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"I don't think the center IP is any big deal."
It's a VERY BIG DEAL when 99% of the cars are built with the gauges right in front of you. This is GM cost cutting at it's finest. Just like the smal steering wheel of the last couple of years just to save a FEW BUCKS ON PLASTIC.
I disagree. Saturn was trying to be innovative, like on the Echo and Scion xA and xB (I owned both an Echo and xA at different points in time). It wasn't to cost cut. If they were cost cutting they would have stuck with the same layout as on every other car on their line.
A previous post mentioned that everything is designed to be looked at right in front of the driver, such as with the radio buttons on the steering wheel. They aren't put there to be looked at... You're supposed to just feel them there and use them without even looking at the wheel.
Another post added that Toyota thought center gauges were a mistake with its Echo. Why are there spy shots out there of the new Echo (Yaris, as known overseas) with a very high tech looking center gauge cluster? If they did in fact admit it was a mistake, I wouldn't think Toyota would mess up twice. Also, to the best of my knowledge Suzuki never used center gauges. Their last goof up was with the digital dash on the Aerio, but it was in the traditional position in front of the driver.
In conclusion, to each their own I guess. I'm sure many people who bought Ions bought them partially because maybe they like the gauges in the middle. I wouldn't buy a car if I'd be so displeased with something I have to look at every day, like a speedometer. I'd like to encourage Saturn to continue to use this dash layout in future designs (but without the jigsaw puzzle look to it).
As an aside, my 2005 Ion has had a fair amount of warranty work done, but the service has always been excellent. I'm not terribly worried at this point because GM will be paying for anything that goes wrong with the car up until 60,000 miles.
CU pretty much has nailed the Ion, and Car and Driver agrees. Also remember the Ion does poorly in side impacts.
Supposedly a rebadged Cobalt will take the place of the plastic bodied Ion after 2006.
Uh.. no that's not true. A modified Opel Astra is likely what you will see ION look like.
At 2500 miles the BCM had to be replaced and the computer reprogrammed because the Passlock security system light kept coming on.
Around 3000 miles a daytime running light housing was replaced because it was defective. GM currently has a "campaign" on running lights because they seem to go out on almost every GM car. Just look at the large number of Silverados out there with only one light on!
At 9000 miles I hit the big time. I had the front rotors replaced because they were already warping, I had the computer reprogrammed again because my gauges were jumping around at times, and I had a window regulator replaced because my crank up window had something snap inside. This was all done under warranty, no questions asked.
Again, service was excellent, but I'm hoping the bugs in my car will slowly go away. In terms of power and comfort I do enjoy the car, and like I said earlier, as long as GM keeps paying the repair bill I won't mind it so much.
It's definitely NOT the volkswagen ("people's car") that the S-series was, but all this forum talk about Saturn being finished for good because of the ION makes me all emotional.
My '03 ION2 sedan (silver) is also running great...on highways at 65-85 mph w/ the center console burning a lovely orange-red on the black background at night. I can drive the ION2 or the SL1 and without being distracted by the center console. It did take me a couple weeks to adjust to the dark area under the steering wheel after we initially bought the car. I even have the golfcart steering wheel, which I believe is an incidental safety feature because I can't stick my arms through it and drum out songs on the dashboard while I'm singing. I'm thus forced to actually use both my hands (at 2 & 10 o'clock) to hold onto the wheel while driving.
Happy motoring! :P
Your 100% correct! But the bottom line is the steering wheel WAS NOT ACCEPTED by the public. It was the #1 negative item that potential buyers noticed. That is why they changed it.
I recently drove a Cobalt SS Sedan with the 2.4 and manual and found it to be a great combination. I'm sure it is very similar in the ION. The biggest benefit being that the ION is a significantly better value.
Why did you have to be conservative in the test drive? Because of the salesman?
I've had very heated arguments with salesmen when they wouldn't allow me to test drive the way I wanted. And usually I just drove it how I wanted anyway and let their sales managers know they scolded me when we got back to the dealer. The way I look at it, you should test drive it any way you want (within reason). Particularly because you have an ION, you should have felt comfortable pushing it to see just how much difference the new engine makes.
Just my two cents worth. I hate salesmen who try to tell me how to drive and usually do my best to tick them off.
Again, congrats and let us know all about it!
The salesman was quite nice. Actually, I was his very first customer and sale.
Guess it would be out of character for a Saturn salesperson to NOT be nice, huh?
