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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  The best choice weve ever made - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Lia - February 18 - 10:20 pm

  After much research and driving the competition, we bought the outlook XR. For $3,000 more than the "competetors"- Pilot/Highlander, it was well worth the investment. The cabin is a much roomier and the smart slide seats are wonderful!. The ride is luxurious, the steering tight and responsive, and it provides plenty of power and pep! Safety features are hard to beat; an impressive SSF of 1.34 (low percentage roll over), airbags everywhere, 1 year on-star service, built in seat belt clips for the little ones, the list goes on and on! The powertrain warranty is decent 5 yrs/100,000 and boasts a sharp interior/exterior design.I knew I had a winner when my father said, "I need one of these"!

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  Feels safe, fun to drive, and economical - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By joosuna - February 17 - 10:46 am

  We have the 3.5 L fwd Vue. Have enjoyed the safe feeling of riding in an SUV. It is not large, so that it does not stand out as a monster SUV. It is a sensible SUV for safe and economical driving. My wife loves to drive it. The interior was a little on the bland side, so we bought an optional interior "spruce-up" accessory, that put some chrome-like plastic to the center counsel and to the interior door handles. Now it looks better on the inside. I do not recommend buying the paint protection package cause it really did not look any better after it was applied. Perhaps it really protects the paint, but does not add any better appearance to the exterior paint finish. We enjoy driving it.

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  Saturn Ion 2003 - 2003 Saturn ION
  By qhsk - February 17 - 10:00 am

  Good start car for a proce range that low

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  03 Vue Review - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By aball - February 17 - 10:00 am

  Enjoying the roomy interior and comfortable highway driving. Recommend the added investment to upgrade to the V6 engine. I like the exterior styling which gives me the opportunity to feel comfortable taking out for a nice dinner or taking camping. Size is just right, not too small and not the heaviness of a big SUV. Large cargo space for midsize SUV. Priced right for what you get.

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  9000 miles and loving it! - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By TMO - February 16 - 9:20 am

  After extensive research I purchased an Astra and absolutely love it! Opel really knows how to build a great small car. The exterior design is sharp and practical. The interior materials quality/fit and finish is on par with Audi but what impresses me the most is the suspension. You get the feeling that it is over built for our roads. It feels stout, connected and very safe around corners, in traffic and at highway speeds. It soaks up bad road with that solid thump you get from premium sedans. Sure, having access to the turbo diesel or the 250 HP turbo motor would have been nice, but the 1.8 is economical (32 mpg) and has plenty zip especially around town. No regrets even with Saturn gone.

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  Performance - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Ben Zollo - February 10 - 6:00 am

  With three trips to Florida from Connecticut, I found the Saturn My VUE (Red Line) turned heads. I found the seats comfortable on long drives. Found the steering to be somewhat scary at high speeds and on rough roads. I feel that the VUE could use an overdrive function for long trips. No heated seats or heated mirrors was a disapointment when you consider that it is an SUV to be used in in the North country in snow. Why else would you want an AWD? I did not like the stock radio and replaced it with a real good after market one, but found the speakers to be sub standard. They too, had to be replaced. Overall, not too bad an SUV.

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  No problems yet - 2005 Saturn ION
  By callahan - February 9 - 3:46 am

  I bought my ion almost three years ago with 22k miles on it. Ive driven it every single day since then and have not had one single problem with it. the only time a mechanic touched it was to change the oil. its my first saturn and i have no reason to not buy another, my only complaint is that the suspension feels like its getting kinda mushy. Likes its not as tight as it was when i bought it.

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  Saturn Ion - 2006 Saturn ION
  By jodi neuberger - February 8 - 1:16 pm

  My experience with this car has been great except that it is very hard on gas and seems to be in the shop more than it has been on the road. The engine light is always telling me that there is something wrong with it. The dealers that have worked on it cannot find the problem. The only place you can take this car to is a Saturn dealer in the cities. This cost money! Overall the car is comfortable to ride in. It is smooth riding and turns nice. It is small and convenient with lots of drunk space. It doesnt use up any oil and for a person who has problems with parallel parking, this is the right choice.

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  Nothing compares in this price range - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By Ken Bott - February 5 - 7:43 am

  I looked at a lot of cars before choosing the Aura XR. No other car could compare to the XR in this price range. In order to find a comparable car you need to add at least $5,000 to the price tag. This car has awesome performance. Unlike a lot of the competitors products you do not have to be running at redline RPM to feel the power of the car. This car has power to spare at any RPM. The six speed transmission is fantastic and a lot of fun. The transmission is crisp but not jarring. The paddle shifters are a hoot. I have gotten a lot of compliments on the styling of the car. People just can not believe that it is a Saturn. Give the Saturn XR a try. This one is a keeper.

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  Our VUE of the road - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By sterlngcat - February 5 - 2:00 am

  Even though this is our 4th Saturn, the VUE still suprised us. It rides like a car and the new 6-cylinder engine is powerful. It handles and corners nice, and bumps in the road are like nothing. Many people have commented about how our VUE looks like the BMW X5. The interior is comfortable and conveinent. Two car seats fit nicely in the back with enough room for another person. And the back floor is FLAT adding to the comfort. But it needs more storage. The door pockets are small and the console even smaller. Overall, the VUE is a great SUV to own. Homerun for Saturn!