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 does NOT deliver - 2003 Saturn ION
  By yi - October 12 - 10:00 am

  I had FOUR rentals in two months due to problems. I called Saturn several times and spoke to several people. Their response was, and I quote: "Were sorry, but your warranty doesnt cover inconvenience." Nice, huh. The car has a LOT of interior noise: rattles, squeaks, clicks, you name it. It doesnt handle well when turning either, partly because the steering wheel is stiff, but also because it doesnt hug the road. And, you might want to consider getting some extra padding in your seat because its a bumpy ride. Overall, the car is okay to drive and looks nice, but prepare for many trips to the dealer...and a lot of hot air from the Saturn Corporation.

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  I hate my Saturn VUE! - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Rachel Pena - October 11 - 6:46 pm

  I have been in and out of the Saturn dealerships for service, and have been in touch with the corporate office numerous times to make complaints. My SUV isnt even two years old yet and is falling apart! I am not hard on my car and do not feel that it is normal for a vehicle to fall apart like this VUE has. The plastic that it is made of is a poor quality. The door panel falls off with temperature changes. The center console falls out of place. The doors shift. The service dept at dealer level and at corp level say that this is what the warranty is for, but I feel that I should not have to take my time to bring it in for warranty work on a monthly basis. They do not stand behind the product

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  Severely Disappointed - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By Wendi O - September 24 - 7:46 pm

  Wanted to buy American and took a chance on the VUE Red Line. Owned it for less than one year and already it has been in the shop 4 times. It comes out worse than when it went in. A/C has gone out 3 times in the heat of Vegas. Weird cracking sound in the dash when you drive anywhere is annoying and the mechanics have been unable to fix it after taking the damned dash apart twice! Now they are trying to tell me that it is "normal sound" and to ignore it. Test drove one from the dealership just to prove them wrong. Gas mileage supposed to average 15-19 in city....lucky to get 15. And now the low gas indicator just stopped working

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  vue - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By zoe - September 22 - 10:00 am

  Bad paint spots on gold vue 2002. Had rear cargo door replaced but still have spots all over the vehicle that they said is the metallic in the paint. It looks like a safari vue.

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  Do not buy this vehicle - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Scott - September 1 - 3:23 pm

  We bought our 2003 AWD V-6 because my wife liked the styling, the AWD, the 4 doors and heard Saturns were good cars. Please take it from me, its junk. The front end rattles and shakes. We have had brakes replaced, tires replaced, it still shakes. The transmission just went out, a $5,900 fix, more than the car is worth! The Saturn dealer said it would cost more to rebuild the transmission than to replace it with a new one. To me, that is simply crazy. Buy a Ford or a Toyota but stay away from this piece of junk!

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  Never Again - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By Don - July 31 - 5:03 pm

  Bought brand new in 2007, absolutely worst car I have ever owned. Obvious electrical problems, speakers would work intermittently, dashboard lights flashed off and on. Dealer told me they could find nothing wrong. Shifting not smooth at all. Gas mileage barely 20 in the city, 22 HWY. Manifold leak at 12,000 miles. AC Compressor out at 16,000 miles. This car bears truth to the saying "you get what you pay for". Inexpensive SUV, and shows it. After the compressor went out, I decided I didnt want to see what would happen once the warranty expired at 36,000 miles, and traded it in for a Nissan Xterra. Horrible trade in value. Know 2 other people who own one and not happy either.

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  Be vey careful - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By A7 - July 13 - 7:40 pm

  Be aware when buying one of these. We had nothing but problems with ours. Stupid things such as washer fluid pump never worked, thermostat, check engine light was on the entire time that we owned it(2 years). Also head gasket and lower intake gaskets were starting to fail.Only 70,000 miles. Make sure that when they change your oil that the filter is changed, not a conventional oil filter. I would not recommend any of the VUE models, not a good design. If you must get a Saturn stick with a SC series small car.

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  Glad to get rid of it - 2007 Saturn ION
  By rv88 - July 6 - 4:00 am

  I purchased my Saturn Ion used in early 2010, and I immediately started having problems with it. My grandparents always swore by Saturn and never had problems with their Saturns, but the Ion is definitely an exception. I have had problems with the power steering going out (repaired under warranty), the suspension bushings, the key getting stuck in the ignition, the hubcaps squeaking, and some other electrical issues. The interior quality is awful and the paint coat is super thin. I have enjoyed driving it, as it handles and performs rather well, but the reliability and build quality issues are forcing me to sell it. Im looking at the Mazda Miata and Chrysler 200 currently.

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  Nothing but trouble - 2009 Saturn VUE
  By jleemc - June 29 - 9:03 am

  I have had nothing but trouble since I bought this vehicle. Even had to be towed once. The check engine light stays on all the time and they cannot fix it. I drove a rental more than I drove the vue for the first year I owned it because it stayed in the shop. Currently at only 50,000 miles the starter has gone out. The vehicle also gets poor gas mileage compared to other comparable SUVs. Not only am I done with Saturn. Im done with GM. GM is not standing by their product that I have had trouble out of since the day I bought it. It also has very limited passenger space when compared to other similar vehicle.

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  Sorry to Report-No to the VUE - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By Shermi - June 28 - 11:30 pm

  Purchased 12-01-08 & w/i 13 months, the VUE has been in the shop, 15 times. Steering wheel problems, motor mount problems, shifter-box problems. It is definitely the worst purchase that I have ever made. So far, I have had serious problems with 3 GM products in over ten years. Having owned at least 15 GM products, I dont think that I will purchase a GM vehicle again.