L.A. Times Review: "Saturn Sky an immensely likable car I would recommend to anyone"

[Ming]

A real roadster in its blood
With the Sky, GM has polished up its vision for a darty little two-seat convertible. In a Saturn, no less.
DAN NEIL
The L.A. Times
August 2, 2006

Compared to its clonal sibling the Pontiac Solstice, the Saturn Sky is more likable in every direction. The Sky's exterior styling, with the Corvette-like saber scars on its cheeks, the beveled, refractory chrome accents all around and other visual wickedness, has a honed and hardened raciness the slightly edemic Solstice doesn't. It's no coincidence that the Sky's styling is reminiscent of the old Opel Speedster, since the Sky — styled in GM's Coventry, England, studio — will be sold overseas as the Opel GT.

Likewise, the Sky's interior looks and feels more polished and sophisticated, with gloss-black surfacing on the central console ("piano" black, if you make your pianos from molded plastic resin) and e-brake lever, and brushed alloy trim on the shift console and door handles. The upgrading extends to the standard equipment list, with the Sky offering air-conditioning, projector head lamps, anti-lock brakes, cruise control, power accessories, keyless entry and lots of other cost-extra items on the Solstice's order list. The Sky costs about three grand more than the base Solstice and weighs 73 pounds more. Both penny and pound penalties seem worth it.

Most perplexing — especially if you're a Pontiac dealer — is that the Sky drives better. This might have to do with the extra months of experience gained by the staff at the Wilmington, Del., factory, where Solstice and Sky are assembled. The Sky feels more of a piece than the early production Solstice I drove, which had a modest hood shake and various titters and squeaks. The Sky — also built on the rear-drive Kappa platform, with an architecture of hydroformed steel frame rails, à la Corvette — feels by degrees stiffer in the backbone and slightly more limber at the wheels. The Sky's Bilstein coil-overs have a touch more compliance dialed into them. With longer suspension travel and less rigid anti-roll bars, the Sky serves up a more comfortable, less concussive ride and stays planted on rough pavement that would make the Solstice skip like a phonograph needle.

Solstice and Sky are powered by the same 2.4-liter twin-cam four engine routing max power of 177 hp through a nick-nick, five-speed gearbox (an automatic is optional). The Sky can light the rear tires up in first gear, but it isn't really a hard-punching sports car. Zero-to-60 mph acceleration is about 7.5 seconds. The car is at its best on mountain snares and carousels, where you can keep the engine roiling at around 4,000 rpm, wrist-shifting between second and third gears. The engine's thrusty character and the syrupy burbles in the exhaust note remind me of a good British roadster. My MGA, for instance.

For a little corporate cupcake, the Sky is capable of some significant hard driving. The steering is sharp, taut and full of subtle feedbacks from the asphalt. The cornering grip — thanks mainly to the big Goodyears on the corners — is reliable and easy to access. With its slightly nose-heavy weight distribution, the Sky can be coaxed into nice, progressive tail-sliding behavior that can be nulled out with a dab of throttle and counter steer.

Once on the highway, shift the car into fifth gear and the Sky drops an octave. The Sky-walker is a comfortable cruiser, with well bolstered seats, a decent sound system and adequate protection from buffeting at speeds up to about 80 mph. The steering has good self-centering behavior at high speed but the Sky never loses that alert, slightly darty feel of a roadster. Meanwhile, few cars at any price cut such a compellingly shaped hole in the wind.

Of course, there are small irritations. For a car named Sky, the sky is actually quite hard to access. The top requires several awkward steps to open and close, and one step where you have to jump on the rear hatch like a crazy person to make sure it's closed.

Quibbling aside, the Saturn Sky is an immensely likable car with a cool factor measured in parsecs. After Corvette, this is my favorite car from the General, and I would recommend it to anyone.

So it might seem a rude question: Why is this car a Saturn? Why does this brand need a hot roadster that actually out-Solstices the Pontiac? Even more impertinent: Why will Saturn get the Sky Red Line, a version of the Pontiac Solstice GXP, the turbocharged, 260-hp piece of road ordnance? And while I'm asking, I'd be interested in hearing the corporate strategy behind the Saturn Aura. This is a handsome variant of the Pontiac G6, only equipped with bigger engines, a trick new six-speed manumatic transmission (optional), and higher levels of trim. Cannibalism, anyone?

In very short order, Saturn has gone from the redheaded hillbilly stepchild of GM's brand lineup to something of a favored son. GM will even be bringing swank, Euro-style Opels to the States and putting the little red badges on them. If this keeps up, Saturn will be GM's most interesting and innovative brand, and its coolest. It will have traveled across the universe to wind up in the place it started.

Source in Full: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...news-highway_1

[Rick 2000]

Well deserved compliments for the Sky . A thrue head turner
whenever they are spotted in traffic .

[quinnp12]

Good review, and I doubt it will be the last that favors the Sky over the Solstice. Now GM just needs to offer a power top so the reviewers are completely out of things to pick out.

[dav305z]

A good review from Dan Neil means that this car is better than perfect. It's like hearing praise of the Bush administration from John Stewart.

[paul3230]

Originally Posted by dav305z

A good review from Dan Neil means that this car is better than perfect. It's like hearing praise of the Bush administration from John Stewart.

LOL

[djo165]

Funny how this guy likes the transmission, whereas the guy at Edmund's ripped on it.

