Overview & Reviews

The Saturn brand, which was part of General Motors, has been discontinued as of the 2009 model year. Though popular in its early years, Saturn suffered from poor sales and was shuttered as part of GM's bankruptcy reorganization.

Despite its sad end, Saturn started with a bright future. After losing market share to Japanese imports during the '80s, General Motors launched Saturn, a new division that began selling small, low-priced cars in 1990. The division promoted itself as "different," with Saturn dealers offering no-haggle pricing and friendly customer service.

Saturn made its debut with the S Series line of vehicles. Available in sedan, coupe and wagon configurations, these Saturns differentiated themselves from other GM products with all-new platforms and flexible plastic panels meant to resist denting. Additionally, the brand was granted its own plant, with all Saturns being built at a dedicated facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee. These first Saturns weren't exactly built to burn rubber; they were powered by engines that offered from 85-124 horsepower. The payoff, though, was that these were among the most fuel-efficient vehicles of their day, offering up to 40 miles per gallon (when equipped with a manual transmission).

Just after the brand's conception, GM boasted that Saturn vehicles would benefit from rapid evolution, but in the early years, this wasn't the case. The brand's vehicles saw only one redesign in their first decade of existence. The revamp took place in the mid-'90s, and for the most part, it was only skin deep. Exteriors were spruced up and interior room saw a slight increase.

The Saturn brand enjoyed some success in its earliest years, fueled by buyers who were in love with its unique approach to customer relations that included "no-haggle" pricing. By the turn of the century, though, the novelty had worn off. With dated platforms and a limited range of products, the marque was neglected by GM, and disappointing sales figures showed that buyers had taken note and chosen to spend their dollars elsewhere.

GM responded by ramping up its commitment to the Saturn brand. In 2000, it rolled out the L Series; sharing a platform and an engine with the Opel Vectra (one of GM's European products) the sedan was the opening salvo in GM's ultimately futile fight to resuscitate the struggling brand. An SUV, the Vue, was unveiled, as was a minivan, the Relay. The S Series was replaced by the lamentable Ion, which was available as a sedan and a coupe. GM also added a hybrid to the lineup, with the introduction of the Saturn Vue Green Line.

Later, Saturn included the sporty Sky roadster, the midsize Aura sedan, the compact second-generation Vue crossover and the full-size Outlook crossover. For a brief period, there was also the European-sourced Astra compact hatchback.

Despite the increase in product quality, however, the Saturn brand effectively collapsed in 2009. As part of GM's bankruptcy proceedings, Saturn was offered up for sale. Initially, it was believed that the Penske Corporation would take over Saturn. But the deal fell through at the last minute, thereby spelling the final end for GM's import-fighting experiment.

User Reviews:

• 

  Do not buy this vehicle! - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By Karen - May 23 - 1:30 am

  Cannot tell you what I have spent on this since we bought it used in 2014. I very regretfully traded in my 2004 Ion for this money pit. It had just under 80k miles when we bought it and I have done a lot of maintenance and some repairs. Just had the alternator and battery replaced last week, which cost 1k, now it has trouble starting!! Getting checked out today and stomach is in knots wondering what the hell else is wrong. Done sinking money in this vehicle. Stay away from this truck!

• 

  Parts? Performance? - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By rcraft - May 20 - 11:40 pm

  When I bought this Saturn I liked it very much till things started happening. Rear wiper will cycle one time each time you close the rear hatch. Had a transmission repaired and they messed up my front wheel alignment when they had to disconnect the steering linkage to fix the trans. Took a rock to my windshield and then could not find a windshield anywhere in USA that my mirror would attach to because the mount for the mirror was different than other vues. Rear wiper blade can only be replaced by buying the complete arm at Chevy dealer for $47.00 (no refills around that fits). Now my windshield wipers stop working as Im going through a rain storm and starts back up when it wants to.

• 

  dont waste your money on a saturn - 2004 Saturn ION
  By lemon driver - May 9 - 2:00 am

  These cars are poorly built and are a costly mistake to own. If you value your money and what something that will hold up, buy a toyota. Dont learn the hard way like I did.

