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:

• 

  Great vehicle! - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By Thomas Coulter - April 13 - 11:40 pm

  I really like my Saturn Outlook. I replaced a Toyota 4runner that had multiple problems over the two year lease I had. The Outlook kills the Toyota in every way. Build quality and quietness is way better than the Toyota. I would buy another saturn in a mnute. I will never buy another Toyota

• 

  Really? Thats a Saturn? - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By sailbretthd - April 13 - 7:06 am

  Bought this to replace a Nissan Armada that was totalled in a head-on collision. Chose this over another Armada based on comfort, price and gas mileage and have not been disappointed. In 4K miles including a 2K mile road trip towing a pop-up camper we have found the vehicle to be an excellent choice for a family of five (3 kids in booster/child seats) that needs AWD and towing capacity. Looks great inside and out and many people are surprised to see the Saturn badge on such a nice looking vehicle. Bigger inside than you would guess from exterior, handles 8-12 inches of snow easily. I consider myself a car guy and never thought Saturn would build something I like- they did.

• 

  05 V-6 VUE is Great Little SUV - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Joe Boxer - April 12 - 11:16 pm

  Ive owned my 05 V-6 VUE for about one month. I traded in a Trailblazer for the VUE and it is my first Saturn. Im especially impressed by the peppy engine and the manueverability of the VUE. It steers and parks like a car but offers the utility of an SUV. Ingress/egress for elderly or physically impaired people is far easier that a car or a large SUV. The price for the VUE was $1,000 less than most similarly equipped (although larger) SUVs, such as the Nissan Murano.

• 

  Enjoy the Vue - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By crazykz - April 12 - 11:13 am

  My Vue handles great, especially in the snow. It has ample power, but I do wish there was some way to have that power and get decent gas mileage at the same time. The interior is quiet and comfortable, although on longer rides the seat hurts the backs of my legs. Cargo space is impressive for a small SUV - has more room than my husbands BMW X3. I do wish I had a sun roof.

• 

  Saturn Aura 2009 - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By DeMarco522 - April 11 - 3:46 pm

  Saturn Aura is a great car. Handles really well and moves well on the highway. Very quiet when going very fast. Interior leather looks great.

• 

  Reliable but noisy - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Dgoock - April 11 - 2:23 pm

  I bought this car new and now have 211,000 miles on it. The thermostat and computer went out under warranty at about 25,000. The water pump went out at about 95,000, so I changed the timing belt at that time and it saved a bunch. Rear right bearing and hub went out at about 180,000. The big issue has been the tires. The rear tires get eaten up for some reason and get very noisy. I have to rotate the tires every 5000 to minimize this issue. The SUV is noisy in general, but most SUVs are. The vehicle is not smooth in acceleration or response to the throttle, it is jerky. But at the same time I have not had to do much to it for 211,000 miles of use! Front bearing and hub needed now.

• 

  Worth the money - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Fishhead - April 11 - 10:00 am

  I heard many mixed reviews about the VUE before I bought it. Some good, some bad. All I can say is, its well worth the money and I would buy another VUE. This is my first time with a Saturn product and I love it. Plenty of room inside and decent MPG. The ride is nice and it performs well off the line and in passing too. Take one for a ride, if you dont want or need a typical SUV, the VUE may be for you.

• 

  TN - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By mworrell - April 11 - 10:00 am

  Great vehicle, but needs a few improvements.

• 

  Unhappy with Saturns 2005 ION3 - 2005 Saturn ION
  By tialynn510 - April 9 - 3:30 pm

  Dont buy a Satrun unless you want to spend a lot of time at the dealership. Within the first month I had it in for service on the cruise control, it didnt work at all. I had to have the cd player replaced twice because they ate my cds which they did not bother to replace. The front turn signal bulbs keep blowing out I have had to replace them both twice. While I understand that these are not major isuues they are thing that you have to take time out of your day to take care of. They want you to drive clear across town so they can fix it when and if they have an opening for you, and god forbid you have somewhere to be like work you have to demand a rental car. Which is a total joke.

• 

  not a happy camper - 2005 Saturn ION
  By Samantha - April 8 - 8:13 pm

  i bought this ion from a friend, in which i just bought it before winter came, had the car not start for me. called the dealership and they were very helpful, replaced the ignition switch. all seemed fine and dandy, due to the nice weather showed up again. march/April of this year, i installed command start, guess what, got cold out car would not start. u buy a command start for this purpose or am i not correct on that lol. they replaced the bcm *body control module* and so far so good, hasnt stranded me yet. i live in Saskatchewan Canada, so ya, we go from plus 30 to minus 10 in 24 hrs.