Full Test: 2007 Saturn Sky Beauty at a Price

That said, I still think the Sky and Solstice need a bit more storage space inside. Just a couple of door pockets, please GM.

[goblue]

These things get reviews so far over the map - it leads me to a few conclusions...

1) Some reviewers conclude it should be held to a standard that many drivers don't want - ie sharpest possible steering, tightest suspension, high revving engine. Their idea of what makes a perfect roadster - in other words they compare it to a Miata assuming that a Miata is a 10.

2) Whereas some reviewers take it for what it is - an american take on a roadster - equally comfortable on a curvy road as crusing woodward. Abundance of low end torque. My personal feeling, I would prefer that. Excellent handling, and can take a bump in stride. Its different from the Miata, and not all the differences are negatives, many are positives. Neil (surprisingly) gets this.

3) Finally, some are just biased, sure the top takes a few extra seconds, but it also looks so much better stored than the Miata. The trans reviews are pure bias. When its great, its and Aisin, when its bad, its the truck trans. Its like they review it knowing one or the other, and make conclusions based on that.

These vehicles are not perfect, a power tonneau would shut many up, a bigger trunk would be nice, and cupholders that are accesible, and some interior parts are not up to par - but overall its a great option compared to a Miata - even before its class destroying looks are factored in.

[Ming]

Originally Posted by goblue

These things get reviews so far over the map - it leads me to a few conclusions...

2) Whereas some reviewers take it for what it is - an american take on a roadster - equally comfortable on a curvy road as crusing woodward. Abundance of low end torque. My personal feeling, I would prefer that. Excellent handling, and can take a bump in stride. Its different from the Miata, and not all the differences are negatives, many are positives. Neil (surprisingly) gets this.

I might agree with that had Neil not left us this memorable quote:

"The engine's thrusty character and the syrupy burbles in the exhaust note remind me of a good British roadster. My MGA, for instance."

I never thought I'd see one of the British roadster driving guys give this GM roadster the thumbs up. Perhaps I just missed it elsewhere.

Also, I don't think the Miata needs to be put up on such a high pedestal, as some kind of unattainable example of perfection, nor do I think the Sky (or Solstice) should be dismissed, or allowed faults as an "American Roadster". The Kappa twins are new to the market and have plenty of time to improve and be massaged into very competitive machines based on customer feedback and motorsports experience. And GM needs to make that happen.

The Solstice is already proving itself a worthy competitor to the Miata by defeating the Mazdas in two different race series the Japanese roadsters are used to dominating:

"Spec Miata" No More? Pontiac Solstice wins again in SCCA-SSB Class at Lime Rock

Solstice racers rack up the wins against Miatas in SCCA Solo National Tour

The Kappas are not just pretty to look at (and not much else) American Roadsters like the Plymouth Prowler or SSR.

All that said, I'll agree that they certainly aren't Japanese takes on the roadster.

Daihatsu Copen:


Suzuki Cappuccino:

[GM_Fanatic]

This is a great start for Saturns turnaround. Up next: Aura and Outlook.

[GM LS-X]

Arg Opel GT is equal to Sky Redline (Solstice GXP). There will be no slow Opel GT.

[Butz]

And from some reason they didn't like the solstice on Top Gear, those anti-american *****

[68Vette]

Originally Posted by Butz

And from some reason they didn't like the solstice on Top Gear, those anti-american *****

Their upper-Lip is too stiff to admit that we "Yanks" can build a solid two seater roadster!!! Notice how they have yet to test drive the Redline/Opel GT?

[rsbaker]

Originally Posted by goblue

These things get reviews so far over the map - it leads me to a few conclusions...

1) Some reviewers conclude it should be held to a standard that many drivers don't want - ie sharpest possible steering, tightest suspension, high revving engine. Their idea of what makes a perfect roadster - in other words they compare it to a Miata assuming that a Miata is a 10.

2) Whereas some reviewers take it for what it is - an american take on a roadster - equally comfortable on a curvy road as crusing woodward. Abundance of low end torque. My personal feeling, I would prefer that. Excellent handling, and can take a bump in stride. Its different from the Miata, and not all the differences are negatives, many are positives. Neil (surprisingly) gets this.

3) Finally, some are just biased, sure the top takes a few extra seconds, but it also looks so much better stored than the Miata. The trans reviews are pure bias. When its great, its and Aisin, when its bad, its the truck trans. Its like they review it knowing one or the other, and make conclusions based on that.

These vehicles are not perfect, a power tonneau would shut many up, a bigger trunk would be nice, and cupholders that are accesible, and some interior parts are not up to par - but overall its a great option compared to a Miata - even before its class destroying looks are factored in.

Excellent points! My thoughts exactly.

[MaxLegroom]

It seems that when he likes something, he really likes it, and the inverse also true. Remeber what he did to the Montego a couple of years ago? He went out of his way to sound witty when he shredded that one.

[GM-Joe]

Originally Posted by GM LS-X

Arg Opel GT is equal to Sky Redline (Solstice GXP). There will be no slow Opel GT.

I actually like the Opel GT more, I guess because in the U.S. Saturn is a pretty boring and conservative brand with a not so good logo, but when I see and think of Opel, I think of excitement, energy, electricity, and that ride is just too cool and sleek to be a current Saturn, it has to be exclusive has to be an import.