THE AVALON OF HYUNDAIS; New entry in the near-luxury market costs less and offers just as much.(News)

Byline: MARK VAUGHN

Watch out, Toyota, Hyundai has built a better Buick than even you. And watch out Buick, too, while we're at it.

While the enveloping Avalon wheels out of showroom doors somewhere between $27,000 to more than $33,000, the similarly sized and slung Hyundai Azera is expected to start at less than $25,000. And it's worth it. We drove a couple of Azeras for a couple hundred miles and found them perfectly comfortable and capable.

Hyundai calls Azera, "The Next Big Thing.'' Get it? 'Cause it's a big car, see? Hyundai said Azera has more interior volume than not just the Avalon, but the BMW 760i and Mercedes S-Class as well. Though it will mostly compete against Avalon, Nissan Maxima, LaCrosse, Lucerne, Ford Five Hundred and the similar Kia Amanti.

It rides on a stretched and widened Sonata platform with a fairly curvaceous exterior (curvaceous is in the eye of the beholder, but it looks nicer than the XG350 it replaces).

Azera's 3.8-liter all-aluminum V6 with 24 valves, dual overhead cams and continuously variable valve timing replaces the 3.5-liter from the old XG350. The new engine bumps horsepower from 194 to a formidable (for a V6) 263. Torque twists from 216 lb-ft to 255. With a curb weight just around 3700 pounds, depending on how it's equipped, Hyundai claims a 0-to-60 time of 6.5 seconds, the quickest Hyundai ever. The latter figure ties with the Avalon. Imagine the grudge matches in the gated retirement communities!

All ...