Sat in my first Aura

[Polish_Kris]

Havn't had a chance to drive it yet, cause the dealership was closing, however my overall impressions were alright.. the pric tag is pretty high, $24,500, starting for a domestic that wants to win over sales from Camry and Accord, pricing it at exacalty the same price, is not a good idea... I would think like starting it at 19 or 20 is more reasonable... the interior plastics are nice and soft (finally)... however once you start to feel the secondary plastics below the steering wheel around the radio, the cheapness of a Cobalt's interior is felt (sit in it for yourself and you'll know what I'm talking about, the top black plastics are nice and soft, and the lower lighter-coloured ones, and cheap and hard) However, it's comfotable, the interior looks like it came on the market three years too late, but at least it's alright... still gotta test-drive it, all I could say, is it's a huge improvement over the Malibu, but I'll write up a follow-up after I take a test-drive...

[GMTruckGuy74]

The wife and I sat in a white XE and a Techno Gray XR last Sunday (dealership left the doors unlocked!?!). I was very impressed with the AURA, as I pretty much fihgured I would be. The XR is on my "must have" list - if the wife would let me trade in the '04 Malibu, I would in a heartbeat for the AURA XR. However, I wonder if a RED LINE model will be available soon, and what it will look like and what features it will offer over the XR. That is one reason why I haven't talked the wife into trading in the Malibu just yet.

The only problem I noted sitting in the driver's seat was that on the B-pillar is a piece of triangular-shaped plastic (not small) that sticks out and I constantly hit it with my elbow. The G6 sedan and my Malibu sedan doesn't have it, I know it's design is a continuation of the door panel, but I'm not sure if I like that or not.

I read in the MT article that the door panels have ambient lighting at night - I'm curious to check this out. Anyone test drive the AURA at night yet?

[PurdueGuy]

I found driving it much more impressive than sitting in it. It responded very well when I goosed it at 80. Though not quite as well as the Ion Red Line I inadvertently had at 100 on the interstate today.

[traderchpl]

I found driving it much more impressive than sitting in it. 

I agree. We drove the car (XR) last week, and it does drive absolutely wonderful for a midsize FWD car. There are a few nitpicks, though.

The center console that Jill Ladjiak (sp?) said caused a delay in production, so that it could be upgraded, needs far more "upgrading." It's wobbly, creaky, and cheap feeling.

And the woodgrain from the dash lines up in a weird way with the woodgrain piece on the door (just like we saw in those early interior pics).

That said, we still liked the car quite a bit, and we were ready to lease it. (GM sent us a $2000 coupon to get out of our Chrysler lease a few months early).

But, the lease payment was $100 higher/month than our $36,000-MSRP-Chrysler lease. In other words, the lease payment we were quoted was well into Saab 9-3 territory. The Aura is a great car, but it's no Saab 9-3

(If we had a Saab dealer here in Tallahassee, I probably would have gone over and applied the (now-expired) coupon.)

[HarleyEarl]

Regarding the uneven alignment of the dash and door wood trim....I just can't believe that GM/Saturn is not sweating the details like this! I noticed it too in the earlier photos. Something so obvious can turn people off....it just drives me crazy that GM still let's things like this slide. And why they are using this crap in Saturn interiors is beyond me. Youthful people hate the stuff.

Edited September 10, 2006 by HarleyEarl

[rueben44]

Regarding the uneven alignment of the dash and door wood trim....I just can't believe that GM/Saturn is not sweating the details like this!  I noticed it too in the earlier photos.  Something so obvious can turn people off....it just drives me crazy that GM still let's things like this slide.  And why they are using this crap in Saturn interiors is beyond me.  Youthful people hate the stuff.

191677[/snapback]

Sat in a few and have driven a one XR and the trim lined up in the cars that I experienced. Those that say hey it is 24K and priced like a Toyota are not looking at the details. Cars have options and features that cost and when you look at what the Aura offers compared with a 24K Toyota or Honda you will see that it is a great deal. The base car with the 4 speed and smaller engine is 20K and that is cheap enough for a V6 they should not give it away. Anyway it drove just like a Euro car and was really nice. I have to say I like the satin finish more than the wood though.

[PurdueGuy]

I only saw the faux-metal trim, and it was lined up right on all that I saw. The only thing I noticed is that there is enough of an angle change to that trim between the door & dash that, though it's lined up right, the angle difference catches light differently and sometimes makes the trim look 2 different colors. But that's just being uber-picky...

I think I'm going to be watching how these first year models do (if they have to work any major bugs out), and if they're solid, pick one up used in about a year.