XR 4dr Sedan
2008 Saturn Aura Review

Quality midsize sedan with fuel-efficient powertrains.

Introduction

The Saturn Aura is an excellent choice among midsize sedans. It's modern and fresh, with European character and aesthetic flair. Taut and responsive, it drives like a European family sedan, perhaps because it rides on a German Opel platform. The cabin is tastefully done and laid out and all the controls work very well. A wide range of engines and drivetrains is available for improved fuel economy or performance.

For 2008, Aura comes standard with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that earns an EPA-rated 22/30 mpg. Two V6s are available, including a 252-horsepower 3.6-liter V6, and both are smooth, sophisticated engines that make the Aura a very enjoyable car to drive. Introduced partway through the 2007 model year, the Saturn Aura Green Line features a gas-electric hybrid that uses a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and a 4 kW electric motor rated at 24/32 mpg.

Underway, we found the Saturn Aura is quiet and handles well. Brakes, suspension and powertrain all work together to respond to the driver's wishes. Compared with the cars in its own price class, such as the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion, the Aura is well equipped with safety and comfort features.

Launched as an all-new model for 2007, the Aura was immediately voted North American Car of the Year by a panel of 48 independent automotive journalists.

For 2008, StabiliTrak electronic stability control comes standard on V6 models, and XM Satellite Radio is standard on all Aura models. The four-panel glass panoramic roof offered previously is no longer available.

Lineup

The 2008 Saturn Aura comes in four models, XE, XR, and Green Line. All are front-wheel drive.

Aura XE ($19,745) comes with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and four-speed automatic transmission. Standard equipment includes cloth upholstery; air conditioning; cruise control; traction control; a six-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo with auxiliary input jack; XM Satellite Radio; OnStar; tilt/telescope steering wheel; six-way power driver's seat; 60/40 split folding rear seat; power windows, mirrors and locks with keyless entry; automatic headlights; and 225/50 tires on 17-inch steel wheels with wheel covers. An optional 3.5-liter V6 ($1,580) includes StabiliTrak.

Aura Green Line hybrid ($22,140) uses a four-cylinder engine assisted by an electric motor. The Green Line is equipped like the XE and adds automatic climate control and StabiliTrak. Tires are 215/60R16s on 16-inch alloy wheels. Options for the Hybrid are limited to the sunroof and the Preferred Package.

Aura XR ($25,375) comes with a 3.6-liter V6 and a six-speed automatic transmission with manual-shift control paddles on the steering wheel. The XR also features automatic climate control, an eight-way power driver seat, front seat heaters, heated outside mirrors with auto-dimming on the driver's side, a remote engine starter, an eight-speaker stereo with an in-dash six-disc CD changer and controls on the steering wheel, rear audio controls, a universal garage door opener, fog lamps, and 225/50 tires on 18-inch alloy wheels.

Options for the XE: The Preferred Package ($440) adds eight-way power driver's seat and steering wheel radio controls. The Convenience Package ($840) adds heated front seats and exterior mirrors, remote starter, auto-dimming inside rearview and outside driver's mirror, and universal garage door opener. The Advanced Audio Package ($725) adds the eight-speaker stereo with in-dash six-CD changer and rear audio controls. Chromed ($200) and alloy ($400) wheels are also available.

Options for XE and XR models include an Enhanced Convenience Package ($425) comprising a six-way power passenger seat and power adjustable pedals; a Premium Trim Package ($990) that includes a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, leather upholstery and heated front seats; a power sunroof with sunshade ($800); premium floor and trunk mats ($100); and an engine-block heater ($75). XR is available with Morocco Brown leather ($150). The Carbon Flash Limited Edition ($2,025) is available on V6-powered XEs with metallic gray paint and gray interior, the sunroof, the Premium Trim Package, and chromed wheels.

Safety features that come standard on all models include anti-lock four-wheel disc brakes and traction control. V6 models and the hybrid come standard with electronic stability control, which is not available on the base four-cylinder. Passive safety features that come standard on all models include front seat belts with pretensioners and load-limiters, dual front air bags, front seat-mounted side-impact air bags (for torso protection in a side impact), and front- and rear-seat curtain air bags (for head protection in a rollover or side impact). Be sure to wear those seat belts because they are your first line of defense in a crash.

