By Tim Plouff

Yet many buyers still think of Toyota only when considering small cars or pickup trucks, the mainstay products that helped to establish the company’s initial success and identity in America.

Today, a large percentage of Toyota’s North American business volume is generated by a variety of SUVs, large and small pickup trucks, minivans and a premium line of vehicles called Lexus — a brand that leads all luxury makers in overall sales.

The mid-size Camry sedan is still the country’s best-selling car, while its most trendy offering is creating a brand all to itself — the Prius Hybrid. Eager to regain small car sales that have been left behind while developing this new fleet of profitable vehicles, Toyota has created the Scion brand to capture a younger audience.

You wouldn’t think that age is an issue at Toyota stores but many longtime buyers are aging baby-boomers that grew up in the ’70s with Toyota. Recognizing the need for vertical integration of product offerings, Toyota created the Avalon sedan 11 years ago to reach families that needed full-size space, but didn’t want an oversized domestic automobile.

A nice, solid package — with six-passenger seating available — the Avalon quickly became known as a Japanese Buick, a flattering compliment in many circles. Sales peaked with the debut of the second-generation sedan in 2000 when over 104,000 Avalons found new homes in America. Since then, sales levels have been rapidly decreasing as a host of new arrivals distracted typical four-door buyers into other stores.

Toyota convened an array of owner focus groups and delegated the design of the next Avalon solely to its California studios, while using its Michigan Technical Center for engineering changes. Typical Japanese input would be severely restricted as consumers asked for more space, more power and more amenities.

Toyota delivered on all counts, as the newest Avalon sports a larger exterior, more interior room, plus a hot-rod engine under the hood. New options like Smart-key, Laser cruise control and heated and cooled front seats are common on a Lexus, less so on a Toyota-badged family sedan.

The Lexus influence is clearly visible on the Avalon’s new exterior, where swooping, graceful lines give the big Toyota a much more distinctive face. No longer a Camry facsimile, the Avalon oozes conservative confidence, if not outright excitement, and should help lower the average age of ownership from 66-years young to Toyota’s stated median goal of 61-years old.

Like every other new Toyota car or truck, evolution breeds refinement. Owners wanted more space. The new sedan is five inches longer outside with a corresponding increase in interior space, front and rear. The wheelbase grows by four inches, producing a more relaxed and compliant ride, a ride tuned for a bit more response in the Touring edition by stiffening the shocks and springs. Drivers won’t confuse the Avalon with a BMW, but they will no longer lament the big sedan heeling over on its wheels and screaming in pain as the four-door pushes around their favorite turns.

Slide the front seats all the way back and rear-seat occupants won’t complain. Knee, leg and foot space are markedly increased. Access is very convenient too through doors larger than the fronts. Rear seatbacks recline for prolonged comfort and fold away for trunk expansion — a good thing since the cargo hold actually shrinks by two cubic feet (16.4 to 14.4 cubic feet).

Despite the enhanced interior dimensions, the new Avalon no longer offers a front bench seat. The focus groups did not rate this convenience high on their wish list.

The first two Avalons shared their underpinnings and powertrains with the Camry, forcing compromises and corner cutting in many areas.

The new Avalon is a whole separate platform, borrowing more from Lexus than from any other Toyota creation. The new dash surely comes from the upscale side of Toyota with electroluminescent gauges that are clear both day and night. In the center stack is a large LED information panel using soft blue lighting for background and sharp white numerals to relay outside temp, interior air conditions, stereo selections and an assortment of trip/mileage data. The optional navigation system would control this space and these functions if selected.

Redundant steering wheel controls handle both audio and climate changes, while soft-touch buttons on each side of the dash let the driver and passenger choose their own temperature. In the middle, behind door number one, hides the rest of the audio system functions as well as a cassette deck lower in the center panel. If there is a letdown or flaw in the otherwise superior interior layout, it is the faux brushed aluminum plastic that swaths the most visible areas of the console and instrument panel. Even unsophisticated drivers will notice that the plastic is just plastic, not the upscale metal finish that Toyota is trying to present.

The American influence is illustrated by the Avalon’s dual exhaust pipes (the first on any Toyota sedan), integrated fog lamps and a subtle, yet functional, rear-air dam cut into the trunk lid. The color-matched Graphite alloy wheels with my Touring edition Avalon were also the perfect compliment for a paint scheme that effectively hides offensive dirt.

Last year’s Avalon carried the Camry’s 3.0-liter V-6 and produced 210 hp. Performance was acceptable, if not inspiring.

The new Avalon sports a brand new 3.5-liter engine that is derived from the 4.0-liter dual overhead cam V-6 Toyota is using in several trucks. Tuned for both maximum fuel economy and peak horsepower, this eager motor propels the Avalon to previously unseen velocities with great ease. In fact, this new 280-hp engine is a screamer, moving the Avalon from 0-60 miles per hour a full two seconds quicker than the older V-6. Toyota will also share this motor with future Lexus products.

After you get past the embarrassment of protracted spells of tire-smoking acceleration, the Avalon returns admirable fuel economy. Over the course of a 500-mile day the full-size Toyota averaged a solid 30 mpg, including a 90-mile stint along Route 1 and Route 17 from Ellsworth to Augusta, where fuel mileage jumped up to 33 mpg. Even while flogging the throttle, the Avalon’s over-the-road mileage never dipped below 24 mpg.

During this extended saddle time, the Avalon proved its mettle as a comfortable cruiser. The ride is not too firm and not too soft, yet it renders enough control that younger drivers will better enjoy winding back roads. The steering feel is very light and relaxing. Up and down the highway late at night or plying the local two-lanes, the Avalon is a smooth, graceful conveyance for transferring people and parcels from point A to point B.

Typically, big power front-drive sedans have a handling demon that no one likes to talk about — torque steer. The Avalon masks this trait without traction control or an anti-skid system, options that snow-belt drivers might consider along with real winter tires to better harness the abundant low-end torque.

Besides the shape-flattering paint and cool wheels, the Avalon impresses with auto-door locks that also automatically unlock, seven standard airbags, and daytime running lamps that can be turned off. On the flip side, seat heaters are part of an option package separate from the leather upholstery and only upscale models offer the anti-skid system.

Avalon sales have already more than doubled last year’s volume — with only nine months of transactions on the books, plus a February debut. Toyota’s data reports that 50 percent of current trade-ins are domestic-branded cars — the largest indication that the new Avalon is not only closer to the esteemed Lexus brand, but also, perhaps the finest full-size sedan that Toyota has ever built.

With prices starting under $27,000, and Toyota’s legendary record for reliability, the redesigned Avalon may very well be the best “Buick” for today’s upwardly mobile families.