Page 2 of 6

2007 Saturn Aura Greenline Hybrid – Ride and Handling

Handling
Hop behind the wheel and you just might be surprised, not by this hybrid’s razor-sharp handling (it’s not there), but by how well it tackles the road with its 16-inch Uniroyal Tiger Paw tires. This is a comfortable cruiser, doing its best to pave a smooth surface over rough asphalt, offering a pleasant if not overly responsive feel through the steering wheel, keeping the occupants isolated from all the work going on under the skin. Our main complaint focuses on the brakes, which in typical hybrid fashion, are difficult to modulate. The batteries use braking power as one way to recharge, so slowing or stopping can be more abrupt than anticipated.

Fun to Drive
In a “Let’s see how efficient we can be!” sort of way, the Aura Green Line can be fun, at least for some of you out there. We just don’t happen to fall under that category, and guesses are that, realistically, few shoppers will be giddy with the thought of getting 30+ mpg on the highway in a four-cylinder sedan. That’s not much of a stretch, if at all, from many comparable non-hybrid models on the road already, and is quite common for sedans that measure just a bit smaller.