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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  My big piece of junk! - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Karen - December 8 - 7:46 am

  I bought a used 2003 with 86,000 miles not from a Saturn dealer in June07. After only 2,000 miles I needed a new transmission which cost $4,000 and they informed me than, that wasnt the original transmission so the one I put in was at least #3. Just the other day mine took another ride on a rollback because of transmission problems. I only put 4,933 on a brand new transmission.They gave me a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty so everything is covered. Now theyre trying to sell me a new one but will only give me $3000 toward a brand new one because they know mine is a big piece of junk! And its AWD and loaded. I wouldnt wish this piece of junk on my worse enemy.

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  Excellant first car! - 2007 Saturn ION
  By shannabanana1 - November 25 - 12:06 am

  My dad bought this car for me in 2007. It was brand new when I bought it, and Ive driven it rough, to say the least, for the past 5 years. I have never had any serious problems with this car, and have rarely had to do any repairs except for general maintenance. The only real headache Ive had with it is that it has ignition problems. The key is sometimes hard to turn and one time the key actually got stuck in the ignition. I had to drive it to a repair shop and let it run out of gas because I could not get the key out. But all in all it cost about $100 to fix and I havent had problems since. Its built like crap but thats why it made such a good first car.

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  Be Careful - 2005 Saturn Relay
  By Not Good! - November 19 - 10:30 pm

  I was a first time Saturn buyer and being newly married and now having 4 children I needed something for us all that was also affordable. I chose the 2005 Relay. Very nice looking outside and inside, good sound system and DVD player! A week later it started having acceleration problems. Warning message was Reduced Engine Power. It was replaced. This happened 3 more times over the next few months. I had to threaten legal action but Saturn replaced my Relay. I got a 2006 VUE as the replacement and have been very happy so far. My situation may not be normal; but it happened. Be careful when thinking of buying this vehicle.

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  t6 - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By t6jb - October 25 - 10:00 am

  very loud ac sytem gave me a headache while running on high. loud engine noise

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  Dont Buy the 4cylinder if... - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By BummedInBoston - October 24 - 2:53 pm

  Dont buy the 4 cylinder model if you drive the highway. Local driving is fine. The car accelerates and handles fine, but on the highway it plays the little engine that could every 30 seconds. It cant handle any sort of incline & in the mountains its so bad that I have sought a trade in. And the gas mileage trade off is not stellar: I only get 22MPG. also dont buy with out factory installed roof rails. Without them you cant get an ofter market system. Period. I love the style of the car. If I could get the 6cylinder I would be happy.

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  Think twice before you buy. - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By L. Sheldon - October 19 - 12:16 am

  In a nutshell, the vehicle has been self destructing from the moment I drove it off the lot. So far with 44k on it, Ive had to replace the following: Muffler, brake caliper pin & bracket strut mount, rear wheel, clutch, rear differential module, entire rear end assy, fuel sending unit, both mirrors, arm rest, windshield wiper jets, drivers heated seat switch, rear window glass, rear hatch lock assy, rear lateral link (recall), front hub/bearing assy. If something didnt break every few weeks, Id say its a great vehicle, but with over $7,000 in repairs done in a little over two years, you be the judge.

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  I wish I hadnt purchased this car - 2009 Saturn Aura
  By Janet Werner - October 9 - 9:50 am

  At first I thought perhaps I was being hypersensitive, but the more I drive may Aura (3.6 engine), the more I hate it. I initially considered taking it in to see if something was wrong with it, but I had a 4cyl loaner for a day and it was even worse. I looked on the blog to see what others thought and the very first review I read summed it up - the transmission "hunts" and it is "jerky". It is so jerky that it feels like you are driving a stick shift, but you have not control over it. I am so upset about spending big bucks on something that makes me nauseous to drive - I wish I could return it!

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  HEADACHE - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By emilyjooooo - October 5 - 6:13 pm

  Ive had my Aura for about a year now. I bought it used at a dealership with about 73k miles on it. It seemed like a great car. I was loving it, until things start going wrong. FIRST the dealership never gave me my key fob, forcing me to use the auto locks, which both have stopped working. Then someone hit me, having me replace the strut, costing over $300. And after that I have had never ending problems. A clicking noise under the hood and a bumping noise on wheel still, both have been said nothing is wrong. AND my steering is jerky and it also eats up oil. AND I only get about 16 mpg city, which is what I mostly drive. Every time I try to get it fixed, they say there is nothing wrong!

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  Worst Transmission Ever - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Tony - September 29 - 6:26 am

  We bought this used, 85,000 miles on it, 30,000 later we learned that the transmission had a fracture and was leaking fluid. Beacuse no mechanic wants to take the things apart, it wasnt learned of until it was too late. We replaced it with a brand new transmission ($7000), and about 18,000 miles later it became completely fubar from the inside. Now we have no choice but to sell it and hope and pray the warranty we have will help us. Im moving onto the 09 CR-V

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  Saturn Outlook - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By Kim - September 21 - 12:43 am

  I wanted to write and warn anyone who is considering the Saturn Outlook that this vehicle has been a nightmare for me and my family. We have had it for 5 months and it has been in the shop for repairs 6 times in the last 6 weeks. We have had water leaking, engine light on, engine running when the keys are out of the ignition, radio coming on when we are not in the vehicle, and finally the complete lack to start. Saturn has been very difficult to deal with and we are in the process of a lemon law claim. Our vehicle has been repaired several times with after market materials and its always returned to us in filthy condition. I strongly suggest not purchasing a Saturn Outlook.