Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Comments
Bob Lutz made a comment in a major car mag in that the Red Line was a "new direction" for Saturn.
The old SL was not particularly well rated in terms of durability but my experience with the two I had and with the brand was more like uga91, vuefor2 and len2. Basically excellent small cars at a good price, with great service.
Saturn is to get a new model from the Fairfax, KS plant in a year or so. Fingers x'ed that plant, which builds the Chevy Mailbu/Maxx, can build it well.
BTW, we have 28000 miles on our Ion now, still not one issue. Best car we have ever had. It's too bad to hear of a couple of duds.
Keep in mind the ION has to deal with established industry benchmarks like Civic/Corolla as well as new segment leaders like the Mazda3 which is light years ahead of the competition.
If GM was smart, they would create a badged engineered version of the Cobalt for Saturn and return to the SL name, rather than trying to fix the ION. The latter's brand equity is non existent.
The Echo sedan proves that weird does not sell. Up here in Canada we now get the Echo hatchback like the rest of the world (badged Yaris and Vitz elsewhere) which is much better looking than the sedan and is quite a hot selling item.
ION styling would have been fine for a niche product but not for a volume vehicle. Saturn used to sell more S series vehicles than all the products they sell currently combined.
The car simply needs interior upgrades and some minor tweaks. It's a great car and reliable, just not quite where the Mazda 3 and Corolla are in terms of interior or handling in the case of the Mazda 3.
Personally I am happy with the materials inside but I guess some people want more and that's what Saturn appears to be doing for 2005. Car market is changing fast and you have to go with the flow. Can't wait to see what they do.
The core of the ION is a nice car...solid chassis, good handling, decent ride. So if Saturn gets serious and REALLY upgrades the car with a smoother shifting auto, tight fitting trim that stays QUIET over bumps, and retrains their service techs (the ones I had were hopeless), I will definitely look ION over again once my Malibu wears out. Then again, Chevy's Cobalt version may prove much better...we shall see.
Thanks.
Replace the small steering wheel with a full-sized one.
Recalibrate the electric steering to improve responsiveness.
Add interior materials to improve appearance and tactile feel at "touch points."
Add laminated steel and insulation to cut interior noise.
Replace seats with better bolstered ones.
Redesign the sedan's fascia
vuefor2 - I know you and other ION owners like the styling of the car. But my opinion is personal preference. I think most people prefer something with more conservative lines. With some subtle styling tweaks, the ION could look like a scaled down Maxima, so the basic shape is pretty good. Just some details like the C pillar (more backwards slant to the rear door window) and a proper grill would help. The back of the car looks great as does the basic profile.
And do not get me wrong I think it is a decent car for the money. The basic car is quite good and I think an incredible value at the cheaper trim levels.
Some people on the board have also pointed to fit and finish issue on the ION as a reason for poor sales but the Cavalier/Sunfire are a lot worse and sell by the boat load. Up here GM also has all those new Daewoo vehicles which are more modern looking despite not being in the same league as the ION/Cobalt in terms of platform or powertrain. Driving a Daewoo anything is pretty depressing after you have driven an Ecotec powered car.
Personally, I like the current styling. What I don't like is that there doesn't seem to be a practical reason to buy the Ion instead of the Civic. It's not like the Ion has some clever storage areas inside, or a fuel miser engine, etc. It's a car I'd like to see one-up the top imports, but instead it flounders in the mid-pack of the Hyundais, Suzukis, and others.
IMHO, the relatively poor fuel econ is a major issue with the ION. There is a huge difference especially compared with a Civic, Corolla or even the old S series, all of which in Canada are capable of 50 mpg (Imperial gallon) or 42 mpg (US). I have owned all of these cars (and the Elantra) and the fuel savings adds up if you drive long distances like I do. Gas in Toronto is over C$ 90 cents per litre here which is about US$2.55 per gallon, although prices have come down this past week.
I must admit my strong pro-GM bias here having grown up with their cars. I think they are still king of pushrods and getting fuel econ out of low-tech cars. My 12 year old 8 valve S series Saturn got better gas mileage than my current Civic or Corolla which both have variable valve timing and other high tech tricks. GM gets 4 cylinder fuel econ out of its new 3.5 litre V6 pushrod in the Malibu and its old 3.8 litre in the Impala(42 mpg imperial gallon on either!).
Truly impressive. The old 3.8 litre is still my favourite V6.
I know there are more fuel efficient versions of the Ecotec engine family but GM decided not to offer them for the ION.
