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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  05 VUE AWD V6 - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Bill - May 7 - 5:06 pm

  I bought this car new in June 2005 when I traded in my Nissan Maxima. The Vue is no Maxima. It has great power, reasonable fuel economy, looks great and has more room than the other vehicles in its class (Santa Fe, Xterra, CRV) The only issue Ive had has been with wheel bearing/strut assemblies, they covered it under warranty but I had to fight like hell to have it covered. Im at 83k now and it is still fun to drive. Id like to go for something larger but who can afford it let alone the fuel. I can get about 600kms on a tank of regular going about 97km/hr on the highway, big difference in fuel if you drive 120k/hr. You gotta take the V6 out for a drive if your looking at this segment

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  Saturn Vue - Customer Service - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By tlf713 - May 6 - 4:13 pm

  Gets great gas mileage. Customer service not so great. Car seems to have design flaws that no one wants to admit to. Had to take it in 5 times to get the door handles fixed. Inside door weather stripping kept coming off, they ordered and replaced wrong parts and damaged other part in the process. Had to take back 2 more times for that fix. Now the sunroof is leaking, they say theres not a problem, but Ive had several GM cars before and the sunroof never leaked from the drainage tubes. Will be glad when my lease is up, grateful I did not purchase.

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  Excellent product from GM but... - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Dave - May 4 - 11:36 am

  Hard to believe this is a GM product. Looks and drives more like a Honda or Toyota. So far after 8100 miles the car has been solid with no problems. Steering feel is very good, handling is nice for a SUV of this size, and acceleration is good once you know how to goose the transmission. There is a significant issue with the design. The doors and rear window are high. Visibility out the back is very bad and makes backing up safely a challenge. My real world fuel economy has been around 17 city/21 highway. At 75 MPH plus, the transmission does hunt in and out of 6th gear.

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  everything is good except its a lemmon - 2004 Saturn ION
  By 2000miles/month - April 28 - 2:00 am

  Bought the car so I dont have to worry, I have been at the dealer 8 times besides oil changes. They cant figure out what is wrong with my brakes. Other than that car is fun to drive, the 5 speed manual is pretty fast.

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  Love my Astra! - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By John - April 27 - 6:13 am

  "Thats a Saturn?" I have heard that ten times in the 1 week since I brought the car home. People look at it. It feels solid. It takes an adjustment to get used to at first, sure, but once you do it is a daily joy. I love this car, black sapphire with the leather and 18" wheels. It has its quirks, and my gas mileage seems to be locked at only 22mpg but still better than the 15 I was getting in my SUV. When all is said and done, I am glad that I bought it, totally on a whim I might add.

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  Cant beat it for the money - 2004 Saturn ION
  By hominum - April 23 - 10:00 am

  I dont get the attitude in the reviews Ive read. Yes, there are better subcompacts. Theyre priced higher and their dealers have an attitude to boot - which means even more cost to you. This car delivers all the essentials: great pickup, tight handling, good view of the road, interesting styling. I dont just like, I love the center console. Yeah, its different. Get over it, its also better - the shift to view the guages is lateral, and it never feels like youre taking your eyes off the road by looking down. I got this car at 2.9%, and Im paying 190/month. I bought it hassle-free in one day. Try that at Honda.

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  Good Commuter Car - 2004 Saturn ION
  By commuter_cop - April 21 - 8:26 pm

  Bought for my 68 mile a day commute to work. Great gas mileage, fill it up once a week. Good reliability, bought with just over 48,000 miles on it and had to change the bushings (Which i knew when I bought it) havent had to fix anything until about 90,000 miles when I replaced the rear shocks and new tires and brake pads. Cost about $450 bucks. Is all paid for and will run it into the ground. I love the 2.2 liter Ecotech engine. The center console where the gauges are is awesome. It has served its purpose admirably. Not a great car for a family cause there is little leg room in the back but as a commuter car I couldnt have asked for anything better for the money.

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  Active Expression VUE - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By VTchemist - April 19 - 7:53 pm

  Only trouble has been front CV joints. Have replaced both: one at 75K miles and the other at 85K miles. Love the plastic body; very forgiving in parking lots. Highest mpg is 27 on interstate. In-town runs around 21-22 mpg. Glad I bought my VUE.

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  Nice look, but... - 2007 Saturn ION
  By bmcewen1513 - April 19 - 6:03 am

  When i first learned to drive when I had my drivers permit my mom had a 2004 Saturn Ion 2, so I am familiar with the performance and drive of the vehicle. I love the way the car handles, smooth drive, and no noises. One thing I have noticed that I am not fond of is the MPG it seems to get. I had a 2001 Chrysler sebring Conv. with a 6 Cyl engine... it seemed that I got more MPG with that vehicle however it could be due to the fact that in the ION I dont notice when I am driving faster so I feel the need to push the gas harder. Id say for a 20 yr old college student its a great car for the money.

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  Love My Saturn, sad I 2 have to replace - 2005 Saturn ION
  By Mandy - April 10 - 12:33 am

  I bought my Saturn new with 4 miles on it, it now has 140,000. Never done a thing to it except change oil, new tires and 1 battery! I live in the country and this tiny car has no problems handling the dirt roads. Great in ice and snow too! Great gas milage. Sad they wont be making Saturn anymore. With 140K its time to replace it while I have the finances to.