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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  Fun to Drive - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By Trekker - March 13 - 10:53 pm

  I bought my Saturn Vue Red Line this past Labor Day. Its fun to drive, great acceleration and smooth meshing of transmission and engine. Saturn did a good thing by using Hondas 250 horsepower engine and trasmission. MPG highway is about 26 miles per gallon, and city about 18-20. Not bad for an SUV with this type of get up and go.

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  Great until something goes wrong - 2006 Saturn ION
  By Diane - March 8 - 1:50 pm

  I have only had my ION for 3 months. Needless to say when I was on the highway a deer decided that it liked my car better than me. So he took out the front end of it. looking at $6000.00 in damages. But my problem is that when it hit me my seat belts completly locked up and refuse to come loose at all. If it was anywhere near my neck it would have killed me. Now after most of the repairs have been done the body shop has had to order now 3 times seat belts and all of them have been defective. Needless to say all the other parts had to been ordered twice because they had cracks. This is not giving me a good opinion on Saturn at all.

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  Truckin Along - 2007 Saturn ION
  By huntermcc - March 8 - 10:55 am

  I have 120k miles on my ion 3 and its still truckin along just fine. At around 100k I had the infamous power steering glitch, it would go out till you restarted your car but after a week it stopped. Havent had it happen in 20k miles. Just keep up with your maintenance and change the oil every 3-5k and itll last forever. I havent had one thing go wrong since I got it at 65k. I am 64" and its not the most comfortable to get in and out of if your a big person, but other than that there is nothing to complain about.

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  Great car - 2008 Saturn Aura
  By dirtytoliet - March 6 - 2:26 pm

  We had a 2008 Saturn Vue and had problems so I took it back before the 30 day return was up and got an Aura. Best move I ever made on a car. The ride is great and if you turn the track control off you can leave smoke with the tires. Many people think its a Honda. And it cost many thousands less than a Camry.

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  saturn Vue V6 - 2005 Saturn VUE
  By r rbrodehl - March 3 - 8:30 am

  Very nice car for the price. The Honda 250 hp V6 with the Honda automatic 5 speed transmission make for a reliable, smooth and peppy performance. With a curb weight almost 1000 lbs less than the honda pilot, the saturn is FAST, and the mileage is as advertised--29 mpg hwy, and 25 mpg town, on regular gas. I tow it 4 wheels down behind my RV and have had no problems in 10,000 miles of towing it so far. I di get the 16 inch mag tires/wheels and they look great. With 10,000 miles on odometer I have had no warranty service required yet.

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  my ion experience - 2003 Saturn ION
  By kc - February 28 - 10:00 am

  At 2000 miles engine light came on. Took to dealer twice, second visit it was kept for three days. Turned out to be a screw had gone through wire in harness and had to be removed. No problems since.

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  Happy with my Vue - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By SKF - February 28 - 10:00 am

  Ive had this vehicle for three months and so far I have enjoyed the Vue. I have the 4 cyl. automatic because the salespeople talked us out of the V6 saying it was getting horrible gas mileage. I dont believe the 4 cyl. gets much better. Nowhere near the sticker. Thats probably my biggest complaint. The car lacks power, but I knew that when I purchased it so I cant complain. As for the interior, I feel it is well laid out, but everything is plastic. Overall, Im happy with my purchase and would recommend this to others who were looking for an economical SUV. This would be an ideal vehicle for a young family.

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  so far , so good - 2003 Saturn VUE
  By Indiana vue - February 28 - 10:00 am

  We recently purchased our vue after having minivans for several years. I am the most critical of the two of us, being the husband and wife. My wife has long enjoyed smaller sportier cars and I like more room. We had bought a cherokee sport before and I didnt like it after getting it.This is the first suv that I have liked well enough to buy.The dealership where we got ours was very helpful.Right now,the vue is fun to drive and I like having the sunroof in it. We went with the med. green color and got leather seats in it Gas milage is okay so far,buthavent had it on a long trip.our son who just turned 18 yrs. old, really likes this suv.

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  redski 1 - 2007 Saturn Sky
  By Dave witman - February 27 - 8:03 pm

  I think this car is well designed. When I drive around town, its a real head turner. People ask what is it and who makes it. I put it in a car show last year. There was so many people around it I couldnt get to it, it stole the show. I am going to trade it in for the red line. I hope to pick it up by months end. I only use it on the weekends and only in good weather. There are a few things about the car I would consider looking at. I think the car should have run flats on it by Goodyear. I have a standard transmission, and it dosent shift with ease. Its a little on the hard side. All in all I think its the best roadster.

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  MOMS Red Line - 2004 Saturn ION
  By Moms ION Red Line - February 4 - 10:00 am

  I skewed the demographics for Saturn when I bought the Red Line Im 40 something the mother of two teenage children, who think mom is unsquare now love car easy entry doors are not heavy hugging seats lots of highway entrance power very fun to drive like my old VW but not as close to nirvana as the Bug experience those who have driven a Bug know what i mean Fuel have to mix prem/reg to beat prem price avg 24MPG combo driving only 700 miles MPG will improve later excellent XM radio,new technology-wow beware FM, comfortable with center dash, easy to clean exterior, seats are hard after long rides(over 4hrs)have to hide keys from husband, Thanks GM