IN A NUTSHELL: The only metal-bodied Saturn I ever had any serious interest in.

Some people think I write and talk too much about Saturn, so, for this one, I’m going to keep it (by my standards) a little shorter than usual this time, for several reasons. But I did want to mention this car and give it some credit. First, the Aura was the only product offered by the Division, after the demise of the superb S-series compacts, that I had any real interest in. Second, it combined the excellence of the 7th-Generation Chevy Malibu (also the only post-1972 version of the Malibu that I really liked) with Saturn’s customer-friendly sales and service policies….the Aura was a near-twin of the Malibu. Third, I liked the car enough that, had it not been marketed in the way it was, there was a good chance I would have bought one.

As stated, after 2000/2001, when GM’s marketing bozos decided to shift the Saturn Division from the unique S-series to what turned out to be simply rebooted or re-engineered versions of Opels and/or other GM platforms, I was not a very happy camper. The Ion was something that most husbands probably would not even give to their Mother-in-Law. The mid-sized L-series had too many compromises and were poorly-built, with a lot of assembly-line goofs at the Wilmington, DE plant. The First-Generation VUE drove and felt like novocaine. The Relay minivan and Outlook crossover SUV were Ho-Hum machines at best. The Opel-clone Astra was solid and well-built, but was dull inside and had what was IMO a poorly-designed dash. The Sky two-seat roadster was interesting, but, even then, was basically just a mildly-restyled version of the Pontic Solstice roadster, and both, unlike their Mazda-Miata competition, had a relatively difficult-to-raise-and-lower folding-top. Saturn dealers also took advantage of the Sky’s supply/demand by attaching high-profit dealer/factory accessories to pump up the profit margin, since, unlike with the Solstice, they weren’t allowed to sell the car itself over factory-list.

However, when the Aura came out in 2006 (for the 2007 model year), and I went down to look at it, I liked it despite its steel-body panels, and was willing to forgive some of Saturn’s recent marketing-sins. I had already taken a look at the 7th-Generation Malibu, and also liked it. The Aura was more or less the same car, except for yellow-orange colored dash-lighting instead of the Malibu’s ice-blue lighting (I much preferred the ice-blue, which Buicks of the period were also using), some sightly different interior trim, and slightly different grille/headlights. Like the Malibu, the Aura’s Munchkin rear-seat headroom was a significant problem for tall people…but that didn’t affect me, since I was always up front and didn’t often carry people in back. Both the Malibu and Aura of that period (which were built on the same assembly line) seemed reasonably well-built, especially compared to some other recent Chevys and Saturns. Aura were offered in three versions…XE, XR, and Green Line Hybrid…Saturn did not do a performance-oriented Red Line on the Aura, like with some other models.

I took a 4-cylinder Aura XE out on a test drive, and generally liked it except for the noisy and unrefined four-cylinder typical of GM. Even then, enough sound insulation was put into it that it was not too objectionable. But the 3.6L V6 in the XR (which I also test-drove) was no comparison…it was like an electric motor. But there is where the problem lay. Like a number of other manufacturers, Saturn would not sell the V6 XR models with the softer/smoother tires/suspension of the base four-cylinder models. So, you had the choice of an easy-riding four with more engine noise (and less power), and a much silkier V6 version that bumped you around more on the road. IMO, it was not a happy choice……and it ended up a deal-breaker for me. I (later) looked briefly at Kia’s mid-sized Optima sedan, which, at the time, in the EX Turbo, DID offer the turbo engine with the softer/easier-riding standard suspension from the base model, but a relatively short time later, Kia cancelled the EX Turbo and only sold the turbo power plant on the more sport-oriented top-line SX version and its firmer tires/underpinnings. Eventually, though, I wound up waiting for Buick's then-new Verano. Translation, in Plain English: I don’t mind having a little extra power (although I’m not a speed-freak by any means)…but I DO NOT like a stiff-riding vehicle. Too often (but not always), power comes with suspension-stiffness.

The Aura, unfortunately, did not say in production very long, not because it wasn’t a good car (it was)…but because Saturn itself bit the dust when GM filed for bankruptcy in 2008-2009. By the terms of the reorganization/buyout, Saturn, Pontiac, Hummer, and Saab were axed and went off into the sunset….following that of Oldsmobile several years earlier.

And, as Always, Happy Car-Memories.

MM

 

Featured in perhaps the last Saturn advertisement to hit the airwaves, the Aura was the swan song for a brand that lost its way and folded shortly afterward.

 

That's probably because the Aura was arguably the only Saturn product, after the S-series were gone, that gave a commercial like that any credibility. Had it not been marketed the way it was, I might have bought one.

 

I really like this car. It came out when I first got my driver’s license and I drove my mom’s Saturn SL2 at the time. I liked looking at the Aura whenever we took the SL2 to the dealership to get service done. It looked so nice. I thought the Sky was the only other cool Saturn from that era.

I never got to drive one but it was fun sitting inside and playing with the buttons. With how barebones my mom’s SL2 was, the Aura felt like a spaceship when I was 17, as silly as that sounds.

 

If you got to drive a 7th-Generation Chevy Malibu, the Aura XE was quite similar. The more stiffly-spring Aura XR, with the V6, rode a little more firmly.

That was the generation, BTW, that the Malibu, after decades of being a Rental-Grade-Special, finally became a first-class GM product.

 

I always thought those cars are pretty good, same as the Outlook.....btw, the 3.6 is the one I'd go w/ it. To me it kinda seemed like Saturn division was moving to be right above the Chev models......

 

Totally agree the 3.6L was a much better powerplant than the less-refined four....but the marketers screwed it up by restricting it to only the stiffer / more sport-oriented tires and underpinnings on the XR model.

Saturn was not the only manufacturer to do that, BTW.