All Cars, All the Time

Saturn: Running Rings Around Its Former Self






The new Saturn isn’t just a rebirth, it’s a reinvention. Nearly left for dead at the side of the road, GM has placed a major bet that Saturn can pull up its socks and kick some competitive butt. One of the keys to the new strategy is the new Aura sedan. In concept form, the Aura was a revelation and the production version hasn’t lost much in the translation. One this is clear, this isn’t your older sister’s L-Series.

The new Aura brings to the table: snappy styling, an interior that has some real zip, and a powertrain that doesn’t embarrass itself. The base model uses a 3.5 liter V6 and a four speed auto that pumps out 224HP and 220 LB-FT of torque. Step up to the “high-feature” V6 and you get 252HP and 251LB-FT of torque and a six speed auto. The high-feature V6’s torque comes on sooner than either the Accord or Camry at 3200RPM as opposed to 5000 and 4200 respectively. Let’s face it, when you are driving a car one of the first things you really feel is torque and the sooner the better (at least in my opinion). The Aura also gets hydraulic power steering as opposed to electric and from everything I’ve read that is a very good thing. I am sure that some day electric steering can offer all the road feel that hydraulic assist can, but for most manufacturers that day is at least a few years of R&D away.

Saturn is on the right path and is making wise decisions. Some folks will dispute that bringing Opels to America has never worked, but from a styling point of view Opels have never looked so good.

I haven’t driven the new Aura yet, but I look forward to the opportunity. Something that, other than the new SKY roadster, I haven’t said about a Saturn…ever. Perhaps the new Aura doesn’t have every answer, maybe it isn’t as silky smooth as the best from Japan, but it offers up legitimate competition and one that you would not have to apologize for if you brought it home to meet the family.

I do have nit to pick. Stability control isn’t available on the base model and I think Saturn is being kind of sneaky about what this means. Check this out: Under the general safety section they are more than happy to list Stabilitrak stability control. However under the model comparison matrix they list Stabilitrak under performance.
This avoids the appearance that they have made a safety feature optional. However, that is exactly what they have done. Stability control should be standard across the board, but at a minimum Saturn should at least be upfront that its base model is missing a safety feature.