Neither car exhibited any notable torque steer down the drag strip, which impressed one tester to say it was “quite an achievement given this much power. Quarter-mile tests had the Camry going 3.7 mph quicker and beating the Aura to the timing lights by 0.47 second. From a standstill to 60 mph, the Camry clocked a best time of 6.22 seconds, 0.33 faster than the Aura’s 6.55, no doubt hampered by its extra 164 pounds of mass. On the track, the Toyota drew first blood. Cargo capacities are also close, with Aura offering 15.7 cubic feet to Camry’s 14.5 cubic feet of storage. Inside, the Toyota offers a total of 101.4 cubic feet of passenger volume, 3.7 more than the Saturn’s 97.7 thanks to slightly larger height and width dimensions. In back, Aura carries over the four-link suspension from the Opel Vectra.Ĭamry makes do with a dual-link unit in the rear.ĭimensionally, the Saturn rides on a longer, 112.3-inch wheelbase, while the Toyota sits on 109.3. Underneath, both use similar suspension setups to keep the wheels planted up front with MacPherson struts. In torque, Aura barely edges Camry, 251 lb-ft to 248. The Toyota’s slightly smaller 3.5-liter displacement wins in the horsepower column with 268 hp to the Saturn’s 252 hp from a 3.6-liter unit. Our test cars are both equipped with range-topping dual-overhead-cam V6 powerplants and six-speed automatic transmissions. So we brought a copy of each to California Speedway to participate in our latest DoubleTake and to help answer the question that’s haunting midsize-sedan shoppers everywhere: Which is better, the latest version of Toyota’s perennial favorite or the new entry from resurgent Saturn?Ī look at the spec sheets shows little disparity. Oh, and each wants to aim for the jugular of the other. The Aura is seen as a turnaround player for the Saturn brand and a major component for a struggling General Motors to fend off Toyota’s challenge for the title of biggest carmaker. The Camry needs to retain bragging rights as America’s best-selling car and to help elevate Toyota to the throne of the biggest carmaker in the world. Expectations for these vehicles couldn’t be higher, since both figure heavily into each company’s plans. Such is the case with the redone sixth-generation Toyota Camry and the new Saturn Aura. So we get this twin-cam 3.Some new car models have more riding on them than others. But saving a couple of bucks on 50 different items adds up, and that’s what happens. On its own, the decision makes no sense-just add $7.50 to the sticker and go with it. What can it really cost to put a grip handle over the passenger seat? A quarter? Let’s say it costs 10 times that, and you want three of them. This is where the domestic automakers have a challenge, even when they match the other qualities of imports-their cost basis is so high that to be price-competitive, they have to make silly little compromises like that. If you do want to hear about a domestic thing, here’s one: As we noted in the intro, the Aura doesn’t have passenger-assist handles in the headliner, a choice that was made in trading off costs. And it’s not exclusive to the domestics-I’ve felt similar things in various Japanese-brand cars. You can bypass it entirely by taking control yourself, using the M position on the console shifter and the steering wheel “paddle” controls, but the point is that this stands out as an unrefined element. I think it’s probably gear spacing that produces the surge it’s probably a 3-2 or 4-3 downshift-maybe a double-down 4-2-and the gap between ratios is large. I came across just one thing I wished was different: At in-town speeds (25-40 mph), a half-throttle downshift in the six-speed is preceded by a long pause, then a big surge. WILSON: Handsome, well-assembled, quiet and strong, the Saturn Aura may not make much of a dent in the marketplace among committed Toyota and Honda buyers, but if you’re peddling Volkswagens and Nissans, it should worry you.
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