2007 Saturn Aura XR
Source: CNET
The 2007 Saturn Aura really wants to be a European sport/luxury sedan, but its attempts fall short. It has a fairly beefy high-tech engine and paddle shifters for its six-speed automatic, which make up the sport part of the equation. However, its unruly drive train delivers more power than the car can handle. Although not really a tech feature, plastic-molded faux-stitched-leather door panels horrified us and pretend to luxury in the worst possible way.
Other than the above criticisms, the Aura is a solid sedan comparable to the Buick Lucerne. The handling has a heavy feel, akin to a muscle car. The cabin electronics are GM-standard, with an unspectacular but workable, MP3-friendly, in-dash six-disc changer and a convenient auxiliary input jack. Niceties such as phone connectivity and navigation are left to OnStar.
Questionable interior design
The Aura's cabin is roomy, as befits Saturn's largest sedan. In an attempt to look luxurious, surfaces are covered with glossy plastic intended to look like wood, which is passable, and the aforementioned molded plastic panels in the door, which attempt to match the seats with a stitched leather look. The result doesn't fool anyone, and we don't know why Saturn would even try. The panels also felt a little loose in our review car, which doesn't bode well for long-term durability. The rubberized material over the dashboard is nice, though.
The major tech element in the cabin is the stereo. Its monochrome amber, dot-matrix display isn't very modern, but its six-disc in-dash changer is. The CD changer handles MP3 discs and does a good job of showing ID3 tag information, letting you choose to view the song title, the artist, the album, or the folder name. XM satellite radio is optional with this stereo. One particularly nice feature of this stereo is that it can hold up to six pages with six presets on each. The stereo also has an auxiliary input jack in its face, a convenient feature for hooking up an MP3 player or an iPod.
2007 Saturn Aura XR Pictures and Specifications
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General Information
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Year
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2007
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Manufacturer
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Saturn
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Model
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Aura
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Trim
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XR
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Body Type
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Sedan
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Base MSRP
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under $22,763
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Curb Weight
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3,647 lbs.
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Engine / Transmission
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Type
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3.6 Liter V6
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Cylinders
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6
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Horsepower
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252 bhp @ 6300 rpm
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Torque
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251 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm
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Redline
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N/A
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Drive Train
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Front Wheel Drive
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Gear Type
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6-Speed Automatic
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Performance
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0-60 mph
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N/A
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0-100 mph
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N/A
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¼ Mile
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N/A
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Top Speed
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N/A
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Gas Mileage
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20 mpg City / 28 mpg Highway
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