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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  Lookout for the Outlook - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By jonhel - August 9 - 1:33 am

  This SUV is the cream of the crop. Just finished a 4,000 mile vacation, and had a MPG of 25.6 MPG. The trip included both interstate highways and city driving. The ride is so smooth and quiet its hard to believe you are actucally in a vehicle Couple of drawbacks-the 12 VDC outlet in the dash, will not take a drink and a charger at the same time, due closeness of the cup holder to the DC outlet. The clothes hangers in the rear, are over the third seat area. Although I made a full length rod from electrical conduit, the clothes still folded up with the luggage. Other than those two items, I found nothing wrong with the vehicle.

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  Test drive of the Saturn Ion - 2003 Saturn ION
  By Mike25 - August 8 - 2:00 am

  To make a long story short, the ride was nice. The car handled very smoothly with adequate power for its class, without being too noisy. But the car fails miserably on comfort. The cockpit of this "roomier" Saturn can best be described as claustrophobic. The center console felt like it was digging into my right leg the whole time. It actually felt painful after my 3 minute test drive. I am 6 feet tall, but even the salesperson, who looked to be about 58" said he had a problem with it. How could Saturn produce a new model with such an obious shortcoming? Did anyone look at this thing before it was put on the market?

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  Greatest Mini-Suv Ever! - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Ryan K. - August 8 - 2:00 am

  The Saturn Vue is by far one of the greatest SUVs I have ever driven. I currently bought one in November of 02. So far so good. Its been great in performance, gas millage, and reliability. Ive had it a little over 2 weeks now, and Im lovin it!

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  Happy With My Vue - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By Miss Chris AZ - August 6 - 11:13 am

  I have had my Vue for almost a year and am very happy with it. It is a fun car to drive and the interior is very comfortable. It gets reasonably good gas milage and has been very reliable.

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  Lemon - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Saturn Vue Owner - August 6 - 10:00 am

  My husband and I bought our 2004 Saturn VUE in November of 2003.Our dealership was pleasant and we felt we had a great deal. Soon we made great friends with the service department as well! So far we have had a noise in the dash that cant be duplicated,so we bring it in and they shoot foam into the dash to cushion the sound. Noise is still there. We have had the rotors machined, rotars replaced, bad wheel bearing replaced,ac adapter fuses replaced,transmission cover replaced, transmission reprogrammed and fluids replaced,and still waiting on our recall to be addressed.Saturn Corporation offered extended warranty, but nothing else.Safety and reliablity are huge concerns at 22,000 mi.

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  Saturn ION Review - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Dinerobill - August 6 - 10:00 am

  Overall a very nice car. I had been a Honda driver for many years but local dealershiop began high pressure sales techniques so, so long Honda. I really enjoyed doing business with folds at Saturn. I have even brought my car back to dealership for scheduled maintenance.

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  Still basic, just add bells and whistles - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Ronr1204 - August 6 - 10:00 am

  I cant really complain- the Ion 3 has a good deal more power under the hood than the old SL1; as well as more responsive handling but I really wish Saturn would learn to make their interiors look a little less like they were glued and scotch taped together.

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  My Coupe - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Twos Girl - August 6 - 10:00 am

  I love my new Saturn coupe. It is extremely reliable and fuel efficient. My car normally can get approximately 35 miles to the gallon driving mostly highway. I have incurred a broken heat shield on my muffler but instead of Saturn welding it back in place, they replaced the entire muffler. Saturn has wonderful representatives who are very helpful in assisting you with any problems or questions you might have.

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  Snow Eater! - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By Mike - August 6 - 1:13 am

  We bought our Outlook in August 2008 (traded in a BMW 330CiC). We bought it for its HUGE interior and cargo space as well as its seating for 8. No other vehicle can compare within its class. It drives great, gets decent fuel mileage for its size, and is very comfortable. We had our first "big" snow here in DC a week ago (6-10) inches and my wife was hesitant about driving the Outlook in the snow. We have owned other SUVs in the past and snow was not their strong suit. However, this thing was like a snow plow. No slipping, sliding, or any problems. She loved the fact that she didnt have to "do anything" because it is AWD. Great winter vehicle!!

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  Suprised & Disappointed! - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By USBrit2002 - August 5 - 3:53 am

  Bought new. No prior preference. Just wanted good fit. In truth found it by mistake. Misread dealers Aura advert for Acura! Then saw it - black, sleek stylish & GREAT price. Im a tall Rugby player so I need room and selected model w/out sun-roof (who needs it anyway?). Agree with every previous positive comment. May not be a top luxury interior - but its roomy and at great price. Then, GM closes Saturn! Thought - why end a modern, distinctive, fair-priced range whilst keeping two mediocre look-alike clones; (Chevy & GMC)?