2007 Saturn Aura XE from North America - Comments

Driver's seat had indentation in cushion.

Both front struts making noise over mild bumps.

Rear trunk lid out of line.

Inside Panels on door handles all worn.

Right blinker switch not working.

Steering shaft had to be re-adjusted.

This is my first Saturn and the Aura has good power, but I see improvements. I did a lot of reviewing cars before buying the Aura and looked at Nissan's, Honda Accord's and many other models.

What caught my eye about the Aura was its looks, at first I thought it was an Acura with the sleek body design and shape. After test driving the Aura I was impressed with the power and it appeared to have a pretty comfortable ride. I have only had my car going on four months now and it has been pretty reliable. Aside from the issues noted above the car has ran well. All of the problems reported have now been fixed by Saturn under the remaining factor warranty, but not without some headaches.

First, I had to take the car to the Saturn dealership over seven times and of course each time they could not find or "duplicate" the issues reported. The last and most recent thing to be fixed were the front strut mounts, for some reason the factory installed mounts appear to wear out quickly and I did purchase the car used with higher miles (rental car) so I knew there would be some things that were worn down. I ended up having to file a complaint with Saturn's Corporate office just to get the issue with the struts resolved and come to find out this is a problem with the Aura. Not only will the struts make an annoying thumping noise over mild bumps, but Saturn refuses to make a recall for them, even with all the complaints. I am not implying the Aura is a bad car, but it does have its flaws. I wish I could have afforded a Toyota Camry or Avalon, but for the price range I was trying to stay within the Aura seemed to be the best deal and I liked its looks. I do compliment Saturn on designing a nice car, but the Aura could use some improvements in several departments such as better seats, rear seating air vents, five speed automatic transmission and better gas mileage. Since owning the car I am averaging around 17-20 mpg in the city and about 28 mpg on the highway, not bad, but the Aura is very thirsty in the city.

All in all I would say the Aura is a decent car and fun to drive with great looks, but Saturn and GM need to make more standard features to compete with the likes of Toyota and Honda and even Hyundai, but it is what it is. I am thinking about trading the car in about a year and getting a something else with more luxury and a smoother ride, The Aura's ride is a bit "rough" for my taste, but not the worst I have experienced in all of the test drives I did before buying the Aura.

The Aura, from all I've read, is designed to be a family car with sporting intentions (if not pretensions). That is why the ride is stiffer than the Camry. The Camry is the softest sprung car in the upper part of the segment. It is considered a true loafer. That's why the Aura doesn't ride like a Camry. As for standard equipment, the Aura has Honda and Toyota solidly beat at any comparable price point. Some of the problems you mentioned are perhaps because of its previous life as a rental. I say that because the XE model has been reasonably reliable according to Consumer Reports. I own a new Altima but strongly considered an Aura. Unfortunately the nearest dealer is 130 miles away.