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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  Saturn Vue.... - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Orangetrak - November 4 - 2:00 am

  No problems to date, same great Saturn experience, with 0.0% AND 2k rebate it was hard to beat. Also cheap to insure.

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  Fun and practical - 2004 Saturn ION
  By jmbRN - November 4 - 2:00 am

  I find that the ION is a great car for commuting and for occassional passengers. Performance is more than adequate for freeway driving, and gas mileage is good, although not spectacular, averaging around 32-33mpg. Cruise control is a convenient bonus. The car may be small for a family, but for someone who frequently travels alone, its very 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.

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  4 x Saturn Buyer - 2004 Saturn ION
  By dialof - November 4 - 2:00 am

  I love owning a Saturn and this is my 4th. I went from leasing a 2001 L200 to buying a fully loaded 2004 ION3 (leather, sunroof, 6-CD changer, alloy wheels, etc). Got a great deal with NO HAGGLE and no game playing. The ride is great, fast and tight. Driving 60mph feels like 30mph (its so fast it can get away from you). Great mileage- 32/27. Its a keeper. :o)

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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.

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  Great car for the money - 2003 Saturn ION
  By PR - October 31 - 11:20 pm

  When I decided to purchase a new car, I wanted an a nice, reliable and somewhat inexpensive one. In a nut shell, I didnt want a car payment. After looking for several months, I ended up with a previously owned Saturn Ion (it was 1.5 yrs old.) Its cute, reliable and cheap, but best of all it doesnt look or drive like a cheap car. Its a small car that doesnt drive like a small car. It is also a very comfortable ride on long trips, no aching back or sore seat, unlike some of the small Japanese cars Ive traveled in. Finally, the mpg is great. I get 36mpg hwy.

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  The best SUV out there - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By elbin bunnell - October 31 - 8:50 am

  Its lower to the ground than your larger SUV, so its easer for disabled and older people