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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  impressed - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By jamestot - February 18 - 2:00 am

  With close to 24000 miles of driving, both my wife and I are very satisfied with the VUE in all respects. Despite being a very early production car we took delivery of, we have had NO reliability problems save minor cosmetic items that were corrected with one dealer visit. Only complaint may be the V6 engine a little noisy on acceleration, but it is very quick and gas mileage averaging close to 22 mpg. SATURN dealer experience is great! Only if your accustomed to driving a crossover Lexus/Mercedes/Volvo/etc would you be disappointed (but its half the price). Jim

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  It Doesnt Look like a saturn... - 2003 Saturn ION
  By Jacqui - February 18 - 2:00 am

  I bought the Ion3 at the beginning of december after a bad car accident with a previous saturn...this ion doesnt even look like a saturn to me, or anyone who has seen it. Its fast..built with an acura engine (ecotech).... The interior is the coolest...and ive been told the exterior looks like a cadillac, jetta, and so many more. i love the thing

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  Not so happy - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Rhonda - February 18 - 12:46 am

  Have had problems with the brake fluid leaking. On 3rd time taking it in, they found a leak in the master cylinder. First they told me they must not have topped it off at the factory and they added fluid. Next they said its hard to see the fill line so they added more fluid. Next they found the leak. There is something broken in the vent and Im waiting for parts (its been 3 weeks). The middle right seat squeaks though they cant seem to duplicate it. The acceleration is sluggish especially on a hill. The automatic start is terrible! You may as well get in the vehicle you have to be so close for it to work. The gas mileage is very low.

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  Vue put the fun back in driving - 2009 Saturn VUE
  By Ljames - February 17 - 2:53 am

  I traded in my Lexus RX 330 about 2 weeks ago for the Vue Redline. While the quality of the interior materials cannot compare - the Vue certainly did put the fun back in my commute. The Vue is sporty to drive, quick response, easy to maneuver(u turns, tight parking spots). The interior headroom is better than my RX, but the front legroom is a little tight. Sales experience was good, financing with incentives made it easy. Hopefully the quality holds up and Ill be driving my Vue for many years.

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  Why did I buy a Saturn? - 2007 Saturn ION
  By C_Houten - February 15 - 7:20 am

  I bought this car brand new in Toronto, and drove it from Toronto to California, up the coast to Oregon, and all the way to Phoenix. I have put 39,000km on it in just over a year. In the first 6 months of owning it I had to have the entire electrical system replaced. 2 months later I had to have to accelerator and brake system replaced. The starter had problems after one year, and once it wouldnÂ’t start at all for quite a few hours. AAA will not unlock this car if your keys are locked inside. They told me that this models electrical system is too delicate. The fuel economy is below average and far below the EPA estimate. Overall I am sure you can tell that I am very disappointed in this car.

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  The first car I feel good about - 2003 Saturn ION
  By shawnblic - February 13 - 10:00 am

  good looks good car

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  A Gem of a Car - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By Ron R - February 11 - 3:13 pm

  We absolutely love this car. Our previous vehicle was a Ford Explorer so its been quite a change. Once all the comparisons were made in this class the Aura impressed us the most.We live in a hilly region so our gas mileage is only about 34 mpg hwy but still twice as high as our old Explorer.We just finished a 10 hour drive on our world famous Cabot Trail and this car stuck to the curves like glue.From a dead stop the 4 cylinder is a bit sluggish (not for the lead footed drivers) but has more than enough power to pass anything on the highway. At over 6 feet tall it is true that getting into this car takes some getting used to but once inside the fit and finish is the best bar none.

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  2008 Saturn OUTLOOK XE - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By Bob - February 10 - 10:30 pm

  Wow! I have 95,000 miles on it and never had any problems. Great car! Best car for the money.

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  No more Saturns for this family - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Done with Saturns - February 7 - 3:13 pm

  At 45K miles we have a Vue which is unsafe to drive. We spent over 26K and expected a worthwhile, safe, economical vehicle. After taking the car into the 2 separate Saturn dealerships for engine noise, hesitation, poor mpg, etc.. while under warranty nothing could be found. Now, we are told the brake caliper is shot as well as the torque converter- over $2000 in repairs and Saturn wants us to foot the bill for at least parts. We are battling it out with the Saturn Corporate- they are not so customer friendly when you have problems with your vehicle. Right now, we are just glad the brakes did not complelety fail with our 2 year old in the car! We should have spent a few more dollars on an X5.

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  ION 3 IS OK! - 2003 Saturn ION
  By ROBERT LEE HOUSER - February 7 - 10:00 am

  I OWN A SATURN ION 3 NICE CAR, WHEN RATING ONE HAS TO REMEMBER THAT THIS IS A 4 BANGER NOT A PERFORMANCE CAR. BEING WHAT IT IS IT IS GREAT. THE CAR IS A LOT OF FUN AND IT IS NICE TO LOOK AT. EDITORS SHOULD RATE IT FOR WHAT IT IS AND NOT WHAT THEY THINK IT SHOULD BE.