New Toyota Avalon in 2013

    Over its 15+ years, the Avalon has been perched at the top of Toyota's U.S. sedan lineup, offering much the same formula: plush seats, a spacious interior, and a soft, pillowy ride—plus smooth, quiet V-6 performance. In short, it's always been comfortable, easy to drive, and presentable, in a conservative sort of way.

At last, Toyota has seen the potential in this model beyond retirees, and for 2013 it's steering its full-sizer in a more lively and interesting direction, with more attractive sheetmetal, a fresh, modern interior layout, and some useful high-tech safety equipment.

    But what's most noteworthy in the 2013 Avalon is how this car drives, and what's under the hood. V-6 models, with a strong, smooth 268-horsepower, 3.5-liter, are still expected to make up most sales; but it's the multiple Avalon Hybrid models in the lineup that seem the most compelling, not only for their surprisingly responsive performance, but for their level of refinement that migh.

   The Avalon offers a strong list of safety features, including separate rear side-thorax airbags and front knee bags. And at the top of the lineup there's the Rear Cross Traffic Alert system, which uses sensors in the rear quarter panels to help detect vehicles as they approach from the side and behind the vehicle—especially helpful if you're backing out of a driveway with an obstructed view. Additionally, all but the base Avalon XLE come with a backup camera system.

   Parsing out the Avalon's pricing and feature set is a little more challenging than in past years. That's because the 2013 Toyota Avalon covers a wider price span, now coming in XLE, XLE Premium, XLE Touring, and XLE Limited trims—with Hybrid models for all but the base XLE. If you want us to distill the line of trims and models down to a single point, it would be this: You're essentially getting a Lexus-caliber feature set—and for the most part, Lexus ambiance—at a price that's at least a few grand less than the Avalon's Lexus ES cousin would be with some comparable features. Much of the lineup gets Entune, capable of running apps (Pandora, for instance) from your smartphone, using your data connection.

  Top Limited models cost around $40k but are luxury vehicles by the equipment list, with a Blind Spot monitor with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, perforated leather upholstery, heated-and-ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, three-zone automatic climate control, a rear sunshade, 785-watt JBL Audio, HID headlamps, and LED daytime running lamps. Add the Tech Package, with Adaptive Cruise Control, a Pre-Collision System, and Automatic High Beams.