sedans, the clean world-car looks of the Mercury Milan stand as a thoroughly convincing American alternative to the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and other midsize sedans from Japan.

The Milan interior is similarly striking.Featuring what Mercury calls a more technical look, the dashboard and interior are highlighted with stylish satin aluminum metal trim.Attractive black pebble grain covers the dash surfaces, which are fully equipped with added-value comforts and conveniences.Leather seating is standard in most models, another testament to Mercury's upscale aspirations.

The 2010 Milan provides an excellent array of powertrain choices.For those intent on green fuel efficiency, the Milan Hybrid has been rated by the EPA at a spectacular 41/36 mpg, City/Highway.For more power-hungry drivers, Milan's top-of-the-line 3.0-liter Duratec V6 delivers a forceful 240 horsepower and 222 pound-feet of torque.And for those who want good fuel mileage without paying the Hybrid's hefty price premium, a 2.5-liter four-cylinder like the one in our test vehicle delivers 175 horsepower, 172 pound-feet of torque and more than enough acceleration to keep pace with the race.Further, EPA rates the four-cylinder at 22/31 mpg, sensational figures in any mid-size sedan.For perspective, the diminutive, notably fuel-stingy Mini Cooper S only gets 23/32 mpg.

Mercury Milan is a capacious, handsome and winsomely efficient design that can go toe to toe with any mid-size low-price family sedan in the world.Even its four-cylinder variant provides vigorous performance.And its handling, stability and list of features, including available all-wheel drive, put it very high on our list.

Milan ($21,180) comes standard with single-zone climate control with cabin air filter, cloth seats, six-way power driver seat and two-way manual passenger seat, leather-wrapped manual tilt/telescope wheel with cruise and audio controls, visors with illuminated mirrors, power windows with driver's one-touch up/down, six-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo, remote decklid release, capless fuel filler, remote keyless entry and keyless entry code pad, Sirius satellite radio with six-month prepaid subscription, speed-sensitive front wipers, rear window defroster, heated power outside mirrors, six cupholders, instrument cluster with message center, two 12V power points.Milan comes standard with front-wheel drive, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, six-speed manual transmission, 16-inch wheels.

Milan Premier ($24,320) upgrades with leather-trimmed heated seats with eight-way power driver seat and six-way power passenger seat, dual-zone climate control, SYNC voice-activated communications with entertainment system and S.O.S.post-crash 911 assist, automatic halogen headlamps, fog lamps, auto-dimming rearview mirror, ambient interior lighting.Premier comes standard with six-speed automatic transmission and 17-inch wheels.

Milan Premier is also available with 3.0-liter V6 and all-wheel drive ($27,800).

Milan Hybrid ($27,500) features a hybrid 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine with 275-volt sealed battery, permanent magnet-electric motor, ECVT electronic constant-velocity automatic transmission, regenerative braking, and unique 17-inch wheels.The Hybrid comes with eco-friendly cloth seating, 6CD audio changer, LCD graphic instrument panel, reverse-sensing system, 110V power point, Hybrid badges.

Optional packages: Sun & SYNC Package with auto-dimming rearview mirror with microphone and compass, power moonroof, SYNC voice-activated communication system; Driver's Vision Package with blind-spot information system, rearward camera in rearview mirror; Moon & Tune Package with moonroof, Sony audio with 12 speakers and 6CD changer.

Safety features that come standard on all Milan models include dual front and side-impact airbags, front and rear side-curtain airbags with crash-severity sensing, seatbelt pretensioners, children's lower belt anchors and tethers, anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, traction control, tire-pressure monitoring.Also available are a rearview camera, a reverse sensing system, and all-wheel drive.

Milan and Fusion exhibit the same athletic, ready-to-pounce stance.And no wonder.Both are bona fide world cars, with well-polished over-the-road agility and more than enough performance to make that agility relevant.

The Milan, with its luxury keynotes, is more grandiosely American than the Fusion, its Euro sister, but it still has the crisp look and sporty stance that owe a debt to Ford's profitability designing, building and selling cars worldwide.The Milan's aggressive grille and racecar-like undergrille aren't just for show, either; this is a contemporary mid-size sedan that is meant to devour large portions of interstate and look great doing it.

On its left-rear flank is Ford's capless fuel filler, one of those ideas that's so bright it hurts.Why didn't someone think of this decades ago?.

The leather seating our Milan Premier was first class.The side bolsters and seat cushion lateral support were firmer than the Ford Fusion's.They hold the driver comfortably in place no matter how vigorous the maneuvering gets.Their leather seating panels were interspersed with breathable inserts in the center and back—good when the heat starts to climb.

The rear seats are really two semi-buckets flanked by a slab over the center hump to allow seating for three.Lateral support is minimal for the two primary back seats, while the center seat is for volunteers only.(Milan seats up to five.) On the plus side, the rear combines ample roominess for two with easy ingress and egress.

The black pebble grain dash was classy and rich looking.The instruments, distinguished from the Ford Fusion's by a clever faux three-dimensional appearance with a halo-like illumination of needles and dials, were attractive and effective in all but high daylight.In the latter, however, the speedometer numbers were hard to make out.Instrumentation was reasonably complete and included a water-temperature gauge.The message center below the speedometer can be configured to display average mpg, elapsed time, trip odometer for two different trips and fuel miles to empty.Switchgear is chrome trimmed, substantial and confidence inspiring.

The steering wheel contained cruise control and audio settings, and the adjusters were properly designed so that one doesn't inadvertently brush them while turning, accidentally re-selecting the audio.Excellent.And the optional Sony 12-speaker/six-CD audio with Sirius satellite was equally impressive.

Soft ambient lighting is available, providing cozy pale-blue illumination for the center console cupholders and other tasks that do not require turning on the interior lights.

The trunk offers a generous 11.8 cubic feet of stowage with low lift-over.

Concealed behind the Milan's surrounding interior panels is a full complement of front, side and curtain airbags.The car scored high marks in government crash-safety ratings: a maximum five stars for driver and passenger frontal crashes, five stars for front-seat side crashes, and four stars for rear-seat side crashes and vehicle rollover.

In the Milan, however, this smaller, 2.5-liter engine is a win/win.It costs less initially, provides entirely adequate performance, and delivers a stellar EPA-rated 31 mpg on the highway and 22 mpg in town.Unless you're Parnelli Jones, there is no downside.

Throttle response from the 2.5-liter engine was immediate, linear and smooth, and its ample 172 foot-pounds of torque ensured good acceleration from any low speed.Engine noise was audible, though not unpleasantly so, during acceleration.At highway cruising speeds, however, engine noise, wind noise and outside racket were negligible.This is a very quiet sedan.

The Milan's handling suggests anything but a bargain-priced midsize sedan.Its electrical variable-assist power steering is crisp and just weighty enough to deliver good feedback.Cornered vigorously, the chassis is well damped, without being in the least harsh or stiff.In fact, driven hard, the Milan is more agile, with less body roll, than either the latest Honda Accord or Toyota Camry.First rate.

All Milan transmissions are six-speeds, whether manual (in the base model) or automatic.Our automatic shifted deftly, almost undetectably.However, when low range was selected manually or the transmission was asked to kick down for acceleration, it proved slow and disappointingly balky in doing so.Overall, we rate the automatic highly and think it is an excellent choice for either engine.

The ABS four-wheel disc brakes did their job unobtrusively and effectively.The pedal was easily modulated to adjust braking force, and when asked, it provided powerful stopping.In addition, the brake system does double duty, serving as the operative force in the car's on-demand electronic stability control and traction control.

Ted West filed this report to NewCarTestDrive.com after his test drive of the Milan Premier.