Saturn Hybrid Sedan Saves Little Fuel; Costs More

[Ming]

Aura a hybrid for those born to be mild; Saturn sedan saves little fuel and costs more
Posted By Jim Kenzie
Brantford Expositor
4/24/08

The Saturn Aura was chosen North American Car of the Year for 2007, and with good reason. (Full disclosure: I voted for it.)

It is a gorgeous car with lots of room, a fine interior, good performance, and excellent ride and handling.

In practice, the Saturn Aura Hybrid is perhaps the least weird-feeling vehicle in the hybrid field.

It looks normal on the outside, apart from subtle badging, and inside it is almost identical to the regular Aura, apart from a couple of unique gauges on the dash.

One of those gauges is the Charge/Assist gauge, which tells you which way electric power is flowing - either to the front wheels or to the battery.

There is also the ECO light (in green, what else?), which glows when the car is operating at its peak efficiency. Part of the fun in driving this car is to keep the gauge pointing at "charge," and the little ECO light glowing cheerfully.

In operation, there is a small shudder as the engine stops and restarts, but there are none of the extra whirrs, wheezes and whines you hear in most hybrids. In the Aura, you turn it on, push the right pedal, and drive.

The main motive source is a 2.4 L twin-cam 16-valve four-cylinder - essentially the same as powers the base Aura, but retuned to produce 164 horsepower, 5 less than the conventional car.

It drives the front wheels through a conventional four-speed automatic transmission.

The hybrid operation is virtually seamless, although if you're running at around 80 km/h and want to toe in just a touch of extra power, the car seems reluctant to respond.

Hammer the pedal down and off you go, decently briskly.

Despite being quite large in displacement for a four, this engine runs smoothly and quietly: Saturn has added more sound deadening materials into Aura than most cars in this class.

There is some road noise, at least partly due to the low rolling resistance tires Saturn fits to the Hybrid variant, but it's not objectionable.

The suspension is European-influenced, hence firmer than usual for a domestic car. This translates into a confident ride and stable handling. The electric steering is particularly nice.

Other Aura Hybrid road-testers have commented that the regenerative braking tends to feel unnatural - you just lift and the car starts to decelerate faster than engine braking alone would do.

I can't say I really noticed it, although I did find the brake pedal too hard; it needed quite a shove to get the car stopped.

There's loads of room inside this car, front and back. Even the trunk is decently sized, which is another advantage of the mild hybrid, whose batteries tend to be smaller than those in full hybrids.

The seats are comfortable: I drove down to Detroit and back on consecutive days and arrived at both destinations nicely refreshed. Now, about those financial calculations. Transport Canada's little black book says the Aura Hybrid will cost $1,350 for fuel per year, while the regular four-cylinder Aura runs you $1,476, an annual savings of only $126.

This assumes 20,000 km of driving per year, a mix of 55 per cent city and 45 per cent highway and a price for a litre of fuel of 90 cents - if you find any of that, please let me know.

Applying a more realistic fuel price ($1.10) those numbers become $1,650 and $1,804 respectively.

One hundred and fifty-four bucks a year. Forty-one cents a day. Big deal.

The Hybrid costs $3,355 more than the regular base car ($27,575 versus $24,220). So it will pay for itself in only 21 years!

So, the chances of the Aura Hybrid ever justifying itself on an economic basis are slim to none.

Of course, there are other reasons for buying a hybrid. In the Aura's case you'll emit 336 fewer kilograms of carbon dioxide (3,936 versus 3,600 kg annually) into the atmosphere with the Hybrid. Is that worth three grand?

You may also want to feel you're "doing something for the environment" by boasting about your greenie car. But it's a marginal boon to the environment even so.

FULL Article: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/Art....aspx?e=999237

[Sinner]

Doesn't the prius take 13 years to break even? Until hybrids and even diesels cost the same as their gas counterparts there's no point in buying one.

[VCDJ]

This Bas system is a joke. You can get Altima 4 cylinder or new malibu with 6 speed that get same mpg. Who is stupid to buy this thing. Buy malibu and altima it will drive better and it will cost you less money and you will get same mpg. You really have to be stupid to buy this thing. This aura is like buying lexus LS hybrid its just stupid.

[GMC-70]

Originally Posted by Sinner

Doesn't the prius take 13 years to break even? Until hybrids and even diesels cost the same as their gas counterparts there's no point in buying one.

In those terms--yes there is no point in buying one. The real point in buying one is so that these hybrids can be produced in larger #'s which would hopefully bring the costs down as time goes by...

[VCDJ]

Originally Posted by Sinner

Doesn't the prius take 13 years to break even? Until hybrids and even diesels cost the same as their gas counterparts there's no point in buying one.

how do you figure that prius would take 13 years. IT cost about the same as mid size sedan and prius is mid size car. But it gets much better mpg then any other mid size car. Give credit where credit is due. Just because gm did not produce prius you do not have to say its bad. Find one car in America that will get better MPG then Prius and that you will pay around 23k ? waiting for your answer.

Even with upcoming Volt They are saying that they will try to keep it below 40k. Prius is a 23k car that most people can afford. How many people do you think will be able to afford volt if its 40k?

[Saturn69]

Originally Posted by VCDJ

This Bas system is a joke. You can get Altima 4 cylinder or new malibu with 6 speed that get same mpg. Who is stupid to buy this thing. Buy malibu and altima it will drive better and it will cost you less money and you will get same mpg. You really have to be stupid to buy this thing. This aura is like buying lexus LS hybrid its just stupid.

