24 - North Shore News — Friday, August 4, 2000

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openroad

From page 23

Both engines have a “limp- home” mode, which allows the engine to run without coolant to get you to the safe- ty of a service station.

A four-speed automatic transmission is standard equip-

Agent with both engines, but unlike some of its competitors, the Aurora doesn’t offer a manual shifting mode or a conventional manual transmis- sion.

Attractive interior The Aurora’s attractive five- passenger interior is a very pleasant environment for com- fortable, stress-free travelling. Luxury features like leather upholstery, heated seats, real burl walnut wood-trim, auto- matic clirnate control, and a good AM/FM /cassette /single disc CD sound system are all standard, although a CD changer is optional. The fit and finish in this car is very good for a domestic luxury car. : The front bucket seats are very comfortable and include . eight-way power adjustment, ‘two-level heaters, and new “standard side airbags built invo the seats. The front three- > point seatbelts are also inte- grated into the seats — they move with the seats when | adjusted, and are more com- ” fortable to wear...” glare fe centre console has has a 4 . ee matte grey finish an _ ts oriented towards the driver .— it has large knobs and but- tons which are very easy to ”

-: operate. A trip computer offers - "usefull information such as the

~~ day, date, and time, instant *. fuel economy and average fuel a economy. The standard auto-

- -umatic climate control has easy-_”

to-operate round dials, and | there’s a temperature reading for inside and outside of the

mt car. V8 models offer separate:

-- @iperature controls for driver * and gel

ee Meath covered floor . shift lever falls easily to hand,

‘and looks very attractive with _

‘its oval, chrome-ringed border - Set against burl wainut. ‘The -. round instruments, including a . tachometer, have subtle. - “chrome rings too, and are easy + to read. ° | ~ Like many Eu tuxu- | : ry ‘cars, the Aurora’s headlight <-” switch is on the left stalk : +.” (rather than on the dash) and ”.. the wipers are on the right

©”. stalk, VB models offer standard :

» moisture-sensitive automatic wipers which increase speed depending on how hard itis ~ raining! I found this feature - oo. rather i irritating, because of its : “unpredictabili a "The Aurora's ignition key is _-son the dashboard to the right .° “of the steering wheel where it is easier to see than conven- tional column-mounted igni- tions: Remote keyless entry is - standard, and a personalization ‘feature allows functions such

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Technica! Data: 2081 Oldsmetite Aurora V6

Base PFiCe: ......ceseccsessssseecerneeen

Type: ....

sosusecsanensstrenenmateesseuses $39,035 four-door, five-passenger mid-sized sedan

.. transverse front engine/front-wheel-drive ...3.S-litre V6, DOHC, 24 valves

215 h.p. @ 5,500 r.p.m. ..220 ft-ib. @ 4,460 rp.m. four-speed automatic

Tires: ........ P225/60HR16 Goodyear Eagle RSA all-season

Curb weight: ...

as the radio and heater to be programmed for each individ- ual driver.

The steering wheel spokes include redundant buttons for fan speed, temperature setting, radio volume, seek and pro- gram Funct ions. Cruise control is operated by a separate sm: stalk on the nght of the steer- ing wheel. All the door- mounted power window and

ex mirror buttons are it so you can find them at night.

Between the driver and passenger seats is a dual-level armrest/storage bin, and a couple of flip-our. cupholders,

.: The Aurora’s $ roomy rear

y

1,670 kg (3,682 ib.) .2,850 mm (112.2 in.) 9,062 mm (199.3. in.) — 1,852 mm { 72.9 in.) 1,440 mm (56,7 in.)

bench seat will seat three

ple, and there is a centre fold- down armrest with a covered stozage bin and nvo pull-out cupholders. However, when folded up, the centre armrest protrudes enough to make it uncomfortable for the centre rear nger. A pass-throu: behind the centre rear pie is great for skis and ski poles, but like most luxury cars, the Aurora doesn’t offer fold- down rear seatbacks.

The Aurora has four out- board three-point seatbelts, but the centre rear passenger has a lap belt only.

Driving impressions

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[ found the 200] Aurora to be a very quiet, comtort- able, classy automobile. My test car, a V6 model, was slightly noisier than a V8 model [ tested earlier, but nei- ther of them could be consid- ered noisy. Acceleration with the V6 engine seemed almost as good as the V8 engine from a standing start, but the V8 has the edge in power and smoothness at higher revs. Both engines are great high- way cruisers: at a steady 100 km-h, the docile V6 engine does only 1,900 r.p.m. in fourth gear. Note: V6 engines use regular fuel, but V8 engines use premium gas. I found the standard four-speed automatic transmission in my test car to be a very smooth’ shifter, well matched to the V6 engine.

The Aurora is built on the same front-wheel-drive plat- form as the Cadillac Seville, Pontiac Bonneville and Buick LeSabre, and offers a consider- ably stiffer body than the pre- vious Aurora. With a : fully independent suspension (front

MacPherson struts and rear semi-trailing arms), a self-level- ling rear suspension, and stan- dard P225/60 HR-16 inch tires (P235/55 HR-17 inch on V8 models), the Aurora soaks up road undulations und bumps with case, and glides along the highway with very linle wind noise or engine Noise to spoil the ride.

Handling is surprisingly good: body roll is minimal, and dive and pitch when brak- ing and accelerating are not excessive. Four-wheel disc brakes with ABS are standard equipment. But as a mid-sized, front-wheel-drive car weighing 1,670 kg, it feels somewhat heavy when pushed to its lim- its. I found the steering feel to be heavier than I liked at cer- tain speeds. Auroras have GMs Magnasteer speed-sensi- tive rack-and-pinion power steering which uses a magnetic field to increase and decrease steering effort.

Outward visibility is gener- ally quite good, but the rear deck is a bit high when back- ing up. I didn’t like the dri-

ver's sun visor: when flipped down, it’s too low and cannot be easily adjusted. .

Auroras are available with traction control — when the front wheels slip, engine power is reduced and the front brakes are applied momentarily to

in traction. In addition,

new for 2001 is Precision Control System, an anti-skid system that works automatical- ly if the driver loses control of the car on a slippery surface. By selective braking at individ- ual wheels, PCS helps the car regain stability and traction without driver intervention. Traction control and PCS are standard on the V8 Aurora and optional on the V6 model.

Base price now $39,035

Aurora V6 models now start at $39,035 while V8 Auroras are priced at $45,575. Previous Aurora models start- ed at about $46,000.

Competitors for the Aurora include the Lincoln LS, Acura TL, Chrysler 300M, Lexus ES300, BMW 3-: Series, Infiniti 130 and Nissan Maxima.

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