If you told us, even a few years back, that we'd pick a GM product as our Editors' Choice for Family Sedan, we'd probably have shown you the door.

How far the automaker has come in just the past five years is truly astonishing -- Exhibit A, the new, and now award-winning, Saturn Aura.

GM's import-fighting brand has been ramping up as of late, putting Toyota and Honda square in its sights. To fight the good fight, it's teamed with GM's European Opel brand, to help source more sexy and more dynamic products.

The Aura shares its underpinnings with the Opel Vectra sedan, and as such, delivers comfortable, but athletic, handling -- still a relatively rarity in this segment, and a major reason the midsize sedan is our top choice.

The exterior design is decidedly sharp, and the interior, especially finished in the XR's optional Morocco Brown, is handsome and well screwed together.

Power comes from either a standard 224-hp 3.5-litre V6 with VVT, or GM's smooth and strong 3.6-litre 252-hp V6 with VVT. Extra points go the latter's Driver Shift Control (DSC), which puts shift paddles behind the steering wheel.

Later this year, Saturn will also offer the Aura Green Line, a hybrid using the same powertrain as the Vue Green Line SUV. It will be GM's first hybrid passenger car.

A Euro-American sedan, with presence and polish

Some folks still won't consider the domestics