Oh here were go again...the great sage-like wisdom of VCDJ. Oy. The main reason hybrids exist is not to save money on gasoline but to lower CO2 emissions. Besides, when the Aura Hybrid came out, it had the highest EPA fuel economy rating of all the Epsilons and the 6-speed was in the 3.6L DOHC V6 models only. NOW you can get the 6sp with the 2.4, but until a few weeks ago, the Hybrid was the best for fuel economy. This is a Canadian article too, so the prices are going to be different (read: higher). Motor Trend did a test with the Aura Hybrid, the Camry Hybrid and the Altima-with-borrowed-Toyota-HSD and the Aura was the only one to actually save money on fuel, the others didn't. Again, look up some facts before you spout off a bunch of anti-GM crap, okay?

[Saturn69]

Originally Posted by VCDJ

how do you figure that prius would take 13 years. IT cost about the same as mid size sedan and prius is mid size car. But it gets much better mpg then any other mid size car. Give credit where credit is due. Just because gm did not produce prius you do not have to say its bad. Find one car in America that will get better MPG then Prius and that you will pay around 23k ? waiting for your answer.

A 2002 VW Jetta wagon, diesel 1.9L with 5sp manual. 45 Highway, for less than $23K.

2000 Honda Insight. 49C/61H. You can get one for about $15K.

[VCDJ]

Originally Posted by Saturn69

Oh here were go again...the great sage-like wisdom of VCDJ. Oy. The main reason hybrids exist is not to save money on gasoline but to lower CO2 emissions. Besides, when the Aura Hybrid came out, it had the highest EPA fuel economy rating of all the Epsilons and the 6-speed was in the 3.6L DOHC V6 models only. NOW you can get the 6sp with the 2.4, but until a few weeks ago, the Hybrid was the best for fuel economy. This is a Canadian article too, so the prices are going to be different (read: higher). Motor Trend did a test with the Aura Hybrid, the Camry Hybrid and the Altima-with-borrowed-Toyota-HSD and the Aura was the only one to actually save money on fuel, the others didn't. Again, look up some facts before you spout off a bunch of anti-GM crap, okay?

No matter how you put it. This hybrid is worthless just like that Lexus ls hybrid. Everybody here criticizes that car but here is aura hybrid. Same as lexus ls. You pay more and you get nothing in return. You get slower acceleration. Same as LS. Just admit it its crap. I know you love saturn but this is just stupid.

[zabolots]

BAS 2.0 will hopefully provide more of a benefit. I just wish it were here today rather than in 2010 (probably on the Opel Insignia when it's brought over as the new Aura).

[VCDJ]

Originally Posted by Saturn69

A 2002 VW Jetta wagon, diesel 1.9L with 5sp manual. 45 Highway, for less than $23K.

2000 Honda Insight. 49C/61H. You can get one for about $15K.

I asked right now? not five years ago. Can i buy jetta diesel now or Insight?
No i can not. SO you can not find any car that you can buy now that will get better mpg then prius.

[windvale]

Originally Posted by Sinner

Doesn't the prius take 13 years to break even? Until hybrids and even diesels cost the same as their gas counterparts there's no point in buying one.

How do you figure that ?

At $3.60 a gallon, 12,000 miles per year, the Prius will cost you about $960.
Other mid-size cars get about 25mpg, and will cost you about $1,728 per year in gas. So, if I'm doing my math right, the Prius is saving you about $768 per year - and that's assuming gas never goes up again... And the Prius cost about the same as most other mid-size cars, so there is no price differential to make up.

While GM is telling us that they have a "hybrid" Malibu/Aura (with their embarrasing 2 mpg increase) which no dealers near me have ever even seen, Toyota is selling the Prius faster than they can build them - and at full price too ! No wonder everybody on this site hates Toyota...

[windvale]

Originally Posted by Saturn69

A 2002 VW Jetta wagon, diesel 1.9L with 5sp manual. 45 Highway, for less than $23K.

Last time I checked, Diesel was about $1.00 more per gallon than gasoline. There goes the big savings...

[VCDJ]

Originally Posted by windvale

How do you figure that ?

At $3.60 a gallon, 12,000 miles per year, the Prius will cost you about $960.
Other mid-size cars get about 25mpg, and will cost you about $1,728 per year in gas. So, if I'm doing my math right, the Prius is saving you about $768 per year - and that's assuming gas never goes up again... And the Prius cost about the same as most other mid-size cars, so there is no price differential to make up.

While GM is telling us that they have a "hybrid" Malibu/Aura (with their embarrasing 2 mpg increase) which no dealers near me have ever even seen, Toyota is selling the Prius faster than they can build them - and at full price too ! No wonder everybody on this site hates Toyota...

Thank you for not being afraid to say the truth. LOL you will be called stupid and ignorant. Everybody will tell you that you have no clue what you are talking about. But truth must be told. LOL and it does not even get 2 mpg better. Malibu with 6 speeds get same mpg. That is how embarrasing that aura and malibu hybrids are..

[VCDJ]

Originally Posted by windvale

Last time I checked, Diesel was about $1.00 more per gallon than gasoline. There goes the big savings...

Plus you can not buy one right now. Because VW does not sell them currently so he has no argument. I do not know how can people say that prius is bad and then say Aura hybrid is great.

[windvale]

Originally Posted by Saturn69

A 2002 VW Jetta wagon, diesel 1.9L with 5sp manual. 45 Highway, for less than $23K.

2000 Honda Insight. 49C/61H. You can get one for about $15K.

No offense...but you embarrass yourself with answers like this.

Neither one of these cars are even currently on the market. You might as well just point out imaginary cars that get 1,000 mpg...