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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  Nice car - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Elizabeth - August 26 - 10:56 am

  I had a 2006 Ion quad coupe, and absolutley loved it. I would buy the car again, and the only reason I dont have it now is because I flipped the vehicle into a ditch and totaled it. I like the dent resistant doors, and the funny part was none of my doors were damaged in the accident where it landed on its right side. I think its a great little car, people need to give GM more credit. It was a heck of a lot better than the Toyota I was driving before it.

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  Awesome! - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By Massachusetts - August 25 - 1:36 am

  I previously owned a VUE. I went in for an oil change at my local dealership and saw the Aura in the showroom. As I was sitting in the car checking out all of the fancy styling, the salesman asked if I wanted to take a test drive. After about an hour, he told me to take it home to show my husband. Well, the manual shifting on the steering wheel along with the performance and comfort sold him. We went back to the dealership and bought the fully loaded beauty on the showroom floor!

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  Still Getting to Know My Sky - 2007 Saturn Sky
  By ben - August 24 - 12:56 am

  Only have 800 mile on the Sky so far. Its a real head turner. Lots of folks keep asking what it is. Takes turns real well at fast speeds and city driving economy is 23-24 mpg. Will be taking it on a 6 hour trip which should be a real test of creature comforts.

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  Roomy and comfortable - 2007 Saturn Outlook
  By Mr NewM - August 22 - 9:53 pm

  We were looking for a family vehicle with 3-rows and narrowed it down to the Mazda CX-9 and Saturn. My wife won out and we got the Saturn and have loved it. Space was a major factor. We briefly had a CX-9 as a loaner recently and it seemed tiny in comparison. The mileage has been decent.

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  Hands down best value - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By SB - August 22 - 2:10 am

  I traded a BMW 540i (V8) for this car. I am still in disbelief at how much better the Aura handles than my bimmer did. The BMW would win in raw power, if you really stomped on it, but for normal driving, the acceleration feel is the same and the Saturn takes curves like it is literally on rails. I bought the base model because we are forcing ourselves to be thrifty this year, but the beauty is that even the base model has enough features to feel like a much more expensive car. I tested the Camry/Altima/Sonata/Fusion, and this car drove much better, came with more safety/convenience features, and was cheaper (plus better warranty) than all of them. Great stereo too even in the base model.

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  Very Impressed - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By Gary - August 20 - 4:13 am

  There is great value in this car. I honestly would not of considered a Saturn, except a relative got me a discount. Im glad he did. This car has manners, power, very good build quality and good looks. I have been pretty much a foriegn car owner, both German and Japanese. This car has changed my mind about American cars.

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  Unknown gem - 2008 Saturn Astra
  By astracan - August 19 - 10:00 am

  I was looking for an affordable well designed, well made, sophisticated, fun-to-drive SMALL car that got over 30mpg and didnt feel like a Fisher Price toy inside. Amazing how rare that was a couple of years ago. It has mostly fulfilled that expectation. (too bad Saturn went out of business 2 months after I bought it). Every drive feels like an event. This is as much about the overall quality of the interior (design, precise assembly & materials: I have leather), well weighted controls, beautifully damped ride and refinement of response than outright power. Actually the car has plenty of power, it just lacks torque below 1500 rpm, so it feels a bit dead until you learn to drive around that.

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  great car, but ... - 2007 Saturn Aura
  By michael perillo - August 18 - 1:46 pm

  Owned for over two years. No problems. Love the two tone interior, ride, handling, acceleration. My only complaint is with the city gas mileage. On the highway I can get 33 mpg. In the city where I do most of my driving I get at most 13 mpg, and I use every known method to increase efficiency. People who claim to get 18-22 in the city cannot possibly be right. I check my mileage at every fill-up and have never gotten better than 13 mpg. Other than this, the car is great.

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  Bang for your Buck - 2004 Saturn VUE
  By Bmann - August 17 - 2:13 am

  The Vue is by far the best value in the midsize SUV category!

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  Love my Vue - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By enduraca - August 15 - 10:43 am

  Awesome Power and Comfort