Video: 2003 Saturn ION road test
91 s-10baja
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722 Posts
I waited until 2007 to get an Ion because in '06 they introduced the 2.4L with the FE2 suspension setup that buttoned down the car quite well. I'm a fan of the center dash, too. There are some plastic noises I could do without, but otherwise it's been rock solid for 89k miles. Plus the trunk is enormous for the class. I agree the base Ions suck, but the uplevel ones were good cars. I've hit 36-38 mpg frequently on the highway.
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1,256 Posts
Seems like the Ion Redline Quad Coupe was a solid performer. Looked great in black too. The best of the Ions.
I also recall the by-line for the Ion review in MT or C&D was something like "we waited three years for this?"
I also recall the by-line for the Ion review in MT or C&D was something like "we waited three years for this?"
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1,083 Posts
Too bad it was. Nissan and Subaru are doing fine with their CVT and it really helped them improve MPG.
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3,288 Posts
Our Saturn dealer now sells Hyundai. :doh:
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4,031 Posts
I loved my Ion sedan. It could hit 34-37mpg, was extremely reliable and was about as fun to drive as my SC2 was. It was a great little car. Weird that it gets hated on so much, mostly by those that never owned one, because it wasn't really that bad. But hey, if we all liked the same car we'd never be able to find ours in the parking lot.
Explain the J car staying around from 1982 to 2005. The Saturn S series was in there, sucking up small car resources and making Chevrolet and Pontiac the laughing stock of the small car market.
Mark
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4,938 Posts
Window sticker is all that counts. Fact is, Ion had lower EPA rated fuel economy then the car it replaced.
I briefly sold Saturn's for 6 months during the 2003 Ion rollout and let me tell you, previous Saturn owners were not impressed with it at all.
Saturn was left to rot on the vine. They killed every single model that had name recognition with customers, and not only that but at least in my store actually drove customers to go buy imports.
Other salespeople used to brag to their customer's that the VUE had the HONDA V6 in it.
Why buy the Saturn when you could go get a Honda with a way better interior for the same money and lower lease rates.
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5,968 Posts
I'm trying to figure that out too.... is it a throwback week this week or something? Or was it a slow news day
:lmao:
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2,641 Posts
It sucks they tarnished the Saturn line by ignoring it for so long. It could have very well been one of GMs best selling brands if executed properly . Simple MCE every 2 years while updating the complete platform would have saved it!
I do miss my '06 Ion 3 Quad quite often, it was a fun little car that got excellent mileage for it's comfort level. The cloth seats were comfortable, the trunk was massive (as it's been said before), and my favorite part of the car was the 2.4L paired with the manual transmission - it moved that car like crazy. Mine was generally reliable, a few squeaks and rattles and a fuel injector failure was all that went wrong in the 65,000km's I owned it for. It was a great commuter car, with one solid highway trip landing me 41mpg, generally though I was in the 35mpg range. Quad coupe styling was great too, the Pacific Blue colour pretty much sold me the first time I saw it.
I agree that the Ion 1 and Ion 2 cars were generally boring and whenever I drove one as a rental when mine was in the shop and I needed to be somewhere, I hated the ride quality, but the 3's and Redline were awesome.
Overall for the price I paid for it, I adored the car - going from an SC1 to the Ion was quite an upgrade in my opinion, although I did love the S-Series as well.
I agree that the Ion 1 and Ion 2 cars were generally boring and whenever I drove one as a rental when mine was in the shop and I needed to be somewhere, I hated the ride quality, but the 3's and Redline were awesome.
When I bought my Ion this couldn't have been farther from the truth. I priced out a Civic and to get the same options as my Ion 3 it would have cost me about $4000 more. Yes, the interior is nicer, but the Civic lacked the horsepower I was after.
Overall for the price I paid for it, I adored the car - going from an SC1 to the Ion was quite an upgrade in my opinion, although I did love the S-Series as well.
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213 Posts
What he said.
