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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  Aura continues to rock - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By Girish - June 9 - 8:10 pm

  This is my second review of the Aura and probably can be considered a long-term review. I leased the Aura in late October of 2006. After 16 months of ownership and about 23,000 miles on the odometer, I can safely say that I have found a very nice car. I have lots of friends who own Japanese built Camrys and Accords, and I have hitched rides in all those models. None of them come close to the Aura on Interstate manners. It is an excellent workhorse on the wide open roads and is amazingly silent at high speeds. I average 30 mpg hwy and 23 city. I have even done a 550 mile, 8 hour stretche in the North-East and a 450 mile non-stop no refuel stretch as well. Cannot complain about anything.

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  Car wont start in Winter - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Mike48128 - June 9 - 7:26 am

  Passlock (BCM) makes the car impossible to start in cold weather. Noisy suspension and easily damaged bumpers. I liked this car a lot at first due to the large cargo space and good gas mileage...but not anymore. Do not buy this model as a used car. You will be sorry.

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  The best vehicle value Ive ever enjoyed! - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By mjuresich - June 8 - 2:58 pm

  I bought my 03 Vue in November of 08 for $2500 with 180K on the clock and a salvage? title. I now have 237k miles on it. Ive only replaced the brakes, a wheel bearing/hub assembly, a rear drive shaft support bearing and U-joints in the 4.5 years Ive enjoyed it. It just wont die! It always starts right up even on the coldest of Michigan days. The AWD is tremendous in the snow. Talk about value and reliability! Ive received more than my moneys worth from this vehicle. I hate rust and thus love the plastic body panels on this vehicle. Ten years old and it still looks great! Id buy another V6 Vue in a minute!

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  Good value - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By cfm56doc - June 7 - 10:00 am

  Overall I am pleased with the vehicle, but am unsure abouth the dealership network. Our truck has had several trips for repairs and still am fighting an A/C problem quiting after 1 1/2 - 2 hours on the highway. If you shut the A/C system off for aprox. 30 seconds and turn the A/C back on all will be fine for the next hour until you repeat. Front suspensions is a MAJOR sore point with this vehicle. I am on my 3 set of struts after only 26,00 miles. Bad luck? I keep telling myself I bought an early production version and am paying the price for it.

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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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  Cant Believe I Bought This Car - 2007 Saturn ION
  By jchron - June 4 - 6:16 am

  We bought this car new, when gas prices shot way up. I had always heard how great Saturns were and how wonderful the service was. I was also impressed with the owner loyalty. My only question is "How could anyone love this car?" It is sluggish, extremely uncomfortable, and the interior parts are the cheapest I have seen in any automobile. The seats stain if you spill a drop of water on them. Cheap, cheap fabric. The car is noisy on the highway. This is the first and last GM product I will own, what a piece of junk. The backseat is useless with zero headroom and legroom. Very disappointed, could have bought a Nissan Sentra or Toyota Corolla for the same dollars.

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  Lots of miles still going strong - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By vue in VT - June 2 - 7:20 am

  I have 51,000 miles since bought new in 08. had floor board leak in beginning had go to dealer twice for repair but not one issues since but did have door handles replaced for recall. I love the ride and am very sorry that Saturn is closed I know I will not get as good service at Chevy dealership.

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  Vue is great - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By HerbaB - June 1 - 2:00 am

  I was very impressed with the innovative features of the Saturn Vue i purchased. They have considered many little things that make the buyers life easier every day. These are not expensive things but very important and practical. For example, its no longer necessary to get under the vehicle to change the oil filter ... you just unscrew the cap and replace the inners. Also they have a holder in the rear storage area which holds grocery bags from falling over. It runs smoothly and is a pleasure to drive for a very reasonable price!@

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  Love my Sky Redline - 2008 Saturn Sky
  By Pdan - May 31 - 11:50 pm

  This car is everything Ive wished for in a roadster. Its extremely fun to drive.The handling is amazing. The sound system is excellent. I was originally considering the Pontiac Solstice, until stumbling across the Sky on the internet. After laying eyes on the Redline we knew it was the car we had been looking for. This car is a must drive. XM radio and OnStar phone service. Excellent!

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  Reeling in the Relay - 2005 Saturn Relay
  By Fran - May 30 - 11:43 am

  In general I like the car. The first year I owned it the A/C wasnt strong at all. This past summer I found the A/C to work much more efficiently. The ride is average, the road noise is below average. I love the styling of the van. Its what encouraged me to purchase it along with the built in DVD player that my daughter plays video games on as well as watch movies. For a large cargo area that this van has, I found there was more room in the Chrysler/Dodge/Honda vans. I was sold on the look for the most part.