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We drove Toyota Avalon Limited and Touring models in and around Carmel-by-the-Sea in Northern California where roads varied from twisting mountain passes to two-lane highways and breathtaking circuits along the Big Sur section of Highway 1.We quickly discovered the Avalon is the kind of car that will never annoy you, a car best characterized by the absence of noise, vibration or harshness. The seats are an example. They are well cushioned, power adjusted, and have memory functions, as you would expect. Setting out on a damp morning, we quickly found the heat feature and warmed ourselves against the coastal fog. As the hours rolled on, we lengthened the lower seat cushion, which extends by a few inches to add support, and finally, when the afternoon sun burned through and the valley heated to 80 degrees, we used air-conditioned vents in the seats. (The cool air is actually driven up through channels in the foam and through perforated leather.) In short, these are seats that will not permit any form of discomfort, no matter what the conditions. They provide an apt analogy for the entire car, a vehicle possessed of small comforts that add up to a satisfying environment to calm the pickiest driver. Another example: The Smart Key on the Limited. To use it, we just walked up to the car. At a touch, all four doors unlocked. We sat down. Foot on the brake, we touched the Start button and the car hummed, more like a computer than an automobile. There is no key, no fumbling, only a perfectly convenient entry. Like the rest of the car, the suspension is set up primarily for comfort. On tight roads some body roll can be induced. Yet the Avalon held any reasonable line through a corner we cared to strike, protesting only at careless tossing, absorbing pavement irregularities at the apex with little apparent concern. It's a front-wheel-drive configuration, with struts controlling L-shaped lower control arms, and a multi-link/strut arrangement in the back, so the car tends to squat slightly coming out of corners, and pull through them from the front. Handling, if not highly sportive, is extremely well balanced. The Touring grade, by contrast to the Limited, is set up for sharper handling performance, with stiffer 17-inch wheels, Michelin MXV4 tires, and stiffer shock tuning. It has quicker reflexes, at the expense of some ride comfort and noise control, but does supply a very secure, on-center feeling through the twisties. Steering, in both cases power rack-and-pinion, manages to avoid the over-assisted vagaries common to large SUVs and domestic family sedans. The engine and transmission provide unobtrusive performance. As the car slowly transformed us from aggressive testers into relaxed tourists, we loafed along, absorbing local color and the flavor of the environment. Fifth gear is a very relaxed overdrive, allowing the engine to maintain cruise with minimal effort. As we mixed with commuters and lunch-break traffic, the car remained understressed, quietly relaxed, and undemanding. Later in the day, we addressed a steep mountain pass with some determination and were rewarded with 280 horsepower backed by a five-speed automatic that knows when to shift. Our speeds were in the 30 to 50 mph range when we began to operate the transmission in manual mode, tap-shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear and revving up and down through the corners. The V6 pulls strongly at higher rpm (and right up to the 6200 rpm redline), but remains remarkably quiet in the process. It's a 4-valve, double overhead-cam power plant, with aluminum block and heads. The short stroke means that it likes to rev, and it has very low reciprocating mass, with very low friction cam gear. These are the characteristics of a long-life, efficient everyday car engine with exceptional passing power. Our forays into canyon carving were not perfectly consistent with this type of design, and yet they were not frustrating, either. The horsepower is there,
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