Introduction
Saturn Aura Green Line – 2007 Review: There’s a lesson we all learn as adults: If you’re going to be late, you sure as heck better have a good excuse. The culprits are usually traffic, disagreeable kids, or maybe one of those frequent chainsaw accidents. Whatever it is, the offender promises to make up for it by working late, rubbing someone’s feet, or opening up his wallet…wide. Since those approaches aren’t appropriate, Saturn will need to come up its own ideas on how to compensate for the tardy and unimpressive arrival of the 2007 Aura Green Line, a four-cylinder hybrid sedan that offers lower real-world fuel economy than any of its primary competitors.
What We Drove
While shoppers can get a 2007 Saturn AURA Green Line for as little as $22,695, including a $650 destination charge, our Berry Red test car was priced a bit higher. There are only three options for the Green Line, including a power sunroof that goes for $800, an engine heater that’ll set you back $50, and what we found on our example, a $375 Preferred Package. That relatively paltry sum adds an eight-way power driver’s seat, steering wheel controls, and heated mirrors. The grand total of this particular Aura, supplied by Saturn for testing purposes, came to a very reasonable $23,070.
Performance
Unlike the Honda Accord Hybrid, the Saturn Aura Green Line has not been designed with blistering performance in mind. The four-cylinder engine, paired with a four-speed automatic transmission, offers barely adequate power and makes this Aura a snooze to drive. In comparison, the base Aura XE pushes 224 horses and weighs only 50 pounds more, though it also offers EPA ratings of 20 mpg city and 30 mpg highway. The Green Line, on the other hand, is rated at 28 city/35 highway. After a week of driving, we averaged only 22.3 mpg, with a peak of 32 mpg during a lengthy highway run.2008