Edmunds Full Test: 2007 Saturn Sky

[NFS4]

Vehicle Tested:
2007 Saturn Sky 2dr Convertible (2.4L 4cyl 5M)
MSRP of Test Vehicle: $25,355 Price It!!

What Works:
World-class design for a bargain price, fittingly attractive interior.

What Needs Work:
Choppy transmission, imprecise fit and finish, poor roof retraction and fit, unrefined driving feel.

Bottom Line:
Stunning looks dulled by a rough and unrefined ride.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=116370

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Vehicle Tested:
2007 Saturn Sky 2dr Convertible (2.4L 4cyl 5M)
MSRP of Test Vehicle: $25,355 Price It!!

What Works:
World-class design for a bargain price, fittingly attractive interior.

What Needs Work:
Choppy transmission, imprecise fit and finish, poor roof retraction and fit, unrefined driving feel.

Bottom Line:
Stunning looks dulled by a rough and unrefined ride.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=116370

doh, such a shame that it's not up to par

hopefully the redline will at least fix all the problems present in the base model

 

[ballmode]

they liked the solstice better judging by comments

 

[MikeMike]

Survey after survey shows consumers want great-looking cars and affordable cars above all else, so the Sky is sure to be a hit. And Saturn will tweak a few things here and there, hoping you won't launch the car in a track test until the new version comes out. Chances are, you won't. And the Sky will work out just fine, earning gawks and compliments from all you pass.

 

[NFS4]

Sounds like this thing is a mess:

It is a beautiful sight ? beautiful enough to steal customers away from Mazda MX-5 Miatas and Honda S2000s. But as hours in the Sky turn to days, beauty again fades into questions. Why is this ride so rough? Why is the shifter dancing like a novelty Coke can? What is that rattle? Where can I put...anything?

Push the Sky toward its limits, however, and it starts to show some weaknesses. This first comes through in the transmission, where our 5-speed manual (there is an optional 5-speed automatic available) stifles performance-minded desires with tricky gates, syrupy acceleration and a shifter that bobs and weaves like a prizefighter.

And if you do happen to catch a perfect shift, 2nd gear reveals itself as somewhat short and 3rd quite tall, hampering canyon-country fun in the territory between 30 and 40 mph ? the kind of thing roadsters are made for.

GM apparently tinkered with a few other things in the suspension that it didn't disclose. Our tester surprisingly rubbed its rear wheels on the fender liners during launch at the track ? a major engineering failure. Senior Road Test Editor Josh Jacquot reports, "Our speculation is that there is a bushing deflection. The bushings are softer in the Sky than the Solstice, which allows some forward-backward motion you don't get in the Solstice. When you combine with a squat, it rubs. Anything that compresses the back suspension and at the same time causes the drive wheels to pull forward, those two forces combined are when we experienced the rubbing."

The Sky's handling is also a bit of a mixed bag. The power rack and pinion delivers somewhat mushy messages about what's going on ? the kind of thing that's fine for normal driving, but disconcerting in a pinch. Approaching a corner in the Miata is an exciting challenge, with the driver sizing up speed and gear, knowing basically how the car will respond and preparing to engage; like you might feel walking into a batting cage and waiting for a pitch. Approaching a corner in the Sky is a more unpredictable challenge, where the car might stay lovely or it might suddenly let go of the road in a fit of understeer; like the nervous thrill of walking onto a driving range in hopes of dodging balls.

Braking ? 4-wheel discs with ABS ? isn't anywhere near the standards of the Miata. At the track, the Sky stopped from 60 mph in 134 feet, substantially worse than the Miata's 117-foot mark.

Maybe they'll get it right for the second gen.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: NFS4
Sounds like this thing is a mess:

It is a beautiful sight ? beautiful enough to steal customers away from Mazda MX-5 Miatas and Honda S2000s. But as hours in the Sky turn to days, beauty again fades into questions. Why is this ride so rough? Why is the shifter dancing like a novelty Coke can? What is that rattle? Where can I put...anything?

Push the Sky toward its limits, however, and it starts to show some weaknesses. This first comes through in the transmission, where our 5-speed manual (there is an optional 5-speed automatic available) stifles performance-minded desires with tricky gates, syrupy acceleration and a shifter that bobs and weaves like a prizefighter.

And if you do happen to catch a perfect shift, 2nd gear reveals itself as somewhat short and 3rd quite tall, hampering canyon-country fun in the territory between 30 and 40 mph ? the kind of thing roadsters are made for.

GM apparently tinkered with a few other things in the suspension that it didn't disclose. Our tester surprisingly rubbed its rear wheels on the fender liners during launch at the track ? a major engineering failure. Senior Road Test Editor Josh Jacquot reports, "Our speculation is that there is a bushing deflection. The bushings are softer in the Sky than the Solstice, which allows some forward-backward motion you don't get in the Solstice. When you combine with a squat, it rubs. Anything that compresses the back suspension and at the same time causes the drive wheels to pull forward, those two forces combined are when we experienced the rubbing."

