Threxx

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...hotopanel..2.*

I opened this review honestly hoping to hear some good news about the new Saturn that GM is so confident in.

I didn't get what I was hoping for...

Maybe something was wrong with the car, but the observed fuel economy was dismal... worse than 25% less than the other two, plus dismal acceleration performance to boot...

Eric77TA

It's difficult to compare the Aura with those two cars head to head and hope it would come out looking good in comparison. The Aura essentially just turns off the motor at stops then uses the battery pack to spin the engine back up. It doesn't ever run on straight battery power like the Toyota or the "Toyota Inside™" Nissan. However, at $7,000 cheaper than either I think it can be somewhat forgiven for being lower tech.

My wife has a VUE GL with the same system and she averages more than 28 mpg in mixed driving. You'd think a lighter Aura sedan could do better. Nonetheless, GM needs a true full hybrid system sooner rather than later.

97z28/m6

they need the dual-mode hybrid system.

Threxx

How much cheaper is it when comparably equipped to the other two, though?

It probably can do better than 28... those magazine testers always beat on those cars and bring out the worst mileage in them, though they do tend to beat on them fairly equally, so you can assume if one of them could be better, they could all be better.

Tackleberry

Equipping them as comparably as I possibly could, I came up with the following MSRP's.

Aura hybrid
$23,070

Camry hybrid
$26,890 (note that this has a much nicer audio package than the aura as standard equipment)

Altima hybrid
over $30,000 (note that this has many more options than the other two becuase it automatically has a $4400 option package added on and I could not get rid of it)

FS3800

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do.../pageId=127066

that score sheet is ridiculous.. so much of that is subjective stuff

Threxx

I've read that for 2008 they're dropping the JBL audio package and one small other item that the Aura probably doesn't have either and the price will drop $1000.

Meaning I guess the difference in price will become $2800 instead of $3800, plus whatever other differences remain between them.

It doesn't take long at all to make up 2800 dollars in difference between the two cars considering the difference in mileage.

Yes, but so much about cars is impossible to make objective.

Not to mention the #1 factor when doing a test of hybrids is probably fuel economy.

routesixtysixer

About 100,000 miles at $2.80 per gallon.

HAZ-Matt

I wonder how many years it would be if you got a regular 2.4L Aura compared to the Altima hybrid.

CheshireCat

At $3 a gallon. I couldn't justify the premium for a Hybrid unless the government was giving most of it back in tax credits...

The annual fuel savings just aren't big enough...

Silverado C-10

Here's an interesting article on the tax credits, basically, Toyota is almost out of them. GM and Ford still have plenty to give.

http://autos.msn.com/advice/article....tentid=4023711

Z28x

Aura Hybrid is a mild hybrid. Vue will have mild and 2 stage full hybrid versions.

FS3800

i think it's fine that the Aura's fuel economy numbers are a lot lower than the Altima and Camry.. it's a mild hybrid, and is a lot more affordable than the other two cars.. what i don't find acceptable is the fact that the Aura is so sluggish in acceleration and handling.. dissapointing.

wasnt the regular aura praised for it's handling, etc?

also.. i wonder if the EPA's tests include a lot of stop and go type driving.. i think in that area the Aura would post much better city mpg numbers..considering it shuts off the engine while stopped... i wonder how much stopping and going Edmunds did in its tests

Eric77TA

I'm curious about this myself. Aura doesn't have a non-hybrid 2.4 option, but the 2008 Malibu will have the 2.4 with a 6 speed auto. It wouldn't surprise me if it could equal the Aura.

I'll give GM some credit for trying. We bought my wife's Vue GL mainly because it was the cheapest Vue on the lot with traction control and ABS. The fact that it gets mileage equal to the much smaller Vibe we had previously is a nice bonus.

I'd like to see the GM mild hybrid system on all of their bread and butter sedans. Just stopping the engine at lights offers measurable gas savings.

I'm really curious to see what the two mode can do in the Tahoe. Rumor is that it could cost as much as 10,000 more, though. Nonetheless, there was an article in the Auto section of the KC Star not that long ago with a preview of the system and while they weren't allowed to measure mileage, they were showing 28 mpg on the on board computer. If they can get even close to that, I bet people will pay, no problem!

Eric77TA

While it still won't set the world on fire, Car and Driver got 0-60 in 9.4 seconds - which is significantly faster than the Edmunds test. However, they only got 23 MPG!

Softer tires would probably help handling a lot. The GL comes with really hard tires to try and eke out every last tenth of an MPG.