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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  Love It & Hate It - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By zr77 - February 22 - 1:47 am

  We bought our Outlook used with 40K miles, and thankfully I bought an extended warranty, its paid for itself many times over already in the 2 and 1/2 years weve owned this car. We traded in a Mazda MPV minivan with 140K miles that needed maybe $800 worth of repairs over the 6+ years we owned it. The Saturn on the other hand has cost over $5000 in repairs. Luckily the warranty covered all but about $800-900. I was able to get the timing chain repaired under the recall and an issue with the transmission as well. Weve had issues with the AC, heating vents, sunroofs pour in water, brakes replaced many times, oil leaks (major), will not stay aligned, tires are junk, poor paint quality etc.

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  AWD Vue - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By remmy - February 6 - 10:03 pm

  This is our first SUV. However, it is a "looks can be deceiving" vehicle. W/in the first 6 months, the back seat stitching ripped out, the mirror adjuster popped off, and the middle console cracked. After owning it 2yrs and 6 months, both front wheel bearings went out, the rear main seal began leaking, and something went wrong with the rear axle.On windy days, the drivers side and passenger side doors tend to push out at the top. There is a lot of road noise and air. When the windows or sunroof is open, there is a vaccuum of air that makes your ears pop. Other than that, it handles great in all kinds of weather.

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  The worst vehicle I have ever owned... - 2005 Saturn Relay
  By notagoodvan - February 3 - 5:00 am

  This van has been nothing but a nightmare since the beginning. We should have sold it back under lemon law but we never thought the problems would continue. We certainly never thought that if the problems continued that Saturn would say...sorry you are stuck with it. It has had quite a few different brake problems, major door problems, issues with the windshield or something near there causing an extremely loud wind noise that was never able to be fixed, door paneling falling off, radio replaced 3 times, DVD player replaced once, rear sensor malfunction, broken seatbelt upon purchase, broken horn upon purchase and more...yes theres more. Its a terrible van and Saturn does not back it.

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  Big Mistake - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By fallbeauty - February 2 - 10:00 am

  There isnt enough characters allowed to explain the last four years with this car. It was in the shop more than it was in our driveway. We spent thousands of dollars in repairs only to be treated like dogs by the Saturn customer service. Have never experienced anything like it. Do not buy this car. Run fast. It is a money pit and has many flaws, major flaws. The latest was the computer system. Everything was acting all crazy. It would have loss of power. Sometimes it would start and other times it wouldnt. The brakes vibrated, the hood cable wore out the hood was stuck closed. The throttle body had to be replaced several times. Nightmare.

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  OK car - 2003 Saturn ION
  By Leo - January 14 - 11:13 pm

  OK car for its price. Had minor problem with the electric system first year. Original set of tires of very bad quality and no warranty on them at all. On average 30mpg, which is great. Shock absorbing system is bad, can feel any bump on a road. Good ride otherwise. A bit rough switching between gears. Services not of great quality and not that cheap at all, I would say, a bit expensive for an entry level car.

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  Make sure they are New - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By 5th Time the Charm - January 12 - 1:30 am

  5 time Saturn owner looking for a truck. Found a loaded 02 VUE off of a 3 year lease with 24K miles. Everything was great until 50K. Then it was new tires, brakes, cam positioning sensor, front strut mounts and a gremlin in the electrical system. 72K saw new catalytic converter, front strut bushings (sounded like there was a metal on metal grind from the front end, must have been the mounts again) and brakes, again. All covered under warranty. 85K saw new shocks, struts, tires, center support bearing for rear drive, 3 wheel bearings and to top it off a bad ECM! Truck was great when it ran. Solid power, stable and comfortable. Make sure you have a warranty. When it expires, dump it.

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  Poor suspension quaulity - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By HHP - December 19 - 1:10 pm

  My Saturn Vue has some positives and dissapointments. Positives, economical,speedy, handles pretty well, and looks pretty good. Negatives. Noisy inside picks up all road noise. Windshield angle and front post block vision to left, particularly at night. Had to replace struts, links and bearings at 43k miles at a cost of $1500.00. They are due again at 80k miles. Computer module went out at 50k miles. $500. Now on the third set of odd size tires. My Ford Explorer 4x4 is much more car for less money.

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  Good for the Desert - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By JBear - November 6 - 5:56 am

  Six repairs of sunroof leaks and three repairs of windshield wiper failures. Carpets replaced by dealer but mold is still present above headliner. Lucky I am still alive after wiper failures in heavy rainstorms. Battery has also died on me at least five times. I am embarrassed to admit that I am an American engineer. GM should be ashamed of themselves. Great design, poor execution.

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  Inexpensive - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Just me in Jersey - November 4 - 2:00 am

  This SUV is inexpensive and you get what you pay for. I bought mine fully loaded, cant inamgine what it would be like with just the basics. My teenage sons legs are too long for the backseat so its very uncomfortable for him.

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  Nothing but problems! - 2007 Saturn ION
  By Simpleplex - November 1 - 2:50 am

  After buying it new, there was a brake problem, warped disk. They fixed it. Then, at about 35,000 mi. the radio stopped working properly. The engine light came on. Saturn said engine light was caused by bad injector, replaced and problem still there. Some dummy lights would stay on and go off. Had to replace bearings. A lot of ride and engine noise, and front wheel noise, and brake vibration because disk is warped again. Seems to be some transmission problem with hard shift into first gear. So basically, a terrible car with too many problems at such low miles.