It’s nearly impossible not to get hooked on the new Hyundai Azera’s extremely smooth-operation. Azera has a perfect, absolutely perfect, melding of engine power, transmission shifting and steering swivel. The four-door sedan – replacing the XG350 – is the new flagship for Hyundai. Its engine is a 24-valve, 3.8-liter V6 that produces 263 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 255 pounds-feet of peak torque at 4500 rpm. That’s a decidedly more powerful engine than the XG350’s 3.5-liter V6 that produced 194 horsepower and 216 pounds-feet of peak torque. The new engine mates to a five-speed automatic transmission. And that amazingly smooth steering (3.195 turns lock-to-lock) is an engine-rpm sensing power assisted rack and pinion arrangement. The front wheel drive Azera, sporting a 109.4-inch wheelbase, is a wonderful package. There are plenty of high-life comforts as standard fare on the Azera Limited, like electronic stability control, traction control, 8 airbags, active front head restraints, fully automatic non-CFC air conditioning, power windows/doors/locks, cruise control, 17-inch wheels, dual front heated seats, and AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system with steering controls. An ultimate option package ($2,500) includes power sunroof, power tilt and telescopic steering column, rain sensing wipers, and power foot pedals. Interior space is very plentiful with front headroom tallying more than 40 inches, rear headroom exceeding 38 inches and legroom at more than 43 inches for front seat occupants and more than 38 inches for rear seat passengers. Azera, using a double wishbone front suspension and a multi-link design rear suspension, is a splendid cruiser. The mile per gallon count is 19 city/28 highway. MSRP of Azera Limited is $26,835.