Strolling into the parking lot to hop in the Aura at the end of the day, we noticed our Aura Green Line was red. A red Green Line? How about a Red Green line: If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.
The Red Green Show was a Canadian parody of home-improvement and outdoor shows that ran on CBC and PBS from 1991 to 2006. Main character Red Green was known for his nuggets of humble wit.
What would Red think of the Aura Green Line? Well, the people have spoken and they already seem to think the Aura is a handsome car. We do. Red, what if the women do find you handsome? Does that mean you dont have to be handy, then?
Good for the Aura Green Line, because the mild hybrid powertrain in this car is not particularly handy at either acceleration or saving fuel. This is the same drivetrain that powers the Saturn Vue Green Line, and not the sort of hybrid that will whoosh around on nothing but electric power. Rather, the electric motor spins the accessory drive when the Aura is stopped, allowing the gasoline engine to shut down when stationary. When the driver takes his or her foot off the brake pedal, the engine starts back up.
GM says that this sort of mild hybrid, although it saves less fuel than a full hybrid, is a cheaper way to hybrid enlightenment, which is correct. With a base price of just $22,695, this is the cheapest hybrid on the market today, but just barely. The Aura only undercuts the Toyota Prius by $100. Our example came with just one option, the $375 Preferred Package, which includes a power driver seat, power mirrors, and steering wheel audio controls.
All hybrids do the start/stop trick, but in most the action is (almost) transparent, and the driver has to pay close attention to notice the engine starting and stopping. In our long-term Lexus RX400h, often the only way to tell if the engine was running or not was to look at the power-flow display on the navigation/information screen. All you have to do to tell if the Aura Green Line is running or not is to be in it, since the 2.4-liter four-cylinder is as smooth and quiet as a riot in a minefield.
Since we dont spend much of our time idling in traffic here in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this hybrid solution netted less-than-spectacular results for the Aura Green Lines fuel economy numbers. We averaged 23 mpg, only 3 mpg better than a V-6 Aura and a number were sure Saturn would rather we didnt report. Granted, that number includes our track-testing session and flogging the car from every stop just to hear the poor 2.4 suffer, but every car we test must protect its petroleum reserves against the same onslaught.
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