I am most interested in the noise and RPM at 80, the "new 65" here in Northern California.... (I did note that the gearing is lower on the final drive on the 2.4 Cobalt than on the 2.2 Cobalt; although the dealer had the SS Cobalt, it was only in automatic so I didn't drive it.)
Thanks (and congratulations on your "hot" sleeper car....).
In 5th at
60 mph - 2100 rpm
70 mph - 2500 rpm
80 mph - 2900 rpm
I like the sport suspension. It has a nice balance between ride and handling.
After I get 500 miles on the car, I will put the pedal to the metal and tell everyone what we all want to know.
From reports on the 2006 Civic thread, the rpm on the Civic at 80 are mid 3's.
What kind of tires did they give you on the stock alloy wheels? Anything decent? Any plans to swap tires? GM's performance suspensions are usually pretty good, but the tires on most factory cars don't seem that performance oriented - at least they get bad reviews at Tire Rack. I was checking the stock size at Tire Rack, and it seems like you have a lot to choose from if you ever want to change....
The car is Berry Red.
You can see pictures at http://theparson.net/ion.htm
I think the ION is better looking outside, but the Cobalt interior is more appealing. I would say the Saturn is less expensive (it is base price) but as you mentioned when comparably equipped the prices are similar. One thing to keep in mind is that the Chevrolet dealer might be open to negotiating the price, the Saturn dealer won't.
The Saturn dealer will certainly provide a better buying experience and customer service in the future. That counts for a lot.
Good luck!
1. Variations in testing - I've heard the IIHS tests are a little "finicky";
2. Use of polymer bolt on panels on the Ion instead of welded sheet metal on the Cobalt;
3. Slightly different (?) mounting points for the door reinforcements;
4. Different door liner materials.
As the previous poster noted, the ratings of the Ion and Cobalt are actually reversed in the NHTSA and IIHS tests.
I wouldn't prefer one car over the other. What is clear, however, is how much benefit you get from side curtain air bags. Since Saturn won't make the deal tougher if you have to order to get side curtains, that leans me towards Saturn on that point.
Acceleraton is not peaky but is smooth throughout the rev range. It reminds me of a Ford Contour with 2.5L V6 and manual transmission that I owned previously.
Thanks, and enjoy the new car.
Please keep us posted as you get more data - the 27.3 sounds very good.
Drive the Ion for many miles in good health.
A friend of mine bought an '04 Ford F150 when they first came out and after one year, 48 days out of service and a total of 11 repair attempts, he decided to file for lemon law protection. I did the research for him and wrote the letters to Ford. I took about six weeks, but he got a new '05 model identical to his '04 and only paid about $700 for the 16k miles on the '04.
FYI- it helps to firm, but not nasty when dealing with the manufacturer. Af first Ford didn't want to do an exchange, but I mentioned that I'd call the local new stations if they didn't work with me. Ford (or Saturn) doesn't need any bad publicity right now.
Good luck.
First year cars always have a lot of problems, no matter who makes them.
Thks!!!
Long time, no see. I'm sorry to hear that you don't have your 2003 ION anymore. We bought the 1st-year models in the same year.
My 2003 silver ION2 passed the 50K-mile mark a couple hundred miles ago. We're out of warranty, but it hasn't acted up on us yet. Knock on wood. Just regular oil changes and a couple light bulbs. The upholstery could use some shampooing. The front mud guard is half torn off. Normal wear and tear. We still enjoy driving it everywhere because of the coaxial speakers and upgraded radio/CD/cass - we listen to our music loud.
We see more IONs on the road now, but it's taken a really long time. Gone are the days of 0% financing and low, low base prices. I have to laugh when I see Edmunds (high) ratings/reviews for this car in 2006. There was a time when they couldn't say enough bad things about it, but that tune's completely changed. I'm happy to see that actually.
Over and over, the fact is that the ION is no luxury car. It's not Superman. The seats could be better padded. But it is a solid and a good buy for the money. I recently read in Wired that GM's not-so-little dirty secret is they're reverse-engineering the competitors' cars. This assertion keys with the fact that I've been told by others that the ION's trunk battery is a German innovation and its automatic tranny is Japanese.
Cheers and happy 2006!
P.S. We finally donated our 1992 Saturn SL1 sedan to charity with 250K+ miles on it. (I'll try to attach a file image of the odometer here.) We're thinking about buying another ION, but this time it'll be a used one because I happen to appreciate the designers' original design, prefer the golfcart steering wheel and don't want OnStar.
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The Japanese 5-speed trans was dropped in 2006 as it never worked all that well. 2006 got refined version of 4 speed the Cobalt (and old Caliver) had.
There are lots of IONS where I live.