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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  Crude Design - 2006 Saturn ION
  By talismanPHL - February 8 - 12:00 pm

  Dark gray exterior looks great when its clean - very sleek lines. However, the interior is awful. Its filled with cheap mismatched plastics. We never did get used to the centrally placed dashboard - why not go with a normal dashboard with larger gauges? Extremely cheap seat fabrics that stained very easily and small rear seat with very little legroom.

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  Really Disappointed - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By mmtso - January 27 - 5:50 pm

  This is my third and probably last Saturn. My new VUE XE has been in the shop 4 times in 6 months: tachometer went out, CD player quit working, alternator went out, and electrical cluster failure (no turn signals, tachometer/odometer not working,etc.) Loved the updated exterior, overall handling and vehicle feel, but after repeated problems with this vehicle, I am in the process of getting rid of it as I simply will not own an unreliable brand-new SUV, as this has sadly become. I would not currently recommend the VUE to anyone, and I have been a loyal Saturn customer for over 10 years (previously owned the SL2 and L200 with no major troubles).

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  Worhtless - 2003 Saturn ION
  By Ion - January 27 - 10:00 am

  I havent had my Ion 3 for its first oil change yet, and ive already made 4 trips to the dealership for repairs. First the drivers door was falling apart. Then again for a 4 wheel alignment, but my car still pulls to the left.

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  Stay away from this car - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Disenchanted - December 26 - 4:33 pm

  Fun to drive, fairly comfortable, and good gas mileage. But! Out of warranty repairs are extreme! You will pay for repairs that should have been recalls. Parts failing from poor design. And lots of them. From the bearings to the steering column to the ignition switch to the transmission to the ECM (doesnt like to start when its cold outside) to the bushings to leaks in your trunk to faulty wheel speed sensors. My my my it goes on and on. But other than that its a nice car. Saturn puts out many TSBs but refuses to pay for any of the repairs. Buyer beware! Besides your payment hold back about an extra $100 per month for repairs (if your lucky that is).

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  Fit and Finish. Typical GM Quality - 2007 Saturn Sky
  By Roy Nakamura - November 24 - 2:50 pm

  Well, Ive done it again. After years of owning Toyotas, Hondas and Nissan I thought Id go back to my roots and but another GM product. I used to only GM products for 20 years and now I remember why I stopped buying them. The build quality and fit and finish is totally garbage. Anyway, my 2007 still looks like a million bucks in the garage.

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  S - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By awd - November 22 - 10:00 am

  Have had to take it to the dealership 4 times because of steering column noises..Vehicle is not heavy enough for the engine it has..Not fun to drive in the city..Doesnt shiled outside noises very well.

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  2007 Saturn Outlook fuel economy facts - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By NOMOGM - November 12 - 3:20 pm

  We were excited going into this vehicle as we were anticipating the added room and fuel economy GM had advertised. We have fallen way below the mileage rating, currently getting in the mid 13s in town and around 18 on the highway. Total mileage to date is about 5,500. Asking the dealer about possible reasons for the bad mileage, we got a couple of responses...first it must be the way we drive, second, the break-in period for this vehicle is 15K miles, both rubbish as far as we are concerned.

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  You get what you pay for... - 2003 Saturn ION
  By car shopping - November 3 - 10:00 am

  I test drove this car for 24 hours. The editors review of this car is very accurate.

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  Buyer beware - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Kelly - October 26 - 1:13 pm

  The VTi transmission in the 2003 Vue is very bad. After we had paid our car off last month, we were driving home from the in-laws and the Vue went into "default" mode, not allowing us to drive more that 20 MPH. After we researched the problem, our transmission was shot, with a $6,000 estimate for repairs. Research the transmission issues if you consider buying this car. Besides that, we liked Saturn but will most likely never buy another Saturn.

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  What Else Can Go Wrong?? - 2003 Saturn ION
  By gretchen1982 - October 15 - 5:16 pm

  Absolutely hate this car. During the warranty years I had most of the undercarriage replaced. Rear suspension was originally put in wrong. Then in the winter it started "not turning over." But yesterday when it had been parked in a garage (and it was a good 50 degrees out) it did it again. The seats stain easily from even water.