Walkaround

The Aura is the largest of all Saturn sedans. The Saturn Aura shares the same platform as the Saab 9-3 and the European-market Opel Vectra. The Aura shares styling cues with the Opel. The Saturn Aura is front-wheel drive and rides on a 112-inch wheelbase.

In front, the Aura features a broad grille with a thick chrome insert flanked by almond-shaped, multi-element headlamp units. The nicely sculpted front bumper houses tiny fog lamps on the Aura XR. With big engines and front-wheel drive, the Aura has a requisitely long nose, but thanks to nice tapering of the bumpers, it doesn't look disproportionately front-heavy.

The body sides are clean and tastefully sculpted, with a healthy bit of chrome detailing on the window trim. The XR takes this a step further with bright door handles. The Aura rides on a long wheelbase, which contributes to an elegant, planted appearance. The rear door is particularly long, however, making it more difficult for your rear-seat passengers to climb in and out in tight parking lots. A power moonroof with sun shade is optional.

All Auras XE models ride on 17-inch wheels; steel wheels with wheel covers are standard; attractive alloy wheels are optional. XR models ride on dressy 14-spoke, 18-inch machined-surface alloy wheels; while the Green Line hybrid runs 16-inch alloys for lower weight and rolling resistance.

The rear end is dominated by glitzy, high-mounted tail lamps that mirror the almond shape of the headlamps and incorporate two strips of fast-illuminating LED brake lights. The bumper is tall.

Interior

The interior of the Saturn Aura is tasteful with an assortment of materials. Control operation is straightforward and the ergonomic layout is ideal. Secondary controls are shared with other GM models.

The front seats offer reasonable support for most people, though we would like to see better lumbar support. We found the fabric upholstery to be of high quality. The quality of the optional leather on both the XE and XR seemed marginal, however, with the only exception being the cool-looking Moroccan Brown interior featuring uniquely grained, embossed leather seating inserts. The available eight-way power adjustments for the driver made it easier to get comfortable than in the six-way manual seats. The steering wheel tilts and telescopes, though it feels one size too large for this car. At least with leather-equipped cars, the steering wheel feels good in the hand thanks to soft leather wrapping, which is far preferable to the grainy urethane texture of the wheel you get in cloth-equipped Auras.

Ergonomics are quite good. The front-seat elbow rest cleverly extends into the B-pillar for an additional 1.6 inches of elbow room, to accommodate taller drivers who slide the seat rearward. The cover for the center console slides fore and aft for comfortable elbow resting on the inboard side. Outward vision through the windshield and side windows is good. The rear shelf, however, is quite high, blocking a fair amount of vision through the rearview mirror and increasing the size of the blind spots, especially for shorter drivers.

The deep-set, electroluminescent speedometer and tachometer are lovely, illuminated in a modern-looking amber shade. A trip computer/vehicle information display is nestled in the speedometer, and has a real-time fuel economy function. However, the display is too small to show more than 16 characters at the same time. Therefore, only one function (the trip odometer, standard odometer, fuel economy, the gear indicator for the manual mode for the XR's six-speed automatic, and so on) can be viewed at any given time.

Interior trim is mixed in quality but pleasingly designed, with padded materials covering the curvaceous dash top and door panels, but less impressive hard plastic most everywhere else. There are other materials as well, including generous swaths of silvery metallic or wood-grained plastic trim, made more attractive by chrome details in many well-placed locations. We would like to say that these materials are up to snuff compared with Toyota, Honda and even Hyundai, but in truth, they're not quite there. However, the panel fit is tight and among the best we've seen on an American product.

All controls, buttons and knobs feel upscale in their operation. Controls for the standard, six-speaker, AM/FM/CD/MP3/XM stereo, as well as the optional, 240-watt eight-speaker sound system include presets that are not band-specific; in other words, AM, FM and XM stations can exist in the same bank of buttons; no need to change bands. This makes a big difference when jumping around to your favorite stations in everyday use. For example, it takes just one press of a button to jump from your favorite AM talk radio station to your favorite FM music station or to your favorite XM news station. The premium audio system has separate controls for rear-seat passengers and a pair of wireless headphones. Auxiliary input jacks are provided for iPods and other MP3 players.

