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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  Great Ride - 2007 Saturn Sky
  By Marion - November 6 - 3:03 pm

  This is by far the most fun I have had in a car in a long time. Not only does it look unique, but is zippy and super fun to drive. It handles like a true roadster and with a smaller engine gets pretty good mileage. A real head- turner! The interior is small and definitely not made for anyone over 6 tall, but the set up puts everything right at your finger tips. Check the trip mileage, oil life and remaining miles on your gas fight on the steering wheel as well as cruise and radio controls. Climate control, just as easy. Trunk is small, but if you are creative there is a lot of room for bags and things. Top is easy to take down and put up. Good job Saturn.

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  Best in the West - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By oresteskid - November 4 - 2:00 am

  Neither rain, nor sleet nor snow..... sound familiar! Its true

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  Saturn VUE - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By TMFdeC - November 4 - 2:00 am

  Great SUV! Lots of room for cargo and passengers. Very easy to drive and to get around town in.

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  Great Car - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By morty - November 4 - 2:00 am

  The only complaint I have about the car is the 4 cylinder is a little bit loud. Reality is that it is a 4c and a large vehicle. You cant find a better SUV for the dollar. I tried all the other ones

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  Best One Out There - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By HomeBase1 - November 4 - 2:00 am

  04 FWD V6, We wanted something more reliable than our "ol sludger", Toyota Sienna. We stumbled upon the 04 VUE and really liked it. Plenty of space for a "small" SUV--this looks much more like a mid-size SUV, extremely quick with the Honda 3.5L V6 engine. The redesigned dash is much more appealing and doesnt look like the old S-Series any longer. Plenty of leg room! Cant be beat for a $23K price tag, $25K with leater, moonroof, power seats and MP3 player. The Higlander was too much money and the Escape costs too much to fix the brakes (read other posts here at Edmunds). Good gas milage for a big powerful V6, 25MPG.

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  2004 Saturn vue - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By mschap - November 4 - 2:00 am

  Very surprised of how solid this vehicle is built. It performs well in town and on the open highway. Very versitle and comfortable.

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  saturns rule - 2004 Saturn ION
  By srs - November 4 - 2:00 am

  great gas mileage. sporty look w/o the price

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  GO ION! - 2004 Saturn ION
  By BBad - November 4 - 2:00 am

  Love the car its fun to drive, unique style and its just fun.

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  Saturn ION 1 - 2004 Saturn ION
  By pivo - November 4 - 2:00 am

  This car has alot of pep. It handles surprisingly well on wet roads, and so far has gone great on a small amount of snow. I drive this car about five hours a day on my courier job, and have experienced only a little fatigue from the so-called "flat" seats. The buying experience at the dealer was refreshing. I can honestly say that I not only love driving my Saturn, but also love to look at it. It looks very modern and fresh, especially in the silver nickel color. For a cheap, economical car, I think its a great deal.

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  Decent Car - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Jeffrey Harvey - November 4 - 2:00 am

  We looked around at a number of dealerships before going to Saturn. From the moment we walked in the door we were impressed with the Ion. For the price, we found the Ion to be more stylish than the Ford Focus, Kia or Mazda vehicles we looked at.