Is a luxury automobile still a luxury automobile if most people can afford it? That probably depends on how much disposable income you have, and whether you care about keeping up with the Joneses.

There’s no denying the cachet and curb appeal that comes with a Jaguar, Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, and so on, but if you want to motor along in inconspicuous luxury, with most of the convenience and comfort features the automotive industry can provide and without breaking the bank in the process, perhaps the Hyundai Azera is for you. Although it doesn’t have the upscale presence of the well-established luxury marques, it does start at less than $36,000, and a loaded Limited model still goes out the door for well under $40,000, which is the starting point for most of the aforementioned manufacturers.

Now going into its third year, the Azera is powered by a 3.8–litre V6 with the by-now-commonplace engineering features of dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, and a variable valve timing feature. It develops 263 horsepower and is mated to a five-speed automatic transmission only, with Hyundai’s Shiftronic manual shift feature. This drive train combo isn’t particularly dramatic, but it’s as civilized and smooth as anything else in this price bracket. It’s also enough to move the Azera along at a decent clip, bearing in mind that it’s a luxury car, not a sports sedan. Brakes are four-wheel disc with either 16- or 17-inch wheels and tires, depending upon the model.

The standard equipment level is high, which is the Azera’s strong point. Heated front seats, leather interior (that actually smells like the real thing), power tilt and telescoping steering wheel, one-touch up-and-down power windows, dual-zone climate control, heated outside mirrors, power sunroof, ABS, and eight air bags—front, front-side, rear-side, and side-curtain—are included with the base GLS.

The Limited model has a power rear-window shade, the larger 17-inch wheels and tires, an upgraded stereo with a six-disc CD/MP3 player, more interior wood trim, and XM radio with speed-sensing volume control, not to mention one of my favourite accessories in this or any other car: power-adjustable pedals.

You won’t find a back-seat entertainment monitor or navigation system in the Azera (at least not yet), but that’s no bad thing as far as I’m concerned. We seem to have reached a point in automotive technology where just having comfort features and a refined ride in upscale models isn’t enough anymore. Personally, I can do without a navigation system, and my kids are driving their own cars now. But if you must have an electronic brain to guide you, there are many after-market systems available that are just as good as those coming from the carmakers. And I’m happy to see that Hyundai has resisted the urge to equip the Azera with a keyless ignition system, one of the great automotive con jobs foisted on consumers by manufacturers.

Slide behind the wheel of the Azera and you pretty much have a bigger, fancier version of the Sonata. This is a good thing. Generous peripheral visibility, straightforward ingress and egress, and noticeably commodious front seats. The Azera is a very uncomplicated car to get in and out of, and if you’re a larger person and need a bit of extra space, it delivers. Hyundai claims there are 1020 millimetres of headroom in the front seat and 970 millimetres in the back. By way of comparison, Toyota’s Avalon boasts 986 millimetres in the front and 953 millimetres in the back.

I would suggest that the Avalon is the Azera’s closest competitor. They are similar in size (2,820-millimetre versus 2,780-millimetre wheelbase), power, and even appearance. Although the Avalon has a trunk capacity of 407 litres, the Azera beats it by more than 60 litres, at 470 litres. Interestingly, the Toyota Camry, which should be considered a rival, also has a larger trunk than the Avalon.

Pricewise, the Avalon is a couple thousand dollars costlier, starting at $41,840. It also has a slightly less extensive standard equipment list, but it delivers better fuel economy. According to Natural Resources Canada, the Azera delivers 12.2 litres per 100 kilometres in town and 7.8 litres per 100 kilometres on the highway, while the Avalon is good for 10.7 and 7, respectively.

Both cars, however, offer the same sort of anonymity. They don’t stand out in a crowd, and they fall into the “all new cars look the same” category. The Azera is also one of the few cars I’ve driven that doesn’t have any glaring annoyances. If I really wanted to pick nits, I could whine about its overall blandness and wonky, intermittent windshield wipers, but if Hyundai set out to build a car that offends absolutely no one, it has succeeded.