The Sky's handling is also a bit of a mixed bag. The power rack and pinion delivers somewhat mushy messages about what's going on ? the kind of thing that's fine for normal driving, but disconcerting in a pinch. Approaching a corner in the Miata is an exciting challenge, with the driver sizing up speed and gear, knowing basically how the car will respond and preparing to engage; like you might feel walking into a batting cage and waiting for a pitch. Approaching a corner in the Sky is a more unpredictable challenge, where the car might stay lovely or it might suddenly let go of the road in a fit of understeer; like the nervous thrill of walking onto a driving range in hopes of dodging balls.

Braking ? 4-wheel discs with ABS ? isn't anywhere near the standards of the Miata. At the track, the Sky stopped from 60 mph in 134 feet, substantially worse than the Miata's 117-foot mark.

Maybe they'll get it right for the second gen.

always a good reason not to buy 1st gen cars

although i really hoped GM would get it right the 1st time around on the sky... did the solstice have as many issues?

 

[OS]

wow, a gm product that is built and drives like trash, who would have guessed. i guess atleast gm builds good looking trash now.

 

[iversonyin]

Originally posted by: OS
wow, a gm product that is built and drives like trash, who would have guessed. i guess atleast gm builds good looking trash now.

Well, you know women would buy them

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: OS
wow, a gm product that is built and drives like trash, who would have guessed. i guess atleast gm builds good looking trash now.

a step in the right direction, no?

hopefully rev2 and the redline wont have these issues

 

[thirdeye]

How disappointing. I was really hoping high for this car. More so the Redline, since 177hp doesn't exactly get my blood pumping. I hope they get it all sorted out.

 

[TheSlamma]

So in about 3 years we'll have the nuts and bolts of these things falling all over the road too.

 

[Feldenak]

That's why you don't buy 1st Gen.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

GM really really pisses me off. How is it that the world's largest automaker holds itself to such low standards? I actually think they'd benefit from going into bankruptcy to shed their enormous legacy costs - it seems like the vast pensions they have to pay out mean that they underfund their engineering staff. OTOH, it may well be that they've consciously decided it's more profitable to produce junk than to make quality cars. It just irritates me that they've failed to get their sh!t together for at least the past 30 years.

 

[FlashG]

Originally posted by: NFS4
Sounds like this thing is a mess:

It is a beautiful sight ? beautiful enough to steal customers away from Mazda MX-5 Miatas and Honda S2000s. But as hours in the Sky turn to days, beauty again fades into questions. Why is this ride so rough? Why is the shifter dancing like a novelty Coke can? What is that rattle? Where can I put...anything?

Push the Sky toward its limits, however, and it starts to show some weaknesses. This first comes through in the transmission, where our 5-speed manual (there is an optional 5-speed automatic available) stifles performance-minded desires with tricky gates, syrupy acceleration and a shifter that bobs and weaves like a prizefighter.

And if you do happen to catch a perfect shift, 2nd gear reveals itself as somewhat short and 3rd quite tall, hampering canyon-country fun in the territory between 30 and 40 mph ? the kind of thing roadsters are made for.

GM apparently tinkered with a few other things in the suspension that it didn't disclose. Our tester surprisingly rubbed its rear wheels on the fender liners during launch at the track ? a major engineering failure. Senior Road Test Editor Josh Jacquot reports, "Our speculation is that there is a bushing deflection. The bushings are softer in the Sky than the Solstice, which allows some forward-backward motion you don't get in the Solstice. When you combine with a squat, it rubs. Anything that compresses the back suspension and at the same time causes the drive wheels to pull forward, those two forces combined are when we experienced the rubbing."

The Sky's handling is also a bit of a mixed bag. The power rack and pinion delivers somewhat mushy messages about what's going on ? the kind of thing that's fine for normal driving, but disconcerting in a pinch. Approaching a corner in the Miata is an exciting challenge, with the driver sizing up speed and gear, knowing basically how the car will respond and preparing to engage; like you might feel walking into a batting cage and waiting for a pitch. Approaching a corner in the Sky is a more unpredictable challenge, where the car might stay lovely or it might suddenly let go of the road in a fit of understeer; like the nervous thrill of walking onto a driving range in hopes of dodging balls.

Braking ? 4-wheel discs with ABS ? isn't anywhere near the standards of the Miata. At the track, the Sky stopped from 60 mph in 134 feet, substantially worse than the Miata's 117-foot mark.

Maybe they'll get it right for the second gen.

It was the same with the Fiero. GM is forever hopeless.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: FlashG
It was the same with the Fiero. GM is forever hopeless.

In other words, by the time they get it right, they'll kill it