![]() ![]() The only thing that spoils the highway serenity is the Aura's light on-center steering that demands too many minute corrections to keep the car pointed straight. Ride quality, even on the optional 18-inch wheels, is compliant, if not soft. Double-paned front glass, a healthy dose of sound deadening, and laminated steel (dubbed Quiet Steel) go a long way toward canceling unwanted racket. Although our sound-level meter measured a very average 68 dBA of noise, it seemed to our ears to be the quietest car since a Rolls-Royce Phantom. Despite nonlinear steering, the Aura feels willing, if not eager.ĭriving the Aura on the highway is like putting on a set of Bose noise-canceling headphones. Handling with the standard stability control disabled erred on the side of understeer with moderate body roll. Upshifts are smooth, but downshifts are harsh and jerky. For those who prefer to select their own gears, there are steering-wheel-mounted paddles (borrowed from the Corvette) that offer manumatic control. Much of this composure is due to a new six-speed automatic that anticipates one's passing needs like six well-trained bellhops. Hard acceleration from rest makes for torque steer and wheelspin, but above 30 or so mph the Aura collects itself and feels poised. In our test car, the powertrain produced an impressive 0-to-60 time of 6.2 seconds. The Aura XR we tested comes with the same 252-hp, 3.6-liter DOHC V-6 and six-speed automatic transmission that is available in the 2007 G6 GTP. The Saturn shares the G6's chassis setup of front struts and an independent rear suspension only the tuning is different. ![]() The Opel, the Pontiac, and the Saturn are all built on the same Epsilon front-drive architecture, but the Vectra rides on a six-inch-shorter wheelbase than the Aura and G6. Think of the Aura as a Pontiac G6 in an Opel's lederhosen, and you'll get a realistic sense of it. The Aura isn't a made-in-Germany Opel - it's assembled in Kansas City, Kansas, but it carries enough Opel Vectra traits to sway a generation of buyers raised on German and Japanese cars - at least that's Saturn's hope. Find out more about our advertising opportunities.GM is set to turn at least part of the Saturn showroom into a pseudo-Opel showroom (Opel is the German part of the GM empire) with its 2007 Aura sedan and upcoming Ion replacement that will be based on the Opel Astra. Advertise Advertising on is well-targeted, has unique benefits, and is highly successful. Looking for something lighter? Read our funny complaints to see people who found humor in a bad situation. Vehicle Problems Find out what cars to avoid, view the latest problem trends, or keep up-to-date with the most recently reported problems. Contact us with any comments or concerns. Car Problem Resources Around the Site Information Find out more about us in the press or read stories from drivers who praise our work.The complaints are organized into groups with data published by vehicle, vehicle component, and specific problem. A defect investigation into the issue was opened in 2011, eventually leading to a recall of 56,000 vehicles in 2014.Ĭ ® is an online automotive complaint resource that uses graphs to show automotive defect patterns, based on complaint data submitted by visitors to the site. That’s because the shifter could say “Park” while the transmission was still in drive, reverse or neutral. Meanwhile, a busted gear shifter cable lead to some unwanted rollaways. Did GM use metal for its rotors that can’t stand the heat? That’s what some say, and it’s hard to argue when reports show that rotors could start to warp as early as 500 miles off the dealer lot. Unfortunately, the Aura brought its own problems: namely cheap brake parts that needed early replacement and a gear shifter that could say it’s in park while the transmission was still engaged.īrake problems, including uneven wear and warped rotors that cause the car to wobble, are common complaints from 2007 owners. Notes: The Saturn Aura was a mid-size car meant to replace the somewhat problematic L-Series. ![]()
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