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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  Awesome - 2008 Saturn Sky
  By steven - May 2 - 12:06 pm

  This car left the idea of the trunk to the wind but who cares? No spare tire. Car is comfortable for small car. It was built for fun not a family and it is fun and fast. Love it!

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  Great VUW - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Trmx2 - May 2 - 10:00 am

  A solid value in the small size SUV catagory

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  Love my VUE! - 2006 Saturn VUE
  By cmw123 - May 1 - 11:36 pm

  I absolutely love my VUE (V6, FWD)! I had a minivan prior to my VUE & I was afraid Id miss the cargo space & sliding doors, but I dont. I gained much better gas mileage from my van & the VUE is fun to drive. I average 21- 24 mpg, but on long road trips I average 26-28 mpg. I am thrilled to have something that has decent gas mileage, but still has plenty of room inside for my husband, myself & our 2 kids, who are both in car seats. The doors have large openings which makes it easy to get the kids in & out. The only thing I noticed is some wind noise due to the body design around the front windshield, but after driving it a few months I dont even notice it except for really windy days.

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  Pleasant Surprise - 2007 Saturn VUE
  By Jaysurf - May 1 - 7:20 pm

  The 4cyl engine has more zip than I expected, plenty for local traffic or entering the freeways. Seems as comfortable as most on the market. All cars seem to have a lot of plastic inside so dont see where the prior criticism has much merit.

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  Ride quality is exceptional - owned 1 yr - 2008 Saturn VUE
  By V6 XR owner - April 29 - 9:26 am

  The 2008 redesigned Vue has an exceptional ride quality. The comfort of the interior is much higher than several leading competitors we considered. The V6 XR is recommended over the V4 because of the vehicles weight. The 3.6 V6 is refined and smooth. Gas mileage could be better - but a steel unibody and a wealth of standard safety features are worth some trade off. A great vehicle, despite a couple irksome fit and finish repairs that were fully covered under warranty. Perhaps the best product thats come out under the Saturn label. Its amazing that a previous reviewer is trading down to a clunky Nitro rattle-box from this refined small suv.

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  Best Value for the Money - 2009 Saturn VUE
  By 2009 - April 28 - 2:06 pm

  I dont understand expert reviews that say the 2.4 Ecotect motor in the Vue is underpowered. Wards Auto World rates GMs 2.4-liter Ecotec as one of the best engines built in America. While not a dragster or a muscle car it has plenty of power to get on the freeway. It defiantly is not sluggish espesially from a stand still. Its gas mileage is better than expected at 26 miles per gallon city/freeway. We are past owners of CadillacÂ’s. Mama has not had to give up any luxuries. In fact some of its standard features are options on other sub-compact crossovers you have to pay extra for. We really do not feel we could have found a better value for the money. So far we couldnt be happier.

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  Drive it! - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By Rich - April 27 - 5:30 am

  The Aura is an American made German car. If you want German handling, engineering, and styling, you will like this car. Test drive it in the day, and at night. You will be amazed at the interior lighting and how quiet this car is.

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  Could be better - 2006 Saturn Relay
  By Bryan - April 25 - 5:53 am

  Our Relay has been a vehicle that our children have come to love with the built in DVD player. We couldnt go anywhere without it. It is a smooth ride with a few bugs that need to be worked out. The molding has a problem with sticking to the vehicle. Our tires (Continentals) were worn to the wires after 11,000 miles. The automatic sliding passenger door pops when closing. Other than that we really like the vehicle. OnStar is not the best thing if you dont live in the city. Have tried using it when things go wrong with the vehicle and they cannot get the contracted towing companies to come out to give us a tow. The first year service is ok for free but we would not pay for OnStar.

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  Our Redline - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By delrob - April 21 - 8:33 pm

  Nice car with great handling and performance. Good looking car with redline package and owner installed spoilers (front hood, sunroof and tailgate).

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  Great value for your money - 2007 Saturn ION
  By Christine - April 20 - 11:10 pm

  This is my 2nd Saturn my other one is 10 years old with 120,000 miles and still going strong. My new Ion is great I have almost 4,000 miles on it and its fun to drive and I bought a left over 2007 and got a great deal.. Love my ION...