The new Saturn Ion
 

Did anyone see the latest from Saturn called the "ION"? A freind of mine bought one and tried to convince me to sell the 126 and get that or something similar. I mean it could be worse but for the money and for what u get its not bad. Never met a person that liked it though besides him.

I told him hes crazy for telling me to sell the 126 and he mentioned it was a waste for me to repaint it.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/0...03ion_sdn1.jpg

http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...saturn_ion.jpg

http://china.nikkeibp.co.jp/china/im.../020401gm3.jpg

Saturns are supposed to be pretty good cars as far as basic transportation goes. I just can't get past thier ugly front end. Looks too much like a "generic" car. (But then so does most of GM's line-up) All it's missing is a bar code painted on the doors:D

You were MUCH smarter to repaint the 380 than buy a new Ion. It's ugly, poorly built, and drives like crap. My neighbour looked at one for his daughter and brought it home for us all to see. It went back, and thanks goodness they didn't buy it. I have never driven a poorer handling car. The interior fit and finish was HORRID! Did you notice the panel fit gaps? Huge! The seats were flimsy and I'm sure that three years is the maximum life for the frames and fabric.

That central cluster sucks in the Echo and it sucks in the Saturn too. At least the Echo is built to last more than a week past the warranty.

The exterior fit and finish is also poor. Check out the funky A-pillar finish. it looks like a goof, not a styling "element." The wheel-wells are huge looking and the overhangs are way too big and clunky looking.

Anyone still wonder why the Honda Civic is the best selling car in Canada? I'd rather buy a five year old Civic or Corolla than an Ion.

I guarantee that if you sold the W126 and bought the Saturn, you'd be smashing yourself in the head with a hammer for being so insane with a week. See if the 380 can collect it's 1,000,000 km badge.

Wait 10 years and revisit the issue with him.

I guarantee the friend won't have the Saturn, unless it's his forth one...

I know what you mean guys the design is........uck....I dont see many on the road eitheir.

The thing is..I see many old saturns on the road such as the first ones that came out in like 92.

Hoho from the other side of the pond. Who makes that? I thought some of the Korean cars we got were bad, but apparently not.

Lots of young teachers got roped into buying Saturns abck in 1992-1993. My wife worked with lots of owners. While those cars are still on the road, they are junk for the most part. A ten year old Civic is a decent car, much better than it's Saturn peer.

Saturn is the US version of the "Trabant" in my oppinion... I would NEVER own one. Also... whats witht he guages and speedometer in the middle of the dash???? Oh.. and the lack of wood;)

Didn't they just recall a whole bunch of them for something to do with fire:eek:

all american cars are recalled for that ! LOL :p

The Echo had a reason for having the instrument cluster in the middle - for economies of scale when serving left-hand-drive and right-hand-drive markets.

The Ion did not have any reason to do so.

One effect of the central cluster is that when you signal to turn left, the blinking light is on your right, as both lights are on your right. Very counter-intuitive.

At least, when you bang your head on the fender for buying the car, it wouldn't hurt much ...

the L Series cars are somewhat better looking, and have the V6 as an option. the previous generation was based on euro GM platforms, same as the saabs. they also had a run of early production bugs...

ION test drives
 

I've driven an ION3 5 speed manual, and ION3 5 speed automatic, and an ION2 QC VTi. The manual and VTi versions are the two best offerings with the ION. The 5 speed automatic sucks. I have the same engine/tranny combo as the Quad Coupe version that I drove in my VUE, and that combination really screams without the extra weight of the SUV to lug around. Interior wise, GM is addressing most of the complaints on the quality of materials. The sandpaper texture plastic is gone in favour of a smoother finish material, and the picasso pattern seat cloth is axed in favour of a style similar to that found in the VW Jetta. Unfortunately the center instrument cluster and chicken pot pie steering wheel is still around.

As for the wide panel gaps. That is a polymer body on that car folks, and GM has to leave room for that plastic to expand and contract. That's a tradeoff for not having to worry about your kids kicking a ball into the side of the car, or that inconsiderate moron smashing their door into the side of your car in the parking lot.

IMO, they are a decent car. I would like to see them put the instrument cluster back were it belongs, but wouldn't disqualify the car for the cluster's current location. Saturns don't compare to Mercedes any day of the week, and to compare them with such, even subconsciously, isn't a fair matchup. They do compare quite will with the Hyundai Elantra, Kia Sephia, Toyota Corolla, VW Jetta, Ford Focus, Dodge Neon, as well as the Nissan and Mitsubishi versions of subcompacts.

As for how do Saturns stack up in longevity, I still see first generation SL's on the road daily. Thanks to those polymer sides, they still look like new in most cases, despite having as much as 200k on the odometer. That's quite respectable in the small car class, with a gasoline engine. Will the ION fare the same? Time will tell. Unfortunately for Saturn, GM is calling alot more of the shots these days.