The impressive sales of Saturn Aura allowed for this mid-sized car to get in the top of the best cars produced by General Motors. The popularity of the concept became apparent in 2006 when it was made public at the New York Auto Show, and though it was meant as a replacement for the Saturn L-series, Saturn Aura brings a breath of fresh air to the entire Saturn collection. The result of this new direction is market preference for American cars instead of European imports particularly since in recent years the focus has fallen on the latter in the United States. Saturn Aura thus rivals with its distant relative: the European Opel Vectra.
The standard Saturn Aura has folding mirrors and side marker lights, and these design features are clearly an imitation of European car design. The other appearance details make Saturn Aura a really pleasant car with 17 or 18 inch wheels and all season tires in both the XR or XE models. The improvements in car appearance are relevant for the structure of the cabin too; now Saturn Aura allows the buyer a choice for saddle leather seats and back seat radio control. Even so, despite the nice offer in the standard model, Saturn Aura has been criticized for the quality of the materials used in the cabin design.
As for the technical characteristics of the Saturn Aura standard models, there is an assisted break system for all the four wheel disk brakes, heated seats and comprehensive front and lateral airbags, automatic steering control and stability control as well as remote vehicle start. Saturn Aura also spoils its users with 224 horsepower for a 3.5 liter V6 engine. The difference between Saturn Aura XR and XE becomes noticeable in the properties of the suspensions: thus Saturn Aura XE has soft suspensions while Aura XR has more rigid sportier ones. Last but not least, this concept difference is also relevant for the price of the cars in dealer shops.
Saturn Aura is also available in the hybrid eco form following the green line specificity. It uses a belt alternation system and it has the same suspension system as the gas-only XE models. This hybrid design offers 164 horsepower and a significant fuel consume reduction. In the effort to make more people open to buy hybrid cars, government policy has changed in regard to tax payment; thus you’ll taxes will be reduced by up to $1,300 if you choose a car in the green line. Consequently after you buy the Saturn Aura hybrid you’ll save the above mentioned sum that you’d otherwise pay for taxes.
Tags: saturn aura, saturn cars