Maybe it's a combination of the dominating nature of the Camry sedan, the presence of the Lexus division and the bland look of previous models, but for some reason Toyota's flagship Avalon sedan has accumulated virtually no public image over the years.

Avalon has sort of just sat there at the top of Toyota's price ladder for cars, at $46,060 for the one-option (premium paint) XLS package; there are a lot of great vehicles available in Canada for that much money, after all, including a couple from Lexus.

The fact that Avalon sells as well as it does, however, is testimony to the regard with which it is held by many consumers.

Those consumers may be the sensible type, who don't want to pay extra for status, preferring instead to get more content for their money. They may also be the type who doesn't give a hoot for Toyota's reputation for building boring cars, preferring instead to appreciate Toyota's reputation for quality. Or they might like a large sedan capable of carrying four full-size North Americans and their stuff in comfort over great distances, the way all North American sedans did before Toyota and other Japanese firms brought smaller cars to market.

Whatever the attraction of Avalon, it's fair to say that there will be more of it in the 2005 model unveiled at the Detroit auto show that goes on sale in February. In the first place, it will come in two versions from now on -- XLS and Touring.

According to Ken Tomikawa, president and CEO of Toyota Canada, the Avalon was totally reworked to "deliver that new emotional message" associated with the general design theme of Toyota that's evident in Avalon.

In the first place, Avalon is significantly bigger inside, thanks to a wheelbase that's 101 mm longer and 25 mm wider. But it is also said to be more luxurious, more refined, more powerful and possessed of an elegant new look.

As always, the matter of style is a personal taste, but the new Avalon does have a more striking look and cannot be called ugly from any angle.

Whatever its style, says Tony Wearing, managing director of Toyota Canada, the new Avalon "has been redesigned from the inside out to exceed the expectations of premium sedan buyers in every respect."

Interior upgrades to the Avalon include several new amenities, Wearing points out, including a sliding armrest and tilt-and-telescopic steering column, a flat rear floor that provides additional leg room, and rear seats that recline up to 10 degrees.

If there's any question about Avalon's style, there should be none about its power train, which features the all-new 3.5-litre, 24-valve V-6 attached to a sophisticated five-speed automatic transmission.

Taking full advantage of its 280 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque and various technological advances (particularly variable-valve timing), this engine is supposed to take the new Avalon from 0 to 100 km/h in less than seven seconds while also delivering better fuel economy levels.

The transmission makes shift decisions based on engine speed and load, Wearing explains, so that every shift is "precise and seamless." It also monitors throttle position, road speed, power requirements and operating temperature to efficiently direct gear selection and adjust shift points to driving demands.

More than that, on Avalon this transmission gets sequential multi-mode shifting capability, which allows the driver to make a manual gear selection if a racer moment overcomes him or her.

If that happens, the large sedan is set up to handle it, thanks to a ride and handling setup that Wearing calls "responsive" and "engaging." Avalon's P215/55 R17 tires with 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels were actually chosen to improve control, steering response and handling.

Not surprisingly, the new Touring model should be particularly adept at this, inasmuch as it has a more firmly tuned, Eurosport suspension and higher coil spring rates, along with graphite finish wheels to help it look the part.

This is, of course, on top of Avalon's primary directive, which is to deliver a smooth, quiet ride.

Indeed, quiet played a big role in the new Avalon, since Toyota's engineers optimized the exterior design of the Avalon for minimal noise, vibration and harshness.

Along with the usual array of post-crash safety devices, the 2005 Avalon also gets a bunch of stuff to stave off a crash, including anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution to avoid body dive or sway during hard braking or cornering.

Brake Assist and stability control are also standard features on the XLS model and both play important roles in the effort to avoid crashes.

Wearing says both models of the new Avalon have a long and comprehensive list of standard equipment, with a few "thoughtful" options.

So every new 2005 Toyota Avalon comes with automatic dual-zone climate control with an air filter and rear-seat heater ducts. leather seating surfaces, power-adjustable driver and front passenger seats, 60/40 split rear seat with recline adjustment, power windows with jam protection and auto up/down in the front, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, cruise control, keyless entry, anti-theft, fog lamps, power remote mirrors and a rear window defroster.

Avalon Touring also gets that Eurosport suspension, a power moon-roof with sunshade, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, aluminum door scuff plates, auto-levelling HID headlights, and an AM/FM/CD audio system with an a six-disc in-dash changer and nine speakers.

Unique equipment in Avalon XLS includes wood-grain trim, an integrated garage door opener, wood and leather-wrapped steering wheel, electrochromic rear-view mirror (it dims automatically to reduce the glare behind you) with digital compass, electrochromic driver's side exterior mirror, and a premium 12-speaker JBL audio system with the regular features and a cassette player.

A single option package is available on the Avalon XLS, which adds a DVD-based navigation system.

Whichever way you might like it, the new Avalon seems to be set up to deliver more of the features that its buyers want. And if the style catches on with people looking for a large sedan who aren't interested in paying extra for a luxury logo, then it might even shed its anonymity this time around.