What first brought me to purchasing a new Saturn last December was the fact that I had a 1996 SL1 that I gave to my girlfriend, and I wanted one just like it. Saturn has the highest loyalty rate out of any American manufacturer and in the top ten for all auto brands. Not only that, but Saturn has consistently had high marks with the NHTSB for 4 and five star crash results, once again, one of the highest for this car class. Also, according to Consumer Reports, this small sedan has been rated above average in quality since 1994, and the 2002 S-series was stated by consumers to have few problems with any of the components of the car, which almost matches it against Acura and Toyota in quality at half the price. Those are just some reasons why the Saturn is one part of GM that people can actually rely on.

However, since the Ion is being introduced, it is GM's new way of taking Saