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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  Will never buy another Saturn - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Michelle - June 7 - 8:03 am

  We have had our 2005 Saturn Vue for a little over 2 years. We have taken it in countless times for poor mileage, hesitation, etc. Now at 45000 the wheel bearings have gone. If the service department was at all helpful - at any Saturn Dealership we have been to - it would have been a more bearable experience. However, we recieve no solutions to our problems and Saturn will not pay for the wheel bearings either - surely this was part of some of our earlier problems. Also, this car is noisy.. despite its hefty original purchase price of over $26K - we would have gotten a whole lot more out of our money if we had spent a few more thousand on a BMW or Mercedes in the same class. NEVER AGAIN!

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  Will Never buy another one! - 2003 Saturn ION
  By Unhappy Owner - May 25 - 1:53 am

  The first six months the car was pretty great and then the problems started. Since then I have had it in the shop 8 times. I am so sick of taking this car in! I am trading very soon and I will never buy another Ion! The dealership was really great but the car is crap. I have never had a car with so many defects. I have had every blinker and light replaced and now I am having transmission issues. Also my AC knobs dont turn right anymore. Please....dont buy this car unless you want problems. I wish I knew about this site before I bought!

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  Do not buy-not safe!! - 2007 Saturn ION
  By tobrien017 - May 25 - 12:20 am

  This car is known for steering problems. The steering locks up while driving causing an extremely unsafe condition. Saturn is aware of this problem and has not notified owners or issued a recall. You will have to fix at your own expense (a hefty one). Saturn needs to address this issue before somebody gets killed.

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  Not so sure - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By kdizzy - May 20 - 12:43 am

  After seeing the 2007 Aura won the "North American Car of the Year" award I thought "How can I go wrong". I traded in my 2003 Chevy Impala and in a year have had the car in for service 5 times. The second day I had the car I ended up having it towed into the service center because the transmission was missing and speedometor was bouncing around. Ended up being a speed sensor switch had to be replaced.

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  2007 Saturn Vue FWD 2.2L - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By allglock - April 27 - 11:06 pm

  I was looking for something that got decent gas mileage. Thats about all I got! Ride is noisy and sloppy. Overall, not fun to drive. Engine and transmission noise is very loud. Seats feel like you are going to fall out of them when making turns. Drives like a boat on water. I guess its the price I have to pay for decent gas mileage and interior room.

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  Eh. Just Ok. - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By 2vues - April 13 - 2:00 am

  Its loud. Its rough. Its sluggish unless you floor the pedal. It seems to get stuck between gears. It seems to built like a toy. I dont really like it.

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  Not all its cracked up to be - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Ny - April 3 - 1:43 am

  Ive had my ION 2 for 21 months, and Im not happy with it. The engine rumbles more than a new car should. The side windows fog up so bad that I cant see out of them at all, so I have to drive with the windows cracked open an inch in winter. The brakes have squealed from the beginning and they "hitch" when I first use them in the morning. The bottom of the instrument panel cover gets caught on my shoe and pulls off all the time, its very difficult to put back on. I realize you get what you pay for and this is a low-price car, but I was expecting a "bargain," not a "cheap" car. I had a KIA Spectra for the same price before and it was much better! I wanted to by American, and I regret it.

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  Going to be my last Saturn...sad - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Aaron - March 29 - 1:16 pm

  My wife and I bought a new ION (9th Saturn for my family since 94) and before it reached 10000 miles we had to take it to the dealership 3 times for suspension issues (suspension arm/brushings replaced). It also lunges forward between 2nd and 3rd gear when accelerating slowy and it downshifts and jerks backwards when coasting down hills. When I roll my windows up and down it sounds like a jack-in-the-box before it pops open. My 94 Saturn was great. It had 180,000 on it before we traded it in and got a 2008 Civic. I really dont think the ION will make it that long.

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  The Air Conditioning Stinks! - 2005 Saturn Relay
  By Scrapmetal - March 27 - 11:06 am

  Living in Arizona, you use a/c year round. The a/c in this platform stinks! During the summer I was unable to cool the inside below 90 degrees! We have had it checked. I could drive 50 miles at 65 mph before the cabin started to cool down to the upper 80s. I was given several reasons why this was, but each service visit am told "it is cooling just fine" because they read the center vent with side vents closed and the air temp coming out, not what it feels like! Dont buy it!

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  Worst nightmare possible - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By Gary Moroz - March 17 - 8:26 am

  Our problems began after 4 months and less than 3000 miles when a p.s. hose burst on Jan 21/08. Dealer said it was probably water in the p.s. hose that froze and burst the line! No hoses available in N.A. so dealer finally stripped a new vehicle to get us going after a week. Second p.s. hose burst Feb. 13 causing smoke and fumes to enter our vehicle while driving! P.S. hose replaced again. Feb 21, 3rd hose ruptures, radiator is leaking antifreeze, transmission leaking oil and various electrical problems occurring. Still waiting on parts and without the use of our Vue for almost 2 months . Dealer does not know what is causing the problems. We are very very disappointed with this vehicle.