I like what GM offered in the old S series, a lower horsepower/high fuel econ version for the cheaper cars and more power and marginally less fuel econ for more money. BTW those Daewoo products have pretty awful engines, offering neither smoothness of operation nor fuel economy. The little Aveo gets about the same fuel economy as the ION and the larger Optra (Canada only) is actually thirstier than any of GMs V6 pushrods.
As far as real reasons go, I would have to say that with the exception of incentives and maybe the desire to purchase from an American company, there really may not be any. When we bought our ION 2 in March 2003, it was down to the ION and the Civic LX. Our ION 2 with auto, power package, floor mats and alloy wheels was priced really close to the price of a Civic LX. But, we got 0% financing and a $1000 GM owner loyalty bonus, so we went with the ION. The ION has a larger trunk and a couple of minor things the Civic does not have, but it's basically a matter of choice. I think Saturn has a $2500 rebate on the 2 and 3 models now. That would make an ION 2 with auto, power package and floor mats $14,055 after rebate. A Civic LX with auto goes for about $15,194. The ION offers roadside assistance, the Civic does not. The ION offers ABS and traction control, you have to buy a Civic EX to get ABS. Either way, you'll get a fine car. My ION has performed perfectly since it was new.
A full size steering wheel will make it harder to get in and out of the car as well.
Ah well...we'll see next year just what actually shows up.
Otherwise, you can enjoy the more powerful engine and how it gets you moving when you want it to. (That's not as important to my driving style, and not required by the traffic I typically drive in.)
http://automobile.auto123.com/en/info/roadtest/view.spy?make=Satu- rn&artid=24903&pg=1
I somehow doubt any ION owner will say to themselves "I really admire that person for making such a wise choice" every time they see someone driving a Civic. As I said before, I doubt you can go wrong with either choice. Everyone knows the Civic is a good car. I don't happen to like the fact that there are so many of them on the road. For me, I like having a car that is a little less seen.
Also, AAA will offer a good alternative to roadside assistance. You have to get AAA Plus, though as standard service is only good for bare bones service. It will run about $76 a year. If you have internet access (which I have to assume you do since you are here) you don't need the AAA maps. Mapquest and Yahoo Maps will do the exact same job.
I'm sure other owners don't admire cars they see driving by as being technological marvels of efficiency. I just happen to. I love the ECHO for it's well-designed interior and its fuel efficiency. Same with the Civic (my old Civic hit 41 mpg on a road trip). For me it's efficiency and design over color and sporty appearance packages.
Which is why finding a fuel-efficient, relatively safe and durable hatchback or small wagon is a tough hunt. I'm looking for a working wagon, not a sported-up wagon like a Matrix. Just a humble automobile that goes about its business efficiently and durably.
Not much to choose from here, that's for sure.
If GM could squeeze out another 3 to 5 mpg while retaining adequate power, I think the Ion would look competitive against the Civic and Corolla.
The old Saturn S series had a great economical wagon and the 4-cylinder of the L series is kind of a bargain.
While not cheap, the diesel Jetta should offer no reliability concerns. The problems many Jetta owners are having revolve around the Audi-Sourced 1.8T engine. Diesels are famous for only changing the oil about twice a year and that's it.
I'm sure we won't see one any time soon, but a hatchback Ion would be a great car. The back end of the sedan already looks as if it should pop upward as a hatch rather than as a trunk.
I can't imagine what a wagon would look like designed from the current Ion. Anybody think it would look good? It certainly would be functional.
BTW, I like the Elantra GT hatch as well - very Saab-like.
Unlike earlier reviews, many commented that the interior fit and finish was not half bad. Everyone disliked the seats front and back though.
At the time I was in the market, nothing compared to the excellent seats in my Civic which are close to my old 1980s vintage Volvo (best seats ever). Our Corolla also has nice seats but not ideally suited to larger people (I am small in stature).
Chuck1 brings up a good point about seat design. Even the Hyundais of old had nicely designed seats. It is therefore a surprise that Saturn has not incorporated best practises used by Asian car makers, who they were originally designed to compete with.
Fortunately it sounds like the ION is slowly getting upgraded to meet the competition.
http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/ly/redline.htm
Nice to see Saturn upgrade the car though. When we bought there was no Mazda 3 but I suspect we would have bought one if they were around. Hopefully the 2005 model will be much more like the Red Line. Sounds like it's quite the little hot rod.