• 

  Think hard before you buy the ION - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Patrice Shields - May 4 - 10:00 am

  I purchased my ION in March of this year. I am already hearing rattling noise under the car. I also do not feel that it is a smooth ride. I am also furious because the seats are made of a cloth material that stain. I only drink water in my car and the water creates large round areas of discoloration on the seats and it doesnt come out. I am just disappointed in my new car.

• 

  Do NOT Purchase this vehicle - 2006 Saturn Relay
  By Julie - April 25 - 12:13 pm

  I have had this van for almost 2 years now and it currently is in the shop for the 5th time. The driver door is always broken and you cannot drive the van with less than a half a tank of gas on an incline - the fuel cannot get to the engine and the car dies or will not start if parked. Ive had a rental for over a week and was just given a document from gm stating they couldnt fix the problem - its "just the way the car was designed" and that I would have to live with it. Very unreliable, interior plastic is cheap and breaks, the brakes squeal constantly, I had to replace tires at 15k. Horrible gas mileage - about 15 mpg!

• 

  aviod variable transmissions and 4cyl - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By overitnow - April 17 - 9:10 pm

  Ill sum it up. At 60K miles, our engine blew up (literally). Saturn claimed it was our fault for missing an oil change. The car has had the transmission repaired under warranty four times. Twice it had to go back immediately after the drive home. Its my belief that the 4cyl VUE is severely underpowered, and the transmission was a failed experiment. The car hasnt been reliable, turns like a semi, has no acceleration, and doesnt get good gas mileage for what youd think a tiny engine should.

• 

  This vehicle s**ks! - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By AS_2015 - March 30 - 2:24 am

  too many issues similar to the other consumers here... although I bought the vehicle used summer of last year, transmission was replaced (shortly after I bought it.. luckily I bought an extended warranty on it which covered about 2/3 of the costs.. ), acceleration (or lack of...), rack & pinion needed to be replaced this past summer, water pump, alternator/starter, electrical issues.. in other words.. I think you can use the word "Lemon" in this case and it sounds like the same for others posting their comments here as well... if this is what the GMC Acadia is like since the Outlook and the Acadia are similar in parts, service , etc. , I am going to steer away from GMC!!

• 

  Saturn Relay - 2005 Saturn Relay
  By Lori - March 15 - 8:10 am

  I have found several problems with this car and its only a few months old.. First I will be having the radio replaced for the 3rd time since purchasing this car in February. It seems to be shorting out and it makes the steering wheel extremely hot. The car also does NOT have any pick up, I have had other minivans in the past and this is the worst when it comes to that. It also has a habit of shaking as you are braking in the event of having to do so in a quick situation. It makes a grinding noise when you are braking as well. The service center claims this is normal and cannot find anything wrong with it. I would not recommend this car nor would I purchase one again.

• 

  2004 Saturn Vue - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Disappointed - March 12 - 10:06 pm

  This is my first Saturn. Bought it 1 year ago when it had about 83,000 KM. It now has 90,000 KM. It has always had a noisy engine. Recently the check engine light came on and I brought it to the shop. A wheel bearing was shot - had to be replaced. Cost $300. Then it started making a strange noise and jerking when I drove. Back to the shop. The transmission is shot. They researched the vehicles history and found out it has already had the transmission replaced at 80,000 KM, and this will be its second transmission replacement. It was going to cost $6,000 for a new transmission, luckily the dealership agreed to pay for it, even though we had no extended warranty on the Vue.

• 

  GM Knew Better - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By everyseason - March 4 - 11:48 pm

  I have a 2007 Saturn Vue 2.4L that the timing belt broke and caused my engine to fail. I am now looking at a $4000 repair bill. GM knew about this engine and the timing belt issues and still has refused to do anything about it. States have tried to get a recalls, however, GM has fought the issue. My engine blew going down the hwy. How safe is that. GM shame on you! I am embarrassed to be a granddaughter of a GM dealer for over 60 years. Never again will I or my family buy GM!