Car question, Saturns

[EatSpam]

Originally posted by: Kristi2k
Are Saturns any good? I am interested in an Ion.

I have an Ion Redline. Good car. I like it.

My wife has an Ion Quadcoupe. She likes it, too. Its good, basic transportation.

 

[paulney]

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: paulney
- buckling (the biggest issue). A lot of older Saturns suffer from that, and the problem can be anything from spark plug wires to gas throttle.

😕

The car jerks violently when you step or let off the throttle. After the inital jerk, the car picks up speed or slow down normally.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Kristi2k
I guess I'll stick with my 02 Malibu than. Thanks for the input!

Well you didn't mention that in the first post. An Ion is a big upgrade 😛

I have had a rental redesigned Malibu and I must say I liked it, though.

my aunt has a malibu, and for the price, it seems like a pretty good car

 

[Kaido]

My whole family has Saturns, everything from the coupe to the sedan to the SUV. The newer ones are a lot more spacious than the older ones. They are not fancy cars. Personally, I love them. No one has ever keyed my car, slashed the tires, or stolen it. It gets great gas mileage, it's roomy, it's quiet inside, and it has a nice, smooth ride.

I'm currently leasing an automatic Saturn ION 1, the most basic model. I have a 4-year lease. I put $1,000 down and pay $206 a month. Basic maintenance is included, which covers regular visits that include oil changes, car wash/vacuum, etc. Basically, it is now an appliance that I pay insurance on and put gas in. That's the extent of what I do. If I have any problems, I can just take it in (I haven't had any yet).

I really like Saturn's customer service. They are friendly and generally don't push you. There's no haggling; it's like going to Staples or Best Buy - all of the prices are pretty much set. Pick one you like and go home with it. I went in on a Saturday morning to buy one, ended up leasing, and drove it home later that afternoon. They put on plates and everything! The speedometer and other gauges in the middle of the car takes some getting used to, but I ended up really liking it.

If you want a low-hassle, no-frills, comfortable car, get a Saturn. No headaches associated with them. I was also looking at an RX-8, but the stock tires are worthless in the snow, it has problems driving in the winter and rain, you get more teenagers who want to race you at the light, etc. If you're into that sort of thing, by all means go for it, but if you just want a nice car to drive, a Saturn is the ticket. I discovered that I stopped thinking about what the outside of a car looks like after a couple of weeks and just notice the ride. My wife has a New Beetle and it has a horribly stiff ride; I prefer to drive my Saturn when we take trips. It has a spacious trunk and a great traction control system (prevents spinning in the rain and snow, I can't live without it now!).

Pros:
Dent-proof panels
Great gas mileage
No want ones to steal them - invisible to theives
Fast enough
Cheap
Great customer service

Cons:
Not considered "cool"
Not very fast, if you like fast cars

Feel free to ask me any questions, I've had plenty of experience with them. I can't recommend them enough, especially if you are leasing or buying new.

 

[SampSon]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: SampSon

What year was that?

I think it's a 2003 Saturn Ion 2. So it came out in 2002 I believe. The repairs were all done with in the past 1.5 years. The most troubling one was the replacement of the brakes. Brakes should not burn out that quick on a brand new car. Though Saturn just totally replaced them without asking. The HVAC blower was a bitch that required a lot of time and bitching.
But eventually the saturn service dept. came through for her.

Yeah brakes were definitely off. My gf's 01 L200 is still on original rotors/pads at nearly 60K. Reason I ask is your assessment of its engine. I find the 2.2L 145HP I-4 in the 2900lbs L200 to be more peppy than the 2.5L 165HP H-4 in my 3300lbs Subaru, and I would assume the relationship is similar to your Impreza (Although I'd imagine the age of my engine doesn't help). Its not as torquey on the low end, but makes up for it in the mid-range for sure. In a 3300lbs car it might be worse, but not with 400lbs less weight. My $0.02

Well my gf's ion is an automatic, so that doesn't provide very good feedback as to how decent the engine truly is.

My subaru is only rated at 3045lbs as opposed to the 2692lbs rating of my gfs saturn. I take it you drive a legacy or an outback for it to weight upwards of 3300lbs?
I think my subaru is much more responsive and powerful than her ion. I drive a 5 speed so I can run the car to redline whenever I want. I simply HATE the throttle/gas pedal in her ion, I can't get it to move more than like 2 inches. The automatic on the saturn really does the engine no justice, but even so it should feel stronger than it does in her car.
As for the subaru the AWD system saps a lot of power from the engine and adds weight, but even then it feels stronger than her ion.

I've taken her car out on the road for my job a few times when I was getting some work done on it. I do a lot of driving in very hilly areas that require climbing up some long steep inclines. Her Ion simply could not muster the balls to make it up these hill in any decent or acceptable manner. I had that baby slammed to the floor and it still just limped up the hill feeling like it would never make it. I expected it to do much better, but I guess I can attribute some of that to the automatic tranny. In contrast my Subaru can fly up any hill I need it to without flinching.

I have driven her neighbors Ion Redline a couple times. That was a big difference from the normal Ion. The manual gearbox made a big difference and the steering and suspension felt much tighter. The redline is definitely a superior car, but that is to be expect for the type of equipment it comes with.

Overall I personally think my Subaru feels better on the road, though I think that it is also accepted as a superior car than the saturn. I'm not sure I would buy an Ion for myself, there are just too many things I don't like about them. They are priced right for what you get though and they are not a total piece of crap.