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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  Great Aura! - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By don - April 5 - 10:00 am

  My Aura is Deep Blue with Morocco Brown leather interior and it looks like a million bucks! A buddy got a 320CLk Mercedes at the same time and when he saw my Aura and found out what I paid for it he said I got the better deal. I took advantage of Saturns 30 day exchange program as my original purchase was a 2007 Ocean Mist w/black interior car. The dealer swapped it out for my 2008 no problem after owning the first car 3 days. I love the performance and looks of this car! On a recent trip to the desert, it averaged 28 mpg according to the trip computer. I get a lot of compliments from friends and complete strangers alike. My license plate sums it up- GR8AURA!

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  Ion2 is Awesome - 2003 Saturn ION
  By maestromartin - April 3 - 10:00 am

  The car is fun to drive and quite responsive. Its amazing to me how negative the official reveiw is...they need lessons in fun because thats what this car is! It is reliable, stylish, I WOULDNT HAVE BOUGHT THE CAR IF IT FELT CHEAP! Im a music teacher...the stereo/ cd player is great...especially on those huge symphonies. Handleing and stopping power are impressive.

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  2003 Sat Vue - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Bugg - March 29 - 10:00 am

  This is an extremely affordable SUV which handles remarkably well in any kind of weather. We deal with a lot of snow here in Buffalo, so we needed a vehicle which would handle the snow. My husband insisted that we needed one 2 weeks before our daughter was born because he wanted us to be safe..

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  having fun - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By vaterjack - March 23 - 2:00 am

  purchased this vue because of the roomy front access esp for the driver. sits high without having to use a ladder to get in and out. the v-6 is more than powerful enough for any road situation yet still delivers the mpg.

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  Love my Saturn - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By ENelsen - March 23 - 2:00 am

  I have never owned a Saturn before, and I can tell you that NOW I think I always will. Starting with the dealership - knowlegable and easy to work with. They got me exactly what I wanted without any problems. They worked hard to do it. The car has great styling, and I happen to have the orange color. I get complements ALL the time on my car from tons of random people. I enjoy the V6 - great pick up, and I also enjoy the AWD! I got to test that out in a huge storm storm the other day. The gas mileage is not fantastic, but I didnt expect that from an SUV. Over all, I give my wonderful Saturn Vue a 9.99999, because nothing is perfect! :-)

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  2008 Outlook Beats Buck and Arcadia - 2008 Saturn Outlook
  By Don G - March 21 - 8:06 am

  Evene before we purchased our 2008 Outlook XR AWD we first saw it at the Maine Mall. Now that we have poruchased we made the right choice this is a great crossover SUV. It meets our needs and we do a number of trips to Massachusetts. We enjoy everyhting about the Outlook

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  Saturn Outlook - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Julie Chaudoin - March 20 - 4:53 am

  Excellent vehicle. Did test drives on sixteen vehicles. At the time of the test drives all vehicles were a 9.0 or greater on Edmunds. Compares to Acura MDX and Lexus RX 350, and is about 10K less.

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  I am sold! - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Oklahoma - March 16 - 9:33 pm

  Have enjoyed everything about the Outlook! I get lots of compliments and people wanting to ask questions. I will take a road trip soon and am very anxious to see how I enjoy the long trips. I just wish that I could keep it from being dinged by other parkers. I park as far as possible to help keep the body top shape.

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  Camry Killer - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By Girish - March 14 - 10:06 pm

  I fell in love with the Aura as soon as I saw one on the road. It has a very european finish on its exterior and that caught my eye immediately. I am bored looking at the Japanese sedans on the roads and Aura was a welcome. I got my XE way b4 it won the car of the year award at the auto-show and I was proven right. The car perform very well - particularly on the highways. It is fun to drive and the engine seems to always have some juice left in it no matter what speed you are driving at. Ask a Camry to beat that. Road noise is minimal, and the car steers beautifully on curvy interstate roads. I enjoy my drives on the open road and have clocked 17k miles in 9 months without a whimper. Go Aura.

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  Love my Saturn - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Melissa - March 14 - 7:03 am

  I really have enjoyed my Saturn. Matter of fact, this is my third Saturn that I have purchased over the years. With this new Saturn, I do find it hard to be able to clean the seats well. For some reason they leave spots on the seats. I spilt water and there are still stains on there that I can not remove.