The Green Line, Aura's Hybrid Version

Anthony Fontanelle
June 16, 2007

General Motors has been making an effort to revitalize the previously unpopular Saturn brand. The Detroit car manufacturer injected new vehicles to the brand’s lineup as well as providing fuel efficient vehicles to Saturn loyalists. The Saturn Aura has recently been named the 2007 North American Car of the Year and its popularity is steadily growing as it challenges the supremacy of the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry in the midsize sedan segment.

To help the Aura compete with the Camry and Accord, General Motors saw it fit to introduce a hybrid version of the Aura which is called the Saturn Aura green Line. One of its direct competitions, the Honda Accord Hybrid will be discontinued meaning it will take on the Camry Hybrid head to head. One of the Aura Green Line’s advantages over the Camry Hybrid is that it costs less.

This means that while the Saturn Aura Green Line may not have the same fuel efficiency as the Camry Hybrid, its lower price makes up for the disparity in fuel consumption cost.

Compared to its base model, the Aura Green Line costs $2,000 more. The clear advantage that the Aura Green Line has over the base Aura XE is the fuel efficiency. Compared to the upscale Aura XR trim, the Green Line costs $2,000 less. The advantage, of course, of the Green Line is again its fuel efficiency although the Aura XR comes loaded with standard features which are optional to the Green Line.

According to Saturn, the Aura Green Line has a starting price of $22,000. The power behind the Green Line comes from a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with a power output of 164 horsepower. The internal combustion engine is coupled to a four-speed automatic transmission and an electric motor which provides the additional power demand.

According to car experts, the Aura Green Line benefits from its European styling which is the result of General Motors’ relationship with Opel. The Aura’s handling is responsive and the suspension setting provides a comfortable ride. In terms of styling, the Aura is a car pleasing to look at. Its headlight configuration gives it a welcoming look especially if fitted with Saturn headlight cover. In fact, some experts in the industry claim that the Aura is more of a European vehicle than a General Motors car.

One drawback seen with the Aura Green Line is its readily-downshifting transmission. With the automatic gearbox, the Saturn Aura Green Line has respectable acceleration from a stationary position. But for higher speeds, the driver should literally push the pedal to the metal to increase the car’s speed. Any lull to the pressure applied to the accelerator pedal would mean a downshift for the automatic transmission.

Another problem with the transmission is that it does not offer smooth gear changes. While the transmission does not necessarily produce seat-jarring gear changes, it does not also give silky smooth gear changes.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Aura Green Line can travel six miles on a gallon of gasoline more than the XE trim level of the Aura. That can be translated to savings of approximately $500 on fuel consumption cost for every 15,000 miles traveled. The Aura Green Line though only has a “mild hybrid” powertrain which means that it cannot run on electric motor power alone even on low-power operations. This results to a lower fuel-efficiency as compared to the Camry Hybrid.

Source:  Amazines.com