2007 Saturn Aura Green Line is lowest-priced hybrid

The gasoline-electric hybrid car with the lowest starting price in America is no longer a Toyota or a Honda. It's the Saturn Aura Green Line sedan.

This newest version of the midsize, five-passenger Aura retains the handsome looks and commendable handling of a regular Aura while combining a 164-horsepower, 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine with electric motor assist -- all for a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $22,695.

This undercuts the 2007 Toyota Prius -- the world's best-selling hybrid car and a midsize, five-door hatchback -- by $100. The Aura's starting price also is $500 less than the compact, 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid sedan.

But while the Aura has more headroom than a Prius and standard, one-year, complimentary OnStar emergency notification system that neither the Prius nor Civic offers, it doesn't come with the high fuel economy ratings -- in the 40-miles-per-gallon range -- that Toyota and Honda have.

Indeed, the government rating of 28 miles a gallon in city driving and 35 mpg on the highway for the 2007 Aura Green Line will be downgraded to 24/32 mpg in a couple of months when the 2008 model year begins.

Chalk it up to the Aura's less complex hybrid system -- sometimes referred to as a mild hybrid.

It's true that, like the Toyota and Honda hybrids, the four cylinder in the Aura Green Line can shut off automatically when the car comes to complete stops, thus reducing fuel consumption. And braking energy during stops is captured and stored in an onboard battery pack in the Aura for later electric power that can supplement the torque of the gas engine in some pedal-to-the-metal driving.

But Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive system can do more. For example, it can power the Prius solely on electric power at times, such as during slow-speed startups from traffic stops.

And in contrast to the four-speed automatic that's in the Aura hybrid, the Civic Hybrid seeks to get more from each gallon of gas by mating the hybrid system to a continuously variable transmission that works to optimize gearing for maximum fuel efficiency.

In fact, in mixed city/highway travel in the test Aura Green Line, I managed only 22 miles per gallon.

But buyers of the Aura hybrid still qualify for a 100 percent hybrid tax credit -- totaling $1,300 -- on their federal income taxes. Tax credits are limited by vehicle sales, and Toyota has sold so many hybrids already that its tax credits are dwindling in size.

Regular Auras, with starting price of $20,995, come with a choice of V-6s with at least 224 horsepower.

So, the Aura Green Line is the only model with a four cylinder, though the overall weight of the car is about the same in hybrid and V-6 forms.

Onlookers likely won't notice a difference between hybrid and non-hybrid Aura, because they look virtually identical and are the same size, stretching 15.8 feet in overall length.

In all Auras, three adults sit close to each other in the back seat, and the dashboard arrangement of controls is cleanly laid out.

But subtle differences for the Green Line include hybrid badging, a hybrid gauge in the instrument panel that shows when the battery pack is being charged, an "eco" light that comes on to tell drivers when electric power is aiding propulsion, and smaller, 16-inch wheels and tires.

The hybrid's trunk also is just a tad smaller than the 15.7 cubic feet of a regular Aura. This is because the battery pack for electric energy storage sits behind the rear seat back, on the trunk floor. It's smaller, though, than the battery packs in hybrid Toyotas and Hondas.

The Aura Green Line drives mostly like a regular car.

In fact, the four cylinder, with peak torque of 159 foot-pounds at a high 5,000 rpm, has a noisy, buzzy sound when it's pressed.

Anyone who has experienced a Toyota or Honda hybrid will notice there's no big power surge in the Aura hybrid like the others have, and the addition of electric power during the Aura's acceleration can be less than impressive.

The test car even felt sluggish in the mid-rpm range when I wanted quick acceleration.

I also had to adjust my stopping style. I'd slow smoothly to a stop, say, at traffic lights, and find the gas engine wouldn't turn off as I sat there at idle.

Only with practice did I learn that in the test car, the brake pedal had to be pressed firmly to the floor for the engine to turn off. Unfortunately, this meant that my stops were no longer smooth. Rather, they ended in a jolt.

On the other hand, Saturn's mild hybrid worked without the hesitation or chug-chug sensation that I sometimes experienced in earlier Toyota and Honda hybrid cars as the electric power mixed with the engine power.

Some features, such as satellite radio and larger wheels, aren't offered on the Aura hybrid.

The 39-foot turning circle is surprisingly large. And I couldn't help but notice the gap between the Aura hood and top of the grille seems unduly large -- about the size you'd expect to see at the front of a pickup truck, not a car.

Be careful with the top-of-the-center-console lid that's between the two front seats. In the test car, as it slid uninhibited fore and aft as a makeshift armrest, it could easily pinch wayward fingers.

The Aura earned top, five-out-of-five stars in federal government testing for passenger protection in frontal and side crashes.

Among the standard safety features on the hybrid are electronic stability control and side curtain air bags.