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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  My lover! - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Jeffroberge09 - July 4 - 8:43 am

  Really great car! Easy to get a part of the car if its broken. Really easy to maintain! I made many modification on it and Im really happy of my first car! Of course I have to do some repair on the car but it was an use one, but the part wasnt expensive

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  a vue - 2002 Saturn VUE
  By a vue - July 1 - 10:00 am

  I have owned the vue over one year, it is reliable and gets good gas mileage, the interior design(cup holders poor) I like the design and it is stable in curves. The rear seat is very roomy, but the cup holder gets in the way. The plastic inside looks cheap, and the back of my front seat is scratched from moving lumber etc. Seats lifted at beginning(foam showed),only bandaided problem at dealership.

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  Beware - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By TK - July 1 - 10:00 am

  Dont think Id get a VUE again if I had to do it over. Cant get the oil changes anywhere locally except for the dealership due to special filter and key needed. Ride is good, interior lacks appeal. Smallest gas tank on the market, on days where I drive alot I fill up daily. Radio is terrible.

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  Ion-1 - 2005 Saturn ION
  By Jason - June 26 - 6:16 am

  Bought this car new in May 2005 and had one problem with the transmission but havent had any other problems since. Im up to 47,000 miles now. A decent car overall. I average 32mpg driving conservatively and about 27mpg with no regard to fuel efficiency driving. The car has some zip if you need it. Nice thing about the plastic panels is that the car looks the same as I bought it new and I rarely go to the car wash. And replacing the panels is cheap if I have to.

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  The VUE from the Pacific - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By SeanF - June 19 - 2:00 am

  I have owned this car for one year. I love it. This is my second Saturn. It is always easy dealing with them.

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  NooNoos review - 2005 Saturn ION
  By NooNoo - June 17 - 3:03 pm

  This vehicle is reliable, affordable, and good looking. I met my newly married wife 2 months ago driving this car. Its one of the best things that ever happened to me. Thanks for making a car that got my wife.

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  FunDrive - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Hurryup - June 16 - 1:30 pm

  I have had the V6 FWD for about 38,000 miles and it continues to awe me with pick-up and highway comfort. The 17 inch wheels and tires create some low speed rumbles but they more than compensate on road trips. The finish in and out still looks new and the impression when clean is an impressive appearance. The recent shift I made from driving 30,000 miles a year to 10,000 showed poorer mileage in stop and go. The 6 likes to be run long trips to reach the 24-28 mpg I get on 60+ mile 75+ MPH trips. Overall I have been extremely pleased with the VUE.

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  Great car at a great price - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Wedge - June 12 - 10:03 am

  I have owned this SUV for about 5 weeks now and have been very satisfied up to this point. The Honda engine is very quick and responsive. The gas mileage is so much better considering I was driving a Ford Explorer previously. The advice I would give potential buyers is to watch out for the upgrades that you can do yourself. I know hardly anything about cars and I was able to install mudflaps and the bumper protection by purchasing the parts online. The luggage bars on the room does add to the road noise, but I can tolerate it. In my opinion this is the best small SUV on the market and I test drove them all. Honda was too expensive, the Kia and Hyundai and too unreliable.

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  A Bit Disappointed - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Outlook Review - June 12 - 4:13 am

  I was really excited when I purchased this SUV. But after 6 months and 4000 miles later, Im a little disappointed. There is a delay in shifting response with the transmission especially when going uphill. Delayed response even felt in the manual shift mode. The first update to the trany program was ineffective, no improvement. The fuel economy is really poor compared with the 17 city and 25 hwy. Its more like 13 city and 18 hwy.

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  Bye Bye Si - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Black_RL - June 11 - 8:30 pm

  I recently bought a RL and have been very pleased. It is rated at 205 bhp and unlike most cars that is what you will be getting at the wheels not the crank. In a straight line it will blow away a 06 Civic Si everytime. Also there are rumors that GM is releasing "Performance Upgrade" kits to boost the performance to 252 bhp and 240 lb/ft of torque.