A GPS navigation system is not available for the Aura, but the latest version of OnStar (version 7.0) includes turn-by-turn directions. This navigational feature delivers the guidance benefits of a conventional, map-based navigation system with voice commands. But instead of having to input destination information on a touch screen, which can be dangerous while in motion, the driver presses the OnStar button, and an OnStar adviser comes online to assist in finding the destination. After talking to you, the OnStar adviser uploads the.

Driving Impression

On the road, the Saturn Aura behaves like a European family sedan. It has a taut feel with good steering quality and an overall impression that the brakes, suspension and powertrain are in agreement with each other. This is not surprising, given the car's structural roots, which are shared with the fine-driving Saab 9-3 and Opel Vectra.

The new standard engine for 2008 is a 2.4-liter four, essentially the same 16-valve, dual-overhead-cam (DOHC) Ecotec unit that GM uses in the Chevrolet Cobalt and Malibu, albeit with detail differences.

Another version of this 2.4-liter engine powers the new Aura Green Line hybrid, where it is rated 164 horsepower at 6400 rpm, and 159 pound-feet of torque at 5000. In the hybrid it is coupled with a 4kW (about 5.4 horsepower) electric motor and a conventional four-speed automatic transmission. Saturn emphasizes the low initial cost of this setup, noting that, like other hybrids, the Green Line saves fuel by shutting off its engine while idling and during deceleration, and by using regenerative braking to recharge the 10kW nickel-metal hydride battery.

Note the Aura Green Line's gasoline engine is much more powerful in proportion to its electric motor than that in the Toyota Prius (76 horsepower gasoline, 67 horsepower electric) or Honda Civic Hybrid (110 horsepower gas, 20 horsepower electric). The Green Line's electric motor also develops significantly less torque for low-speed acceleration (44 pound-feet, against 76 for the Civic and a whopping 295 for the Prius). This suggests its gasoline engine might have to cut in sooner. That said, with 159 pound-feet of torque available from its gas engine alone, the Green Line should be able it uphold its honor in any traffic situation.

The optional 3.5-liter V6 for the XE is being phased out. It's rated at 219 horsepower for 2008. We found the 3.5-liter could be a touch smoother and quieter under full-throttle, but it delivers strong acceleration performance. Even better, the engine quiets back down to near silence as soon as cruising speeds are attained. The 3.5-liter comes with a four-speed automatic.

The XR's 252-hp 3.6-liter V6 is considerably stronger and more relaxed in character, thanks to more sophisticated engineering: a higher compression ratio, dual overhead camshafts, and four valves per cylinder. The 3.6-liter comes with a six-speed automatic featuring Tap-Shift paddles on the steering wheel to make manual shifting faster and more convenient.

Fuel economy for the 2008 Aura XR is an EPA-rated 17/26 mpg City/Highway.

The fully independent suspension on the Aura splits the difference between ride quality and handling, both of which are quite good. While handling feels much like that of the Saab 9-3 with which the Aura shares its architecture, the ride quality is more like that of a Toyota Camry, known for its smoothness. Furthermore, thanks to the use of sound-deadening materials everywhere from the firewall to the side glass and wheelwells, the Aura's interior is near-silent even at speeds over 75 mph.

In the V6 models we've driven, the variable-ratio power steering has been well weighted at highway speeds, offering plenty of road feel; while with just 2.8 turns lock-to-lock, it's plenty helpful in low-speed parking-lot maneuvers. Offsetting that, however, is a particularly wide 40.4-foot turning circle. The four-cylinder models come with a different power steering system with electromagnetic rather than hydraulic assist.

All Aura models feature four-wheel disc brakes with ABS. We found they felt good and worked well in normal driving. All Auras come with traction control, and the hybrid and V6 models come with StabiliTrak, GM's excellent electronic stability control system.

Summary

The 2008 Saturn Aura is a classy, mid-size family sedan that compares well to the best cars in the class, namely the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Aura combines European driving dynamics with contemporary styling and a nice interior. It's easy to drive and safe. The Aura XR is smooth and powerful with its V6, while the Aura XE gets an EPA-rated 22/30 mpg. The hybrid-powered Green Line is rated at 24/32 mpg yet delivers strong, responsive performance.