Trexus

It's been about a couple of months, how is your Saturn Aura doing? Have you made any changes or is it still stock?

Threxx

So far I've been very happy with it. No problems. Not even any creeks or rattles though I'll be shocked if that stays the case with more miles and colder weather.. my friend's 08 Aura has 20k miles and still has significantly fewer interior noises than my 335i does.

The more I drive it the more I realize just how impressively quiet it is. My old 99 GS400 I used to have is if anything a bit louder than it, and I even installed quite a bit of aftermarket sound deadening in the GS. The only way I can reliably compare is that one of my best friends bought my GS from me so I've been able to compare the two side by side.

Suspension is also very impressively smooth, though I'd say it does lack some refinement over large ruts/bumps like pot holes... whereas a Lexus GS or E-class would continue to feel solid and relatively undisturbed from the pot hole, the Aura seems to get a little more unsettled and the strut is noisier. It handles it more like an ES would than a GS. But then again for 16k you can't reasonably complain that it rides more like a 38k dollar car than a 55k dollar car.

On the flip side it still has well under 1000 miles on it. Since we have 3 vehicles right now (335i isn't due back for 7 more weeks) and I'm well under mileage on it (I need to plan a road trip!), I make sure of the 3 cars between me and my wife, we're always driving the 335i every day. Then between the Aura and 4runner it's just whatever we feel like driving but we don't want either one to sit for too long.

As far as mods go. Other than Weathertech "digital fit" floor mats... nothing. I do really like the floor mats though... about as nice as weatherproof floor mats can get. I considered doing some sort of upgrade to the stock stereo but the more I've listened to it and tweaked the audio settings the more content I've become with it.

Fact is I got a pretty nice very well equipped new car for 16 grand... if I go and spend money on mods, it's just watering down the savings I walked away with.

Thanks for asking though. I'll be sure to update if I have any problems or followup opinions. Those that have followed the saga of my 335i on here know I'm not shy to complain about problems with my cars.

Trexus

That's good to read. Keep us updated from time to time. I see tons of Saturn Aura's driving all over southern California freeways.

IS-SV

Thanks for the update, I had been meaning to ask about the new Saturn.

Giving of the 335 won't be easy.

What's your take on that 4 banger engine? I know GM went to great lengths to improve NVH and I've heard good things. Of course you have the luxury of comparing to a very sweet straight six currently.

mmarshall

The latest word (though it's not necessarily cast in stone) is that GM is going to keep the Aura in production, at least for a while, for Penske, as Saturn's new owner. That makes sense to me. It's a nice car (perhaps the nicest vehicle that Saturn still sells, if you're not a Sky roadster freak); it can be built on pretty much the same assembly line as the Chevy Malibu, and, though it doesn't sell like the Camry or Accord, has a reasonable core group of buyers.

IS-SV

Any news on the Saturn/Penske deal? Is it really going to happen?

Threxx

Yeah giving up the power and handling of the 335i is going to hurt for sure. Just today I raced against a Chevy SSR. He was going WOT for 2-3 seconds before I punched it and easily caught up to him and passed him. It put a smile on my face then followed by sadness as I realized I'll never have such joys in the Aura. I will however have the joy of getting much better fuel economy, having a significantly more quiet and comfortable ride, and best of all, owning the car outright instead of making lease payments.

NVH on the 4-cyl is very good at idle and at cruising speed. At least as good as my parent's 05 Camry XLE 4-cyl and the 09 Accord EX 4-cyl we test drive. Plus the car is definitely quieter than both in all other aspects as well. I can't comment on the current Camry since I haven't driven one. The only time where the 4-cyl gets even a little buzzy is for the first half a second or so of initial acceleration from a stop. Acceleration from a roll is, again, quiet and smooth. Asking me to compare it to my 335i is kind of hard. My 335i has very little vibration from the engine but it does make quiet a bit of noise at all speeds mainly due to a fairly sporty sound to the exhaust. My wife who knows very little about cars at first thought something was wrong with the 335i because even cruising down the road doing 40-45 mph it's constantly got that nice but fairly loud exhaust note going on. So it's for that reason I can't really comment on engine noise since the exhaust noise definitely overrules it. As far as vibration goes, the 335i doesn't have quiet the off-idle acceleration engine buzz/hum that the Aura does but otherwise they're completely neck and neck since I can't discern any significant vibration from either one.

Acceleration is definitely lacking but then again I've yet to drive a 4-cyl sedan in this class that wasn't lacking. After the initial jump off the line sometimes it doesn't even feel like you're really accelerating. This is amplified by the fact that the engine is very quiet, so you don't really hear the revs climbing. Sometimes you're tempted to step on the pedal a bit more because it feels like you're not making any progress, but then you look down at the speedometer and see it is in fact moving up... just not very quickly.

The yawn-inducing accelerating probably isn't helped by the fact that in the name of a good break-in period and good fuel economy I try to keep shift points close to 2.5k rpm and almost never go over 3k rpm despite a redline around 7k rpm.

Speaking of fuel economy so far in the city I have been a little disappointed. I've averaged 25.5 to 26 mpg. Yes I know it's rated at 22 so I should be happy, but in most of my past cars I've been able to beat the city rating by a significantly greater percentage than that. My 335i for example is rated at 17mpg but routinely averages 22-22.5 mpg, and I definitely drive it much harder than the Aura too.

