Saturn's on a roll
Scoring more than double the points of its nearest midsize competitor, Saturn's Aura front-wheel-drive, four-door sedan started 2007 off with a bang, being honoured as "North American Car of the Year."
So how do you keep scoring points with critics and customers?
If you're Saturn, you introduce a "mild" hybrid version of your award-wining mid-size sedan and slap a Green Line badge on its flanks for good measure.
Near full-hybrid economy, without the hybrid premium pricing
With fuel consumption forecasted at 8.5/6.2 L/100 km city/highway, Saturn says the Aura Green Line gets 25% better mileage than a standard $24,990 224 h.p. V6 Aura XE. Yet the Green Line costs only $2,300 more.
Admittedly, the Saturn can't match its competitor's full-hybrid consumption ratings. And it doesn't qualify for any of the federal government's ecoAUTO rebates.
Rebates, or not, the Saturn's $27,290 base price undercuts the Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima hybrids significantly by $4,610 and $5,708 respectively (the Honda Accord Hybrid's 253 h.p. V6 and $38,090 pricing put it in another league).
The Aura's aggressive pricing will allow Saturn dealers to have the lowest priced mid-size hybrid sedan on the Canadian market.
I recently had the chance to be the first Canadian automotive journalist to drive the Aura Green Line. A day of mixed urban and suburban driving through the heart of the city of Toronto, ending up north in Barrie, Ontario, would be a real-world test of the Aura's long distance commuter car capabilities.
Under the Aura Green Line's hood is what parent General Motors calls a "mild-hybrid." It's the same system found in the current Saturn Vue cute-ute. A combination of a 2.4-litre four-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor-generator, the electric motor engages for extra urge only when called upon.
Scoring more than double the points of its nearest midsize competitor, Saturn's Aura front-wheel-drive, four-door sedan started 2007 off with a bang, being honoured as "North American Car of the Year."
So how do you keep scoring points with critics and customers?
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| Very few visual cues distinguish the Green Line from the regular Aura. |
If you're Saturn, you introduce a "mild" hybrid version of your award-wining mid-size sedan and slap a Green Line badge on its flanks for good measure.
Near full-hybrid economy, without the hybrid premium pricing
With fuel consumption forecasted at 8.5/6.2 L/100 km city/highway, Saturn says the Aura Green Line gets 25% better mileage than a standard $24,990 224 h.p. V6 Aura XE. Yet the Green Line costs only $2,300 more.
Admittedly, the Saturn can't match its competitor's full-hybrid consumption ratings. And it doesn't qualify for any of the federal government's ecoAUTO rebates.
Rebates, or not, the Saturn's $27,290 base price undercuts the Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima hybrids significantly by $4,610 and $5,708 respectively (the Honda Accord Hybrid's 253 h.p. V6 and $38,090 pricing put it in another league).
The Aura's aggressive pricing will allow Saturn dealers to have the lowest priced mid-size hybrid sedan on the Canadian market.
I recently had the chance to be the first Canadian automotive journalist to drive the Aura Green Line. A day of mixed urban and suburban driving through the heart of the city of Toronto, ending up north in Barrie, Ontario, would be a real-world test of the Aura's long distance commuter car capabilities.
Under the Aura Green Line's hood is what parent General Motors calls a "mild-hybrid." It's the same system found in the current Saturn Vue cute-ute. A combination of a 2.4-litre four-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor-generator, the electric motor engages for extra urge only when called upon.
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| General Motors' mild-hybrid mill produces 164 hp and 159 lb/ft of torque. |