Oldsmobile Aurora reviews

2002 Oldsmobile Aurora Driving Impressions

Overall, the Aurora exudes very high quality.

The steering feels super-light. Parking requires no effort. When you couple that behavior with the smaller size of the new Aurora, it makes you feel like you could thread a needle with this luxury sedan.

Gathering steam, you hear nothing but exhaust noise. We think that's good, because it means all the extraneous noises from the suspension and drivetrain - everything from the tires to the gears - do not creep into the passenger compartment. Hot rodders will like the grumbly V8 exhaust, but some passengers we had in the car complained it was too loud. We think they were just whining, and pronounce the noise pleasing to our ears.

The Aurora V8 is the smaller-displacement version of the Cadillac Northstar engine that appeared on the original Aurora, but it has been significantly refined and updated for the new car. Emissions are improved, fuel efficiency is improved, and it makes the same 250 horsepower on regular gas that the previous engine made on premium fuel. The Indy Racing League uses a modified version of this same engine to run the Indy 500.

The V6 engine found in the Aurora 3.5L comes from the mid-size Intrigue, and it's a twin overhead-cam design derived from the V8. Both engines use four valves per cylinder, a more efficient and expensive arrangement than the two-valves-per-cylinder pushrod V6 engines you'll find in the big Buick and Pontiac sedans. Aurora's V6 makes 215 horsepower, the same as it does in the Intrigue. But the Aurora 3.5L weighs about 250 pounds more than the Intrigue, so it doesn't feel as much like a hot rod as the Intrigue does.

The transmission is an electronically controlled four-speed automatic. Standard on the V8 car and optional on the V6 is an electronic stability program that can apply braking force to an individual front wheel to prevent skidding or drifting in a corner. The traction control system uses wheel braking and engine power reduction (the most desirable combination) to limit wheel spin.

The Aurora corners as flat as any sports sedan. Credit heavier springs for reducing body lean. Yet the car does not feel stiff, thanks to careful tuning of the suspension struts (bushings, rebound springs, and damping) and smaller anti-roll bars. Though silent on the highway, the bigger tires on the Aurora 4.0L tend to squeal in sharp corners. That discourages hard driving. The Aurora balanced well. Even with the electronic stability and traction control, you can successfully left-foot brake the car to point it into a sharp corner. The brake pedal is firm and sensitive, encouraging confident stops.

In everyday driving, you'll never notice you're in a front-wheel-drive car. On rutted, crumbly roads, however, you may notice some torque steer under hard acceleration, a tugging on the steering wheel.