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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  Edmunds is Rude - 2004 Saturn ION
  By ndspelman - September 5 - 2:00 am

  If you havent noticed by now, every compact/economy car, the edmunds ratings have been "sub-par." whatever, i guess if you compare the saturn ion to lets say a lexus, than hmmm, maybe it is a little less than---maybe perfect! But lets be realistic, what do you expect for $17000. Anyway, this is my second saturn, the first trade in was a 97 sl2 with 180000 miles! This one will take that trip as well. I love saturn, i love the ion, and my next will be the Vue. GO ION!!!!

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  Saturn ION3 - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Disnydude1 - September 5 - 2:00 am

  After having this ION 3 for 1 week, I am totally in love with it. All the automatic features are awesome. The pickup is great for a 4 cyl. engine. It rides beautifully and handles great. There is plenty of room for me in the front.

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  ion does it for us - 2004 Saturn ION
  By berbbel - September 5 - 2:00 am

  Im very pleased with the ION. Perfect first car for my daughter at a great price-competitive with used. Fun to drive for my wife and me as well. Someone should get a life when they critique the flat seats.

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  Something different - 2005 Saturn ION
  By JennyJ9986 - September 3 - 11:23 pm

  If youÂ’re looking for something fun to drive, but you donÂ’t want the cost of an RSX or the unpleasant ride of an SRT-4, then an ION Redline is the way to go. Its fraternal twin the Colbalt SS has the same engine, however the seats are not as comfortable as the Recaros and it doesnt have the two suicide doors for easy access. I like those things so I went with the ION. As far as the center console, I think it allows me to see more of the road, so really itÂ’s just a matter of getting used to it. Plus itÂ’s got 5 star crash test ratings, so not only is it fast, but its safe too.

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  A good one - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By ARC - September 3 - 10:43 pm

  The 2008 Aura XE V-6 is fun to drive and so far has been more than expected. We leased the XE with heated leather seats, boy they work great. Weve been asked twice so far how much we like the vehicle and remarks were: very sharp exterior and very sleek.

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  Good car but not satisfy - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By VUE owner - September 3 - 10:00 am

  Love everything of the car and purchasing experence. Except for these: 1. carpet comes loose 2. Gas gauge shows wrong amount 3. Side of the panel makes a clicking sound when push 4. left fog light not secure. 5. The COMP on the mirror auto turns back on (this might be how it is supposed to work, but the problem is I asked the technicians, sales persons and 800 support number and nobody knows if its that way or something wrong.) I sold my old SL1 which had almost 100k. I know they are great cars just not sure if they rush out the VUE that cause the problems.

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  unique car! - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By Mark12 - September 3 - 2:00 am

  Unique looks, wonderful, functional and spacy interior. Excellent powertrain, unbelievable steering. You will love this car. The interior is, of course, plastic and cheap, but the car is cheap, so dont expect leather, chrome and wood. Unlike other SUV manufacturers, Saturn guys thought it makes more sense to give you folded front seat and cargo organizer instead of a folding picnic table that comes with CR-V. And, with AWD V6, everything you need is in standard.

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  Transmission/Leaking W/ electrical issues - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By Jenny - September 2 - 11:20 pm

  I purchased my Saturn Outlook XR in march of 2015 with 74,000 miles on it. 2 months after i had transmission issues. the warranty covered it and i only had to pay my 100 dollar warranty deductible. now my vehicle is leaking from under the dash to the left of my break. and the sky light in the second and third row is now leaking water and the back headliner lights are even having water through them. yesterday 3/24/2016 it flooded really bad on the driver side. it was not the sunroof either. because it was not even wet in that area i can see water coming from under dash. I am now having electrical problems because of water damage. my wipers wont turn off unless car is off my turning indicators went out after coming on, on their own and finally just failed. my windshield wiper fluid was spraying on its own and finally failed. My vehicle is going to dealer this coming up week and the dealer has already told me it wont be covered! I have seen so many people with the same or similar issues as my own! DO NOT BUY THIS VEHICLE, OR ACADIA, OR THE BUICK ENCLAVE. YOU WILL REGRET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If anyone sees this and wants to contact me and has same problems i have contacted GM and i will not just go away!!![contact information removed]

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  North Americas Best Kept Secret. - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By Erik Poirier - September 2 - 11:16 pm

  I dont know what to say. After having a bad start with a 2008 Vue Hybrid I got myself into an Astra XR with Sport package (sport suspension, 17 inch alloys, performance steering, Stabilitrak) and let me tell you that in my life of 14 vehicles I have never been happier. That is of course once I bought the Astra arm rest /cup holder ($200 installed) and installed Sirius satellite radio. Test drove Mazda3, VW, and Matrix. This was the best. If you are in the market for the automatic, you may want to look elsewhere, they are draging down the ratings of this car. If your in the market for a five speed, reguardless of what you think of GM, take my word, try it out.

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  WOW, its a Saturn? - 2007 Saturn Sky
  By Katie - September 2 - 3:56 am

  Overall this car is amazing value for the money! Its quieter than I expected on the inside, due to extra padding on the inside of the soft top. The gas mileage is great if you can stay out of max turbo-boost, which is hard to do! And it is so comfortable. The looks this car gets from luxury car owners is amazing! The car performs very well, has great pick up. I did opt for all the options and it was well worth it. The monsoon system sounds great, and having 6 disc CD in dash as well as XM radio really does come in handy. The stability and traction control systems work great. It really is like driving a Corvette.