Saturday, September 09, 2006
The Halo of Saturn
Anyone who knows me, will know that I am a rabid Saturn fan. Well, maybe not foaming-at-the-mouth rabid, but I do like Saturn. There is definitely something fulfilling about owning a Saturn. You see, I own a 1999 Saturn SL2 that has generally treated me very well. But, beyond the reliability of the car is the friendliness and welcoming attitude of the dealer network. They treat owners like friends and family. The cars themselves have historically not been really super neat cars, especially when you compare them to more refined models like Civic and Corolla. However, you are generally not going to find the kind of service and satisfaction from your Honda or Toyota dealer. Saturn dealers (called retailers) really stand behind their product. Just because you bring in a 10-year-old Saturn for some service, they are not going to try to pressure you into buying a newer model. They'll happily fix your car and wish you many happy miles (which Saturns are known for.)
I took my Saturn into Saturn of Riverdale to have some work done on it. The front end alignment was off and I needed to rotate the tires. So, while I was having the work done on my car, I looked around the lot at the nice new models. There were plenty of VUEs and IONs sitting all over the lot. All of these cars shined brilliantly in the morning sun.
Then I saw it: a 2007 Saturn Aura. I had only seen these cars in concept photos and at the new car show. Never had I been right up next to it. It was a beautiful dark blue sedan accented with tasteful chrome. It sat long and low on its massive 18-inch wheels. I went into the store and asked a representative if I could take a look inside the Aura. He grabbed the keys from another person and we went out to take a look. I sat down in the lush brown leather seats of this most non-Saturn of Saturns. There was definitely an upscale feel to this automobile, considerably above that of the L series it replaces (which were very fine cars in their own right.) I asked the representative if I could take it for a test drive. He agreed and handed me the keys while he went to get a license plate.
I slid the key into the ignition (which is wonderfully mounted on the dash where it's easy to see and reach) and turned it to the start position. Ever so faintly, I heard the 3.6L V6 spring to life. Once running, the engine was very serene and smooth, with hardly a vibration coming through the leather-wrapped steering wheel. That 3.6L is one very potent engine. It produces 252 horsepower and is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission with wheel-mounted paddle shifters (sorry Mr. Clarkson, but it's true.)
The steering has a very balanced feel, partially due to the long 112.3 inch wheelbase. It holds the road with a great deal of poise. Acceleration is also excellent (which has generally been a trait of Saturn cars.) Getting on the freeway was less of an exercise in reaching the appropriate speed, but not blowing past it on my way to a well-deserved speeding ticket.
Being very satisfied with my current SL2, I'm not accustomed to having lots of gadgets on my car and so there was an extensive array of them on this Aura that I had no idea how to use. Only further investigation would reveal all these nuances.
I found my test drive extremely satisfying. The Aura is a very well-built car that could go head to head with some more expensive and more premium sedans (think Lexus and Audi.) While this may not be the entire focus of this car, it is certainly capable of impressing.
There was only one area that I could find to complain about the car. In most automobiles with a sunroof, there is a plastic or metal air dam that pops up to prevent the open bottle effect of the air rushing over the absent roof panel. In the Aura, this air dam is made of perforated fabric, which is really nice-looking, but makes quite a hissing noise as the air passes through it. In future iterations of the car, this should be addressed.
The Saturn Aura is a sedan meant to bring the embattled Saturn corporation into the 21st century. It does that and then some. This car represents a major step up in the market. Look to Saturn for more impressive things to come in the waxing years.
I took my Saturn into Saturn of Riverdale to have some work done on it. The front end alignment was off and I needed to rotate the tires. So, while I was having the work done on my car, I looked around the lot at the nice new models. There were plenty of VUEs and IONs sitting all over the lot. All of these cars shined brilliantly in the morning sun.
Then I saw it: a 2007 Saturn Aura. I had only seen these cars in concept photos and at the new car show. Never had I been right up next to it. It was a beautiful dark blue sedan accented with tasteful chrome. It sat long and low on its massive 18-inch wheels. I went into the store and asked a representative if I could take a look inside the Aura. He grabbed the keys from another person and we went out to take a look. I sat down in the lush brown leather seats of this most non-Saturn of Saturns. There was definitely an upscale feel to this automobile, considerably above that of the L series it replaces (which were very fine cars in their own right.) I asked the representative if I could take it for a test drive. He agreed and handed me the keys while he went to get a license plate.
I slid the key into the ignition (which is wonderfully mounted on the dash where it's easy to see and reach) and turned it to the start position. Ever so faintly, I heard the 3.6L V6 spring to life. Once running, the engine was very serene and smooth, with hardly a vibration coming through the leather-wrapped steering wheel. That 3.6L is one very potent engine. It produces 252 horsepower and is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission with wheel-mounted paddle shifters (sorry Mr. Clarkson, but it's true.)
The steering has a very balanced feel, partially due to the long 112.3 inch wheelbase. It holds the road with a great deal of poise. Acceleration is also excellent (which has generally been a trait of Saturn cars.) Getting on the freeway was less of an exercise in reaching the appropriate speed, but not blowing past it on my way to a well-deserved speeding ticket.
Being very satisfied with my current SL2, I'm not accustomed to having lots of gadgets on my car and so there was an extensive array of them on this Aura that I had no idea how to use. Only further investigation would reveal all these nuances.
I found my test drive extremely satisfying. The Aura is a very well-built car that could go head to head with some more expensive and more premium sedans (think Lexus and Audi.) While this may not be the entire focus of this car, it is certainly capable of impressing.
There was only one area that I could find to complain about the car. In most automobiles with a sunroof, there is a plastic or metal air dam that pops up to prevent the open bottle effect of the air rushing over the absent roof panel. In the Aura, this air dam is made of perforated fabric, which is really nice-looking, but makes quite a hissing noise as the air passes through it. In future iterations of the car, this should be addressed.
The Saturn Aura is a sedan meant to bring the embattled Saturn corporation into the 21st century. It does that and then some. This car represents a major step up in the market. Look to Saturn for more impressive things to come in the waxing years.
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