Aura Green Line: GM's hybrid cost cutter

Saturn's hybrid sedan costs less than other hybrid cars, but it's not worth as much either.

Saturn Aura Green Line: Simplicity
The Saturn Aura sedan is a good looking, nice driving car. The Green Line version trades some of the performance appeal for better fuel economy.
Saturn Aura Green Line: Simplicity
Cost: Prices start at about $22,000

Drivetrain: 2.4-liter, 164 horsepower, 4-cylinder engine with four-speed automatic transmission and electric motor assist.

Fuel economy: 24 mpg city, 32 highway (based on revised EPA testing methods)

Possibly the biggest thing the Aura Green Line has going for it is that it's a Saturn Aura. The Aura is a handsome car that handles and drives more like a European sedan than a typical GM car.

But with its 4-cylinder engine and smaller wheels wrapped in low-rolling-resistance tires, the Aura Green Line loses much of the power and pleasure that marks the top-line Aura. The Green Line just isn't fun to drive, and the Aura's relatively heavy steering, which feels right on a car with more gusto, feels out of place and annoying here.

The Green Line 's engine is noisy when pushed hard, and the car often feels underpowered - or at least hesitant to use what power it has. It's quick enough from a standing start, but if you need to go from, say, a slow-moving highway lane into a fast one, the Green Line's transmission won't downshift until you mash the gas pedal all the way to the carpet.

I got used to that, though. Once I learned what was needed for some get-up-and-go, l just smashed the pedal whenever I needed passing power. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.


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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.