Souped-up Aura XR makes for a nice ride

HUME, Va. -- Saturn's Aura midsize sedan really is two cars.

Drive the uplevel XR with its high-performance V-6 and sporty suspension and you wonder where, sweet car, have you been all this time?

But get behind the wheel of the base XE and the impression is less impressive: Nice car. Could use some tweaking. Pretty darn good, though.

PHOTOS/AUDIO:Saturn Aura with Healey's comments

If the 2007 Aura were typical of Detroit-mobiles the past decade, Toyota TM, Honda HMC and others not native to the USA surely would have found it tougher to gain so much market share. The XR, especially, seems a reasonable alternative to a Honda or Toyota. As a new model, Aura can't boast the enviable track record for high quality and strong resale value that the top Japanese models can, however.

Lisa Hutchinson, director of Saturn's brand and product development, calls Aura "the biggest launch of the year" for the General Motors GM brand. A Green Line version — Saturn-speak for mild hybrid — is slated for next spring. That will be a four-cylinder gasoline engine, augmented by a small electric motor, as in the Saturn Vue Green Line SUV. (Test Drive, Sept. 15.)

Saturn likes to brag that the Aura has a V-6 engine standard, while rivals have four-cylinder powerplants in their base models. But the memory of $3 gas this summer might make buyers more interested in the perceived fuel-economy benefits of a four-cylinder.

Two Auras were tested: A preproduction XE that would be priced $21,795 and a nearly loaded, regular-production XR, $26,919.99.

The XE and XR were challenged on Virginia interstates and two-lane back roads in the vicinity of this village. Here's what stood out, good and otherwise:

• Styling. Crisp, handsome, sufficiently tailored to draw at least brief notice from those import fans who heretofore wouldn't have considered a domestic car.

• Interior. Nicely done; classy for a mainstream sedan. The back seat is reasonably roomy. The contours of the seat back are a bit lumpy, though, compromising comfort.

Saturn likes to point out that it bothered to wrap the inside of the windshield pillars in cloth instead of presenting them with a hard plastic surface. Nice touch. Even the interior of the trunk is well-done. Fully lined, which not only looks classy, but also cuts noise.

• Performance. The word has many meanings. Here, we'll consider it a reference to how the cars went, stopped and turned in routine-to-vigorous driving. For that, Aura is a mostly strong performer.

The XE, intended for most buyers, corners reasonably well, stops confidently and has sufficient pep to prevent anxiety during merging and passing. Its bargain-oriented four-speed automatic transmission shifts quite nicely, snicking through the gears up or down without pause or jolt.

The XR, for sporting types, slices corners more finely because of a tauter suspension that might actually feel a bit too stiff for some folks.

The XR's uplevel V-6 has more power than you get in the XE and delivers it willingly, almost wantonly, to the delight of all with a pulse. But XR's supposedly more-sophisticated six-speed automatic transmission pauses and jerks on full-throttle downshifts. Different gearboxes, tuned differently for different users, Saturn says. Hmmm. What sort of folks asked for a hesitation followed by a lurch on downshifts?

• Features. A lot of useful equipment is standard, including sound-deadening glass, height-adjustable driver's seat and GM's OnStar telecommunications system with a year's free emergency-notification service. A generous array of safety hardware also is standard, resulting in good scores in federal crash tests.

And some unusual items are available. Heated cloth seats, for instance; no need to buy leather to get the bun warmers. A four-panel panorama roof slides open and stacks to provide an open-air ambiance.

• Oops. Power-mirror adjuster is small enough that it's hard to use and is on the windshield pillar, too far from the driver. You have to lean forward to use the control, at which point you're not able to tell whether the mirrors will be set properly once you lean back.

A buzzy rattle issued from that same driver's-side windshield pillar on the preproduction tester when the road surface was coarse. The production model had no such problem, a good sign.

XE's 3.5-liter pushrod-style V-6 was crude-sounding on start-up, although it quieted as it warmed.

GM calls that engine "high value," as opposed to the more sophisticated "high feature" overhead-camshaft 3.6-liter V-6 in the XR. You can translate the GM terms as "cheap" and "refined."

• Fuel economy. Respectable; mid-20s on both test cars despite plenty of lead-foot moments. Conservative driving should yield impressive numbers, if the testers were true harbingers.

• Sales technique. Saturn promises to keep its one-price, no-haggle approach. That doesn't mean no discounts; just that everybody who buys from the same dealer should get the same price.

Aura makes a strong case for itself, but anybody who's driven a 2007 Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan NSANY Altima or Hyundai Sonata or Azera knows that a strong case is merely the price of admission.

2007 Saturn Aura

• What is it? Front-wheel-drive, four-door, midsize sedan, new to the Saturn line and meant to challenge the best Asian midsize models. Aura is based on parent General Motors' Epsilon platform that's shared by the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx and Pontiac G6 and is built at the Fairfax, Kan., factory that manufactures those models.

• How soon? On sale since August.

• How much? XE starts at $20,595, including a $650 destination charge. XR starts at $24,595. XR with all factory options is $27,769.

Saturn has a no-dicker sales policy. Per their contract with Saturn, dealers can discount as long as they charge everybody the same. Expect to pay the posted price, and right now, that's typically the full window-sticker price, says Edmunds.com, an online car-shopping site.

• Who'll buy? "Import intenders" who have a "progressive mindset," Saturn says. That means folks who want an Accord but are willing to at least consider something else. They're typically 35 to 55 years old; 60% are women; 65% are married; 65% went to college; 50% work as managers or in professional occupations, Saturn says.

• How many? GM doesn't publicly forecast sales. That way, nobody can say a car didn't sell as well as expected.

• What's the drivetrain? XE has 3.5-liter pushrod-style V-6 rated 224 horsepower at 5,800 rpm, 220 pounds-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm; four-speed automatic transmission; traction control.

XR has 3.6-liter overhead-camshaft V-6 rated 252 hp at 6,400 rpm, 251 lbs.-ft. at 3,200 rpm; six-speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode; traction control.

• What's the safety gear? Expected bags and belts, plus head curtain bags front and rear; front-seat-mounted side-impact bags; anti-lock brakes. Anti-skid control is standard on XR for '07 model year, will be standard on both XE and XR for '08 model year.

• What's the rest? Standard features include climate control; AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo with auxiliary input jack; power steering, brakes, windows, locks, mirrors; power height-adjustable driver's seat; tilt-adjustable and telescoping steering column; cruise control; remote-control locks; trip computer; rear defroster; OnStar telecommunication system with one year free emergency service.

• How big? Similar to Honda Accord. Aura is 190 inches long, 70.3 inches wide, 57.6 inches tall on a 112.3-inch wheelbase. Weight is listed as 3,528 pounds (XE) or 3,647 pounds (XR). Rated to carry 917 pounds of people, cargo and accessories. Rated to tow 1,000 pounds. Turning circle diameter is 40.4 feet, curb-to-curb.

Passenger space is listed as 97.7 cubic feet. Trunk space is listed as 14.9 cubic feet.

• How thirsty? XE rated 20 miles per gallon in town, 30 on the highway, 24 in combined city-highway driving. XR rated 20/28/23.

Tank holds 16.3 gallons. Regular-grade gasoline (87 octane) is specified.

Trip computer in XE test car showed 26.2 mpg on interstate and rural two-lane roads. XR showed 24.4 mpg.

• Overall: Best thing Saturn's done, but can it overcome anti-Detroit prejudice among foreign-brand buyers?