There’s nothing like a recession to make you appreciate a luxury automobile, especially one that comes fully equipped with apparent virtue.

Consider the 2009 Infiniti M35-S, tweaked slightly for the new model year.

The front end has been freshened. It now has the gravitas of a luxury sedan affordable by prosperously, responsibly employed adults. Interior materials are discernibly better in terms of quality and installation. To put it simply, the M35, now in production for four years, finally feels less Nissan and more Infiniti.

That is a good thing. Luxury should offer more than a prestige automotive badge and a higher price tag. At the very least, it should provide an opportunity to escape daily distemper, especially during this time of falling stock values, troubled banks and uncertain employment prospects.

Buying a luxury car in this environment is not a practical thing to do, precisely because practicality is not what’s needed by people who can afford more. If you can spend the money, you need something uplifting, something that will heighten your spirits and lower your misery index. You need the M35-S.

It is styled nicely enough to signify status. Yet, there is nothing gaudy, ostentatious or offensive about it.

It looks so wonderfully rich and respectable. But it’s a bona fide hell-raiser, now equipped with a 303-horsepower V-6 instead of the acceptable but less rambunctious 275-horsepower V-6 in-stalled in predecessor M35 cars.

Nissan, Infiniti’s corporate parent, worked some technical magic to boost the M35’s power and improve its fuel economy, moving the latter up from 16 miles per gallon to 17 mpg in the city and from 23 mpg to 25 mpg on the highway.

Critics of such technical wizardry argue that it might be better used to simply yield more fuel economy, as opposed to substantially improving horsepower and only slightly upping fuel economy. Intellectually, I agree. But what’s the fun in that?

The new M35 seeks to strike a compromise, or at least the appearance of one. That’s good enough for people who care as much about fun per mile as they do about miles per gallon. What can I say? I’m conflicted.

And let’s face it. The economy doesn’t help. The drumbeat of bad financial news makes you yearn for something good, something that will make you laugh and smile, and think that things will somehow get back to what we once thought normal.

What better way to enjoy that delusion than to climb behind the wheel of a visually respectable hot rod and go for a long run, burning premium unleaded gasoline at a price that now hovers around $2 a gallon? It almost rekindles your faith in Wall Street, American Big Business and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It makes you feel that somebody is listening. Varrrooommm! We’re coming back. Yeah, daddy!

The feeling doesn’t last long. The M35’s optional Bose 5.1 Studio Surround Sound system, equipped with 14 speakers, is tuned to a public radio station — my way of remaining connected to the real world while driving fantasy machines, such as this car. A newscaster is telling me that the cheap gasoline I just bought is priced to accommodate a global economy rapidly going to hell. But I resolve to remain unperturbed, to enjoy the moment. There will be time enough to fret over frozen credit, plummeting car sales, failing banks and global warming. Right now, I just want to drive and enjoy this car, and believe in the possibility of a happier tomorrow.

The bottom line

Complaints: The critics are right. Nissan could have put more effort into improving the fuel economy of the new M35. That cheap gasoline isn’t going to last forever.

Ride, acceleration and handling: This is pure joy.

Head-turning quotient: It looks rich without inspiring envy or other antisocial emotions. There is joy in the external sculpture of this car. It speaks to fun.

Capacities: There are seats for five people. Maximum cargo capacity is 15 cubic feet. The fuel tank holds 20 gallons of premium unleaded gasoline — recommended for best performance but not required for satisfactory operation.

Real-world mileage: My associate, Ria Manglapus, and I keep dumping fuel in congested traffic. Our city mileage in the M35 barely tallied 14 miles per gallon. But we did get 25 mpg on the highway.

Safety: Standard equipment includes front and rear ventilated disc brakes with antilock protection; side and head air bags; and electronic stability and traction control.

Price: As tested, $54,415, including $7,800 in options (such as active rear-wheel steering; onboard navigation with backup camera; lane-departure warning system; and 9.3-gigabyte hard drive to accommodate MP3 player and iPod) and an $815 destination charge. Dealer’s price as tested is $49,855. Prices were sourced from Infiniti and Edmunds.com.

Purse-strings note: The new M35 is one of the most enjoyable automotive escape pods available. Compare with Acura TL, Audi A4, Cadillac CTS, Hyundai Genesis, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Lexus ES 350.

2009 Infiniti M35-S

Base price: $45,800

As tested: $54,415

Type: Front-engine, rear- or all- wheel-drive, midsize, four-door, entry-level luxury sedan

Engine: 3.5-liter, 2-valve V-6, mated to a seven-speed transmission

Mileage: 14-17 mpg city, 25 mpg highway