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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  Saturn Aura - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By Hugh - January 11 - 5:46 pm

  Excellent vehicle, GM is eating Toyotas lunch on this one. Great performance, 29.7/gal highway. The panoramic roof is a beautiful option, however I think you compromise some body rigidity with a sunroof so large, but interior noise is still very low. Soft ride with no body roll when cornering, and handles beautifully in the snow. Thanks GM, this one is a keeper!

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  Great SUV - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Dennis Quigg - January 11 - 6:33 am

  This is my wifes car. She researched 16 SUVs prior to purchase. The last three(3) was the Lexus RX-350, Acura MDX, and the Saturn Outlook. All three have almost identical bells and whistles. The Lexus was the quietest, however the Outlook was almost as quiet. All handled well. Lexus didnt seem to take corners quite as well as the outlook/MDX. The cost for the Outlook was about 10K less than the other two. And the Outlook had 100k warrenty, with 0% financing for 60 mths. I cant comment about the mileage yet, not enough driven miles.

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  Awesome! - 2005 Saturn Relay
  By Anderson - January 11 - 3:03 am

  Driving this baby is like hitting the jackpot at the casino. I always get amped driving it. Love the sound of the engine. Has outlet for my kids to play their video games. The amount of space is ridicuous. It can fit a giant if you wanted.

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  Ridges Vue - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Ridges Vue - January 10 - 2:30 pm

  Over all this has been my favorite thus far. The interior could be a little more solid as the windows leak air. My family loves to take this car everywhere we travel. For being and SUV you cant be the MPG at 24.

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  From Acura to Aura - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By Glenn - January 8 - 6:06 am

  While researching my next car purchase I discovered almost by accident the Saturn Aura. I was checking out the Sky Redline as a potential weekend fun car - and parked nearby was an Aura XR. The lines of the car impressed me, and I liked its stance on 18" rims and rubber. I decided on a test drive and was again impressed by its handling, the interior styling, and the available options. The XR had everything and even more than my 2001 Acura RL, including steering wheel paddle shift, adjustable pedals, and a separate rear seat audio system with wireless headphones. I love it so far, now it just needs to match my Acuras reliability.

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  Best car I ever had - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Carole Chenot - January 6 - 7:30 am

  This car helped make driving in the snow a less frightening experience; handling so well. It was also comfortable to drive, got good gas mileage, handled beautifully, sat solid on the road. I lost it in a divorce and would love to have another one, but cant afford it. My daughter and her husband bought a Saturn Vue because they liked ours so well. They were expecting and liked all the features the Vue had to offer for their new baby. It holds so much; weve taken it on several trips and it carried everything we needed. I highly recommend the Vue.

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  2005 VUE - 2006 Saturn VUE
  By blomoriello - January 6 - 2:26 am

  Hard to beat the price Saturn gave us at the time - great on highway and for the size good mileage - the Honda made engine is smooth, great response

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  Great Choice of a Car - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Shellybean - January 6 - 2:00 am

  I have now owned this car for a little over a year and still to this day I have no reservations about buying this car, it gets me where I need to go and with great gas milleage (which is good for a college student!!!!)

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  2004 Saturn Ion 2 - 2004 Saturn ION
  By kmacarthur - January 6 - 1:00 am

  This is my second Saturn, and it gets the job done. It is a reliable vehicle, I was fortunate in finding a very clean used car. One thing that has happened in both of my Ions is that the outlets cease to work at somepoint. I am assuming its something simple, I just have not had it checked out yet. But either way, it has happened in both cars. I know Im not the only one who has had issues with the key getting stuck in the ignition. Again, this happened on both cars. Overall, it really isnt a bad vehicle especially for someone who commutes. Its a little glitchy, but it gets me from A to B.

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  We love our VUE - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Marlene Boothroyd - January 4 - 10:03 pm

  We purchased our 2005 VUE to tow behind our 40 motorcoach. It tows like a dream. You never know it is there. We find the color (Dragonfly Green) does not show the dirt from the road and rinses off easily. We especially like the added space in the rear that holds a full cart of groceries and then disappears into the floor when not in use. Our dogs have plenty of room when the back seats are folded down, but a bonus is, one seat can be used while the wider of the two is folded or visa- versa.Easy loading from back or side doors, too. In our opinion, this is the best mid size SUV and it doesnt cost an arm and a leg. Also two full size bicycles fit inside when we need to use them, a huge plus.