If Toyota’s U.S. truck is the Tundra, the Avalon stands as their most domestic of cars. Designed fifteen years ago to appeal to Buick owners, it was the first Japanese car to offer a front bench seat as an option. It has never strayed far from its middle-America aspirations, and to my mind, that’s no bad thing.

While Lexus has gone off chasing BMW—while BMW chases Lexus’ sales numbers—by firming up the luxury brand’s vehicles ride and sharpening their handling, it has been left to the Avalon to hew to the strait road of supreme ride comfort and isolation from the outside world. If, like most of us, you drive over pockmarked, poorly maintained tarmac on a regular basis, the magic carpet progression of the Avalon will come as something of a revelation: So this is how a car can ride. Almost nothing gets through to bother your bottom; the ‘waftability’ that used to define luxury motorcars like Jaguars and Cadillacs (who now seem to place handling above ride quality in that complex tradeoff) is undiluted in the Toyota.

How soothing this is after a long day. Combined with the Avalon’s imperviousness to NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) and you have one of the most cosseting places to while away the commute I can think of for a reasonable sum of money.

The 2010's interior

The 2011's new interface and navigation

The Avalon’s cabin reinforces this sense of calm; surfaces are well finished of generally high-quality materials, and the overall sense is of craftsmanship. It is incredibly roomy for all occupants; this would make for a wonderful interstate cruiser. Seats, front and back, are designed for spacious lounging, and reinforce the message that this isn’t some back road blaster. All the expected labor-saving tech is on offer, and if some of it is getting a bit dated in operation or graphics, the mildly updated ’11 Avalon (unveiled last month in Chicago) addresses that with a newer nav and interface system, more standard gear like a backup camera, even more refinement, and some minor sheetmetal freshening.

Otherwise, Toyota was smart enough to leave the Avalon well enough alone. Its combination of silken 3.5-liter, 268hp V6 and slick six-speed automatic already provide all the refined thrust one could desire, making acceleration in the Avalon feel as effortless as the way in which it deals most everything else. All in all, this is a classic formula for meeting and exceeding American expectations.

Price as tested: $38,534

Here’s the Avalon page on Toyota’s website.

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