To the poster who wondered when Saturn Ions had a 5-speed automatic, the answer is 2003 and 2004. GM used an optional Aisin-sourced auto in the sedans. After owners complained about shift flares and other issues, GM switched to an in-house 4-speed in 2005 for the rest of the Ion sedan's run. The couples started with the dreaded CVT until failures mounted but I've never owned an Ion coupe so I'm not sure when or if the 4-speed auto was ever offered in it.
It's a joke to claim Saturn "drained" any resources from Chevy and Pontiac for small cars and made them industry laughingstocks. GM managed to do that for years before Saturn rolled out. Nader helped assassinate the Corvair and GM caved to him by pulling the plug on it a mere four years before the '73 oil embargo (yes, I know GM couldn't predict the future), the Vega/Astre with its aluminum engine meltdowns and rust issues, the minor cultural issue of trying to sell "No Gos" (Novas) in Mexico, all of the recalls the FWD X-cars had, J-cars that could barely get out of their own way because they weighed too much for their class.
Saturn initially had the highest important conquest rate of any GM brand, one fact the divisions envied and despised so with Chevrolet leading the way, the starvation of Saturn begin in the mid-90s. It's truly pathetic that Saturn got the axe instead of more funds to truly be GM's import-fighter brand. In the end, little to no advertising, a confused product mission and no company support heralded the final act.
The Ion did NOT kill Saturn; GM's responsible for that. Selling ~100,000 copies of a model annually is hardly a failure. It's not a sweeping success either but the Ion didn't curse the brand except in the eyes of those who already hated them both.
GM should have been Chevy, Cadillac, and Saturn with GMC moving to mid- and heavy-duty trucks. Pontiac should have been made the all RWD (no minivans and no mini- or subcompacts) performance division. Buick should have been relegated to China and Hummer and Saab let go, which are the only parts of my GM daydream that actually took place.
It's a joke to claim Saturn "drained" any resources from Chevy and Pontiac for small cars and made them industry laughingstocks. GM managed to do that for years before Saturn rolled out. Nader helped assassinate the Corvair and GM caved to him by pulling the plug on it a mere four years before the '73 oil embargo (yes, I know GM couldn't predict the future), the Vega/Astre with its aluminum engine meltdowns and rust issues, the minor cultural issue of trying to sell "No Gos" (Novas) in Mexico, all of the recalls the FWD X-cars had, J-cars that could barely get out of their own way because they weighed too much for their class.
Saturn initially had the highest important conquest rate of any GM brand, one fact the divisions envied and despised so with Chevrolet leading the way, the starvation of Saturn begin in the mid-90s. It's truly pathetic that Saturn got the axe instead of more funds to truly be GM's import-fighter brand. In the end, little to no advertising, a confused product mission and no company support heralded the final act.
The Ion did NOT kill Saturn; GM's responsible for that. Selling ~100,000 copies of a model annually is hardly a failure. It's not a sweeping success either but the Ion didn't curse the brand except in the eyes of those who already hated them both.
GM should have been Chevy, Cadillac, and Saturn with GMC moving to mid- and heavy-duty trucks. Pontiac should have been made the all RWD (no minivans and no mini- or subcompacts) performance division. Buick should have been relegated to China and Hummer and Saab let go, which are the only parts of my GM daydream that actually took place.
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4,938 Posts
I was talking about the VUE. The VUE was bragged about in 2004 as having the SOHC 3.5 Honda engine upgrage over the crappy 3.0L 54 degree V6.
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2,920 Posts
That entry was way too funny especially the interior critique, lol. Long live the mouse fur and hard plastics :lmao:
I remember my grandma's Saturn that she gave to me. It was my first car.
She gave it to me 2 years before I could drive...by then we traded it for a Mustang...which I later traded for a Focus.
It was a nice little car. Felt really solid and I think it's a shame GM couldn't have developed it further.
I guess the Cruze is the true successor of the Saturn brand since it's the first time since the original Saturn came out that GM is putting an honest effort into a small car.
She gave it to me 2 years before I could drive...by then we traded it for a Mustang...which I later traded for a Focus.
It was a nice little car. Felt really solid and I think it's a shame GM couldn't have developed it further.
I guess the Cruze is the true successor of the Saturn brand since it's the first time since the original Saturn came out that GM is putting an honest effort into a small car.
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