2009 Saturn AURA

midsize car / 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Head restraints & seats

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2007-09 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Saturn Aura XE 4 dr

The Saturn AURA was introduced in the 2007 model year. The car is built on the same basic body platform as the Pontiac G6 and redesigned 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. Frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by General Motors.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF0801
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	5
Left (cm)	7
Center (cm)	8
Right (cm)	6
Brake pedal (cm)	7
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	1
Right (cm)	2
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	-4
Rearward (cm)	-2
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	2

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF0801
Head
HIC-15	360
Peak gs at hard contact	34
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.7
Extension bending moment (Nm)	16
Maximum Nij	0.31
Chest maximum compression (mm)	37
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	4.0
Femur force - right (kN)	5.5
Knee displacement - left (mm)	5
Knee displacement - right (mm)	0
Maximum tibia index - left	0.65
Maximum tibia index - right	0.99
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	1.3
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	3.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	81
Right	123

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2007-09 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Saturn Aura XE 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Saturn AURA was introduced in the 2007 model year.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side airbags.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	CES0810
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-7.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0810
Head HIC-15	210
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.1
Compression (kN)	0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	54
Lateral force (kN)	2.0
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	34
Average deflection (mm)	29
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	4.23
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.60
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.8
Acetabulum force (kN)	3.0
Combined force (kN)	4.5
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.3
L-M moment (Nm)	69
A-P moment (Nm)	25

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0810
Head HIC-15	103
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.8
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	47
Lateral force (kN)	2.1
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	43
Average deflection (mm)	33
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.96
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.62
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.8
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.5
Combined force (kN)	2.9
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.3
L-M moment (Nm)	213
A-P moment (Nm)	33

About the original side crash test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power cloth seats with manual adjustable lumbar

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Power cloth seats with manual adjustable lumbar
Geometry
Backset (mm)	72
Distance below top of head (mm)	52
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Fail
Max T1 acceleration (g)	12.1
Head contact time (ms)	92
Force rating	2
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	158
Max neck tension (N)	736

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.