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:

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  CRV Killer - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By bobl - January 1 - 3:20 pm

  Having worked at Honda dealers for 18 years, when I decided to buy an SUV I naturally looked at the CRV and Pilot. The Pilot was too expensive and bigger than what I wanted and the CRV seemed underpowered to me. I looked at Nissan and Toyota but didnt find anything that was comfortable, reasonably priced and had some power. I read that the Saturn vue V6 was powered by a Honda 3.5 liter engine which I was familiar with as it is the same engine in the Odessy and Pilot. It only took one test drive for me to fall in love with this SUV. I have been driving mine now for over four years and just love it. I am a large guy and I am very comfortable on short or long drives.

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  What a Great SUV! - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By happy camper 2 - December 31 - 10:00 am

  Weve only had our VUE about a week, but it drives and runs great. I talked to many people about Saturn before making the decision to buy, but have been a happy camper ever since.

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  ABS/Trac Control Light....AGAIN!!!! - 2006 Saturn Relay
  By noHappyRelayOwner - December 30 - 2:33 pm

  We have had our vehicle in the shop 5 times now for the ABS Trac light issue. Everytime, "I think we got it this time, must have been a short", or "Faulty wiring, we replaced it". It just seems funny that this issue happened right at the time the warranty went out.

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  Worst Car I Have Ever Owned - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By gr82balive - December 28 - 11:14 am

  I purchased the 2003 model in 2009 without doing my homework. 13 months later (after the one year warranty expired) the tranny went out.Cost me 5200 to fix 3wks later the front differential is starting to go out, quoted price:5600 to fix. After new tranny was put in my mpg dropped from approx 13 to approx 6mpg. If I wasnt locked into payments I would have scrap heaped this piece of junk when the tranny went out. Most regretted purchase of my adult life. Saturn/GM dealerships have been useless. Once one problem is expensively fixed another one rears its pricey head.DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY!

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  New Aura - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By Gary - December 26 - 12:46 pm

  This new Saturn did something that I thought would never happen, I bought a Saturn. After trading in my 2003 MINI I have not looked back. The Saturn is more pleasant to drive and certainly has more power. The switches and controls are much more intuitative and are easier to reach. The interior looks and feels like a much more expensive car. The body looks more German (in a good way) than a lot of German cars do. Is it as nice as a loaded 3 series BMW? No it isnÂ’t but at close to 20 thousand dollars less for a comparably equipped car it certainly is a bargain. If you want a sport sedan with a lot of comfort and luxury features at a fair price there is no other choice.

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  Great Product! - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By Astra Dome - December 25 - 2:53 am

  Ive been in the compact car market for the past several years. During that time, I was driving a GMC Crew Sierra. Every time the gas price rose I would go out and test the small cars, Pontiac Vibe, Ford Focus, Toyota Prius and so on. I grew a real fondness for the Vibe. It was fun to drive and felt solid and reactive. The Astra is better. First time I drove one, I knew this was the one. The price point and features..to me was a no brainer. I look for any reason to take the car out for a drive. The main complaint that most people seem to have is the lack of cup holders and storage. Maybe we need to learn some things from our European friends about "conservatism". Fit/Finish A+

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  My Astra - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By christie - December 24 - 1:20 pm

  Traded in an SUV for this. Havent owned a smaller car in 15+ years. Love the gas mileage and the handling of the car. I had to get used to how loud it sounded at first compared to my other vehicles. I really enjoy the car.

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  2005 Rolling Lemon - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Aphonopelma - December 24 - 7:06 am

  I purchased my VUE based on other peoples experience of the brand being reliable. The one I purchased was not. The 3rd member started making gear noise at 17K miles and was warranty replaced by Saturn. At 26K miles gear noise in 3rd member was back again. Local Saturn dealership claimed they couldnt hear the noise every time I took the VUE in for routine maintainence right up until the warranty expired. At 29K miles the CD played started having problems. At 31K miles warranty work had to be performed on the front suspension (it turned out to be a direct from the factory problem). At 34K miles water leaked in around the windows during rain. At 45K miles Id had enough and dumped the VUE.

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  Fun and Quirky Redline - 2004 Saturn ION
  By danhaab - December 22 - 10:00 am

  While helping my parents shop for a new SUV at Saturn, I decided to test the Redline on a whim; I had no plans to purchase the vehicle. After a test drive and a $3750 reduction in price, I decided that this was the car to purchase. The cars quirks are pleasantly surprising. I was not sure I would like the center mounted gauges; however I found them surprisingly easy read and unobtrusive. The quad style coupe is also an interesting feature. The suicide style doors open wide and allow easy entry to the rear seats. While straight-line performance doesnÂ’t match up to the Neon SRT 4, the car acquits itself well among the rest of its competitors in the sport compact car scene.

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  Waste of money - 2007 Saturn Sky
  By Cindy Selfs - December 21 - 6:10 pm

  The car is pretty enough, but the ride is harsh and there is no acceleration.The interior is kind if cheesy.