8/30/08

Great Car, Great Value, Great Performance

Pros: Great fuel economy, great ride, great value!
Cons: None

Months ago my daughter and I went looking for a new vehicle for her. We test drove both the Saturn Vue SUV and the Aura 4 door sedan. We liked both vehicles but she really wanted the Vue so she got that Saturn.

However, I really liked the Aura and thought it was a great value. So when they offered 0% interest for 72 months, I went and bought one as a third vehicle for my wife and me. The other two vehicles we have are a Dodge pick-up and a Jeep Wrangler. We like them both, but they are not great on gas mileage. So we wanted a third vehicle that got great gas mileage. Plus the insurance on the Dodge truck is high for some unknown reason to me or the insurance agent. By buying the Aura, making the truck a "pleasure" vehicle or whatever they call it, and the Aura my primary vehicle, we might actually owe about the same for insurance. The Saturns as found out from my daughter, have VERY LOW insurance rates due to the many safety features on their vehicles.

The ride of the Aura is smooth and it handles very well. The 4 cyc engine has excellent performance. I mean if it works great in my daughter's Vue which is 1500 lbs or so heavier, you have to imagine that it performs great in the Aura and it does.

The seats are also comfortable and the ride is also very quiet. We pretty much have the basic Aura and it came with everything we could imagine we needed.

The basic stereo system sounds incredible. I love XM and sat radio. Anyone who has driven through West Virginia searching for a conventional AM and FM station without success will appreciate XM radio. On-Star is also wonderful especially if you are a dad with kids and a wife you want to have On-Star enabled in the vehicle to help give you peace of mind.

I also noticed that the Aura is rated higher by consumers on the Consumer Report website over the Honda's and the Toyota's. Yes folks, GM has finally started producing great vehicles, great quality, and at a competitive price. Take one out for a test drive. You'll like it!