[ciciusss]

Originally Posted by mkaresh

Turning circle varies directly with wheelbase, all else being equal. Since the Aura has a long wheelbase...

I drove an XR today. Much more impressed with the chassis than I expected to be. While not quite fun, it feels very solid and composed, like that of a premium car. The ride is never harsh, yet the car never wallows over bumpy pavement, either. Tuning is pretty much exactly as it should be for the intended buyer. Torque steer was only evident with a lot of throttle at low speeds, and even then there wasn't much of it.

I did not note much road noise. On the highway noise levels were about equal to a Camry, so pretty low but not amazingly so.

I drove a 2007 G6 convertible a few weeks ago, and noted a similar feel. Maybe it's in my head, but I think they might have retuned the suspension and steering of the G6 for 2007. While the steering still isn't crisp, and the car still feels large and heavy, the steering seems to react more quickly than it used to right off center.

Negatives:

1. Shoddy interior (they haven't learned how to avoid this yet). The styling is pretty mainstream, with a couple interesting details, but the execution is lacking. Details to come when I post my full review. One for now: the door-to-dash gap on the left side is so tight a credit card won't fit into it. But the same gap on the right side is quite wide--about a quarter-inch--and the trim doesn't come close to lining up. This was the case with both cars I examined.

The TL has a much higher quality interior. Of course, it also costs much more.

2. Seats a bit flat and slippery, provide no lateral support

3. Unresponsive transmission, even when using the buttons. This can make the engine feel weak and lethargic. Sometimes in fifth or sixth it seemed like the transmission wasn't even in gear, pushing the accelerator initially yielded no response.

But get the transmission into the right gear, and the engine feels about as strong as those in the competition. Sadly, 252 horsepower isn't what it used to be. Five years ago and it would have been outstanding. Now it's just price of entry.

2 & 3 will generally only be issues for enthusiasts.

Michael,

I'm glad you finally were able to go out and drive the Aura. While I disagree with you frequently, I find you to be one of the more knowledgeable and fair minded car guys out there.

I noticed you did not care much for the interior and complained about fit and finish. It seems there is much disagreement on this point. Some reviews, such as Motor Trend and Road and Track rate it very highly. Others, such as Car and Driver were critical of the Aura's fit and finish. The several Aura's that I were able to look at I found the fit and finish to be generally good.

I believe on this point, many reviewers are being very picky. I was in a 2007 Toyota Camry SE today. My opinion was that it has an attractive interior and fit and finish was very good. I did, however, find some misaligned pieces. Yes, the Camry uses plenty of hard plastic in it's interior. But then, that is pretty much true of this category. As long as it's attractive and the places I'm going to place my elbow is soft, I truly don't get up in arms about it. As I said in another post, if you want to see fit and finish issues go take a look at the Impala (not the 2006). I have one as a G Ride as does many of my co-workers. There are many other notable examples I could point out since we have a fairly large fleet.

On the transmission, the Aura XR shifted swiftly and smoothly when I took it out. Maybe it was with the one you took out and drove. Again, most reviews have been quite favorable on the Aura's drivetrain (particularly the XR).

The seats, I like. I found them comfortable and fairly supportive.

As for the 252 HP. This is plenty for a FWD car. Much more and you bring torque steer into the equation (the TL, particularly the manual suffers from this). Plus, most people don't know what to do with much more HP than using it in a straight line.

My opinion, and as I wrote in another post, based on my experience driving many different cars, having gone through many different driving schools (most of them LE schools) and the fact that I'm currently assigned at a training facility and have access to many cars that I can flog the hell out of at our facility, is that the Aura for it's category has pretty high handling limits. It is, for it's category a very competitive car.

I look forward to your review.