A Model Significantly Better Than Its Platform-Mate

"Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection" (itsalwayssteve) 05/20/2015 at 16:34 • Filed to: show me

2

25

Mid-00s front-wheel-drive GM sedans aren’t great. From 2004-08 they were actually pretty terrible. But the Aura was a standout among them. With a more premium interior, better wheels and tires, and the DOHC 3.6 that has since become ubiquitous, it drove, felt, and looked more European than its Epsilon brethren.

What are some more examples in your opinion?

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 16:40

1

I saw one of these next to me while waiting at a red light on my way to work yesterday. All I could think was “that looks way too good to be a Saturn”

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 16:41

1

Another Saturn. The second gen Vue was significantly better than its Theta platform mates. 3.6L V6 was the standard V6 engine, not a sporty trim only option like on the Equinox and Torrent. The interior was covered in soft-touch materials and had leather that didn’t look out of place in a Saab apparently. It also drove really freaking well. It once again felt more European than the platform mates. I still miss my mom’s ‘08 XR FWD model.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 16:42

2

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X is much better than the 2007+ Dodge Avenger, Jeep Compass or Dodge Caliber which all share the Mitsubishi GS platform.

Echo51 > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s 05/20/2015 at 16:42

0

I thought it was a Opel/Vauxhall Vectra C from the thumbnail

BeaterGT > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 16:43

0

Only FWD car I owned was a 2001 Saturn SL. Very barebones but it had A/C and a CD player! The 5 speed allowed me to get 44 mpg out of it which I think is pretty awesome. It may not be standout but it did exactly what was asked of it with no problems. The first gen Insight might be the standout MPG winner of the early 2000s.

What about the Cobalt SS turbo? Wasn’t that one of the fastest FWD production cars for a while?

boxrocket > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 16:43

0

Volvo C30/S40/V50 and Mazda3 versus the Ford Focus. Not saying the Focus was bad (early on), especially in ST and RS trims of the time, but the Volvos and Mazda are just that much better.

duurtlang > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 16:45

1

...and looked more European...

2005 facelift of the 2002-2009 Opel Vectra

In 2009 this car was replaced by the Insignia, the car later rebadged as the Buick Regal in the US.

MultiplaOrgasms > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 16:45

0

Justin Hughes > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 05/20/2015 at 16:48

0

So that’s why that Jeep Compass rental was such a good rally course car !

BeaterGT > BeaterGT 05/20/2015 at 17:00

0

Looks like I didn’t understand this fully. I don’t know what shared the platforms with the cars I mentioned lol.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 17:03

0

My buddy has an Aura. It’s terrible.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Justin Hughes 05/20/2015 at 17:20

0

I’ve said before that what FCA should do is resurrect the 2.4L turbo engine, drop it in an AWD Jeep Compass and go rally car racing.

Personally I don’t think the Compass/Patriot/Caliber are bad vehicles. I actually like them. Everyone puts them down for having lots of “cheap” plastic. But to me, cheap hard plastic means it’s more durable and less likely to crack or get damaged. And they don’t have the best automatic transmissions... which is easily solved with getting the manual.

Nibbles > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 05/20/2015 at 17:24

1

My buddy had an aura. He’s now on phenobarbital.

oldjohn > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 17:31

0

Dodge Caliber was an unpolishable turd. It leaked like it was made of cheesecloth, it was as reliable as a heroin user and as comfortable as a cairn. A truly awful car.

Alex B > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 17:46

0

They may have been good looking on the outside, but the inside is literally the cheapest thing I've ever sat in.

Justin Hughes > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 05/20/2015 at 18:05

0

The automatic was terrible, except on rally stages, driving fairly hard but not flat out (don’t crash the course car), in manual mode with traction control off. It was pretty much the only thing I thought that car did well.

Amoore100 > MultiplaOrgasms 05/20/2015 at 18:45

0

I thought that was on the contemporary WRX platform?

Blake Noble > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 19:04

0

My parents have owned a 2007 Saturn Aura since new. It’s a handsome car, I’ll give it that. And mechanically, it’s held up well. But its overall quality after 98,000 miles hasn’t really held up that great.

The windshield seal most certainly leaks water into the a-pillars, and now the fabric covering on the a-pillars has started to bubble, sag and peel away. Only two speakers out of the total six work. The seats look like they have 200,000 miles of wear. All of the rubber paint around the window switches and door pulls has worn and flaked off. The driver’s side pop-out cubby bin is broken because its made out of plastic as brittle as a senior citizen’s hip bones, and the body control module has been replaced two times for brake light problems.

This isn’t quality related, but I also want to point out the driving position is only fit for an angry man with extreme scoliosis. The pedals feel offset to the steering wheel, and the driver’s footwell feels cramped. The steering wheel is also about a half a size too big. This isn’t just an issue isolated to the Aura, though. All of GM’s first-gen Epsilon cars are like this.

Matty V > MultiplaOrgasms 05/20/2015 at 19:49

0

What kind of subaru is that??

ranwhenparked > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 19:54

0

Saturn really seemed like they were starting to turn things around toward the end, thanks to Bob Lutz. They actually had a pretty damn strong product line, but sales in general were still pretty poor and I kind of question how much longer GM would have let them live, even if the bankruptcy hadn’t happened. Pre-2008, Saturn’s sales were actually well below where Oldsmobile was when GM signed its death warrant in 2000.

MultiplaOrgasms > Matty V 05/20/2015 at 19:56

0

An R1. JDM only Kei car thing.

NoneOfYourBiz > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 20:18

0

BALEETED. I got nothin’.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Alex B 05/20/2015 at 20:46

2

Apparently you have never been in a Pontiac G6 or 04-07 Malibu.

Alex B > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 05/20/2015 at 21:11

0

Not even once. :)

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Blake Noble 05/20/2015 at 22:55

0

The power seats made things much better. I had an ex girlfriend who had an 05 Malibu and the manual seat in it was just bad. My mom’s boyfriend had an 08 Aura XR with power and it was worlds better.