The digital display shows on the back of the seat, above the hinge that controls the seat and cover, and displays the water temperature of the seat. I don’t especially like this, as I prefer bidets to blend into the bathroom as subtly as possible.
Another nice feature of the Aura is the instant heater, which means you never run out of warm water—this feature is a relatively recent addition to bidets, and I’m happy to see it becoming the standard.
The two things I found lacking on the Aura compared to competitors (which, to be fair, are mostly a little more expensive) were the fan and the water controls.
Photograph: Martin Cizmar
Drying fans are often the first place I notice the difference between premium bidets that cost north of grand and cheaper models. The Aura’s fan is very loud (I measured it above 60 decibels on high) and yet not very powerful, taking a minute or more to dry me off.
The Aura’s remote is intuitive by way of its simplicity—unlike with Toto’s higher-end models, there’s no way to adjust the spray’s width or angle, and there are no presets for different users—but it does have the most important spray adjustments, like back, forward, and flow strength. The fan speed can also be adjusted with three clicks of one button rather than having to click the fan button and then separately adjust its speed up or down, as with the Toto.
Touché Tushy
The Aura is a solid product, and I’d recommend it as a budget pick (especially if it goes on sale as often as the classic Tushys do) or an upgrade for any brand partisan looking to get into an electric bidet. For now, I take it as a welcome sign the American bidet market is maturing from the era of the “Clean Butt Society” T-shirt toward a bright new future of heated seats, night-lights, and auto-opening toilet seats.