I haven't actually done a full road trip but I've read most people say the car will get 35 mpg doing 75-80 with the AC on and 40 mpg with the AC off doing 65. If that does end up being the case, I'll be very happy. Especially since it takes regular compared to premium in my 335i. I have done a steady 55mph cruise for 5 miles in the Aura with the AC off and the info center told me I was averaging 47 mpg... so I definitely can see 40 happening at only 10 mph faster. The info center MPG and tire pressure readouts seem to be pretty accurate so far too

IS-SV

Again thanks for the update, always good to get the feedback directly from a knowledgeable hands-on owner/enthusiast. I think your 4 cylinder benchmarks (Camry/Accord) should be good considering they are balance shaft equipped engines from the leading Japanese companies. A few years ago I rented and drove one of those Camrys over 2000 miles in 5 days on a trip to Oregon/Washington, impressive economy sedan.

btw, check your lease contract to see if they refund the unused mileage at xx cents/mile, like Mercedes does.

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

Nice car... Glad to see your still keeping a Toyota in the Family... (SUV)

Threxx

While I'm thinking of it I should mention a couple complaints I have about the Aura. First of all while most of the interior has good build quality and very good materials for its class, the center console wouldn't even cut it for a car a class or two below the Aura. It's made of very cheap hard plastic that creeks any time weight is put on it at all. It just feels like they contracted out fisher price to make the entire center console.

Also the only initial quality issue I've noticed (and I've really looked over this car with a magnifying glass for stuff not put together right) is the plastic on the lower part fo the rear door entry way. On both sides it wasn't secured down as low/tight as it should be and the rear doors actually lightly tap the plastic when you shut them. If you listen carefully when you shut the door you will hear a slight plastic on plastic tap sound a split second before the thump of the door closing. My friend's 08 Aura had this same issue.

#1 problem on this car according to what I've read on the forums is an intermediate steering shaft that ends up making clunking noises from improper lubrication and friction. It's not a safety issue but can be quite annoying from what I've read. Edmunds had the problem with their long term Aura. I'm hoping since GM had 2 years to correct the issue that my car won't have it, but we'll see.

Yeah the ecotec Aura uses a balance shaft as well... they really did put a ton of effort into the NVH of this engine and it is honestly the first GM 4-cyl I've ever driven that I'd describe as pleasant. Every one before this point I'd describe as brash and 'gravly'. Didn't make pleasant sounds or vibrations when I stepped on the gas. This one is a huge leap forward. Not better than the competition, but at least as good as which is good enough for me. Reliability of course is a different story. I am really watching GM on this one. If this car goes south on me you'll definitely hear about it and it'll probably end up being my last GM vehicle. This is the 3rd GM vehicle I've owned in my life. So far one (94 Z28) was a pile of garbage, another (2000 Silverado) was virtually problem free, so now we have this one. If 2 out of 3 are reliable then I'll say... 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Especially when they're the newer models.
Thanks for the suggestion on the lease turn in thing. I did see something on the turn in sheet about unused miles but something about the way it was worded made me assume it was only a credit you could apply toward a future lease, not actual cash back. I'll check though.

Threxx

Man I need to work on making shorter posts. I've written a freakin' short novel here between all the lengthy replies in this thread.

Anyhow... it's looking more and more like my wife may end up 'taking over' the Aura. The 4runner has traditionally been her car but I've had the GS400, A4, and 335i all the while she's just been steadily driving the 4runner so I guess if she wants the new car it's her right.

On the flip side I really won't mind driving the 4runner. Definitely has way more torque than the Aura which makes accelerating in around town driving not nearly as much of a waiting game like I described above. Also would be cool to use as a camping vehicle.

IS-SV

Threxx, check the BMW lease contract carefully. I know a prior Mercedes lease resulted in a check being mailed to us for unused mileage.

4 runners are great trucks. I have 2 friends that drive them daily and love these trucks. I have a Jeep Liberty 3.7L 4x4 for my rain/snow/utility vehicle, a reasonably torquey and reliable rig, but not nearly the quality and finish of the Toyota.

Faymester

(edit: ooo I'm late to this but I'll put my 2 cents in anyhow )

Congrats indeed

Satrun is an often overlooked brand which I always think is unfortunate because their cars aren't actually bad.

ObsidianRX

Just an FYI, BMW does not credit you back at turn-in if you're under miles. The most I've heard them doing is extending a wear & tear credit of a few hundred bucks as goodwill. My leased 135 will be returned with at least the full 36K miles on it, more if needed and I have to buy a few more in advance at the discounted rate.

Great deal on the Aura BTW!

Threxx

Well right now it's looking like I'll owe them a few hundred bucks in wear in tear. Actually they want to charge me $600 for a brand new wind shield because I have a tiny 'peck' in the glass (like 1/2 the size of a pencil eraser!) but I am hoping I can get that repaired and have them leave me alone about it.

So you're saying I may be able to bypass some of those charges then in the form of an 'under mileage' credit?

I'm going to call BMWFS and ask them what it's worth to them or if I should just go on a road trip.

Thanks for the compliment on the deal.