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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  Oh, The noises! - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By nancy - October 11 - 2:50 pm

  We traded our Chevy Blazer for a new Vue. The Blazer had more room upfront and all over. The Vue had a nice price for what we could afford in an SUV but please - After 15,000 miles - the road noise was enough to make you lose your mind!! We have so many rattling windows and the wind blowing makes them vibrate. Need to wear your ear plugs and plug in an ipod for playing music real loud so you dont hear all the noises this thing makes. Dont take to a dearlership - they pretend to work on all of it and just say that it is the same noise in a Lexus. What a joke. They will never fix the problem as it is nothing but a cheap piece of metal

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  Underwelmed - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Bob - September 25 - 2:46 am

  The mileage is way below what is advertised (17/24). I drive almost exclusively highway and am averaging about 16mpg. Geez, I got that in my 4WD Avalanche driving the same routes and speed. 6 speed transmission shifts out of overdrive on the mildest incline even at 70+mph on the highway. When going very slow the low gear pitches you around on wavey surfaces such as in a parking lot. It has that annoying accelerator lag, and it has a very pronounced shift lag when its cold out. Its free wheeled the engine (like missing the gear when trying to quick shift a stick?) when it lags and you take your foot off the gas. Gas gauge erratic, drops 1/8 in 20 mi or says on fumes with 1/4 left.

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  Good for the Money. Would buy again - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Josh - September 12 - 2:00 am

  I bought my 2003 Saturn Vue 4 cylinder with a 5 speed manual transmission. I read on this site that the CVT were garbage but the manuals were worth the money. I love my car. I drive back and forth about 120 miles per day working about 1.5 hours away from my home. I bought the car with 70,000 miles on it. I just passed 105,000 miles and it is still running strong! The car is fun to drive. The only improvements I would have is that create stain free carpets and a quieter ride. The car is a little noisy on the highway. Saturn Customer service could be a little better because when calling for a particular part, I was given the run around. All in all, a great buy for the quality and price.

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  Run Away from the ION - 2004 Saturn ION
  By needanewcar5 - August 23 - 5:46 pm

  The Ion is my 3rd Saturn it will be my last. #1 and #2 were great. Now they are just any other GM. Then the lemon is #3 The ION. This car seems to be in the garage more than on the road. It is 3.5 yrs old 42k and averages a repair about every 5k. 4 break issues including completly loosing all breaks while driving. Talk about a saftey issue. The rear lights shorted out, wiper arms needed replaced, now the wipers catch on the antenna, numerous heating and cooling repairs. The dealer has been awful, each issue takes multiple trips for the dealer to make repairs. I would not wish this experience on my worst enemy.

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  Saturn VUE - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Wendy - June 22 - 3:20 pm

  My Saturn VUE is really easy to wheel around town and in crowed busy parking lots.So the size is perfect, not too big, yet big enough that everyone has leg and moving around room inside. I do think Saturn could do more to make the car more comfortable instead of so plain. Mechanically, my VUE has been wonderful with no major problems. Also, my dealership has worked really well with me. My son spilled chocolate milk on the backseat floor, and when they could not get the stain out, they replaced the carpet for me. You can rate a Saturn VUE mechanical, looks and dealerships as excellent!

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  $1000 In repairs - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By penson - June 18 - 3:11 am

  Bought it new in May 2007. Happy to to trade it in. From day 1, loud tire noise due to poorly designed or def tires and they lasted only 40k miles....before the tire replacement the AC went out...a leak in one of the hoses (after the warranty expired) Cost: $300 to repair. The road noise went away after the tires were replaced. Had decent feul eco for size but dissapoointed in quality.

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  Saturn Vue - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Deb Tribuca - June 10 - 5:10 pm

  A little disappointed with the Vue

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  2nd Saturn - 2007 Saturn ION
  By jenniferp3 - May 20 - 10:49 pm

  This is the second Saturn that I have owned. I still own the first one. It is 10 years old with 250,000 miles and still going strong. I bought that car young and did not keep up with the maintenance, it has been side swiped, caught on fire and driven cross country twice. Yet, it still lives! I have never put more than a thousand dollars in to it for parts. So of course I bought another one. These are not the most comfortable cars, but for the price thats what you get. My second car has 85,000 miles and is 7 years old and I plan on keeping it for many more years. These are VERY reliable cars

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  Fairly good vehicle - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By johnkentucky - April 28 - 2:00 am

  So far after 1 year, I have had no major problems. I do feel that the vehicle has high road noise level. I feel that it should get much better gas mileage for a 4 cyl. I average about 20/gal. I have a 6cyl pickup that gets that. It is a fairly comfortable and roomy little SUV. It does very well in the snow, even on the hills in the area I live. I had trouble with the gas gauge, for awhile, but it has seemed to fix itself, I figured it was a "float" or something in the tank. Oil changes are easy for the do it yourselfer.

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  Big Disappointment - 2005 Saturn ION
  By Frustrated - April 25 - 2:43 pm

  This car has had more issues than I can remember. Purchased new, now 30K miles. Manual transmission with many problems. Hesitates when accelerator is engaged. Stalls frequently when first started each day. Saturn mechanic even admitted to me that the 2005 ION is one of the worst cars Saturn has made and repairs are more frequent on this model. Wont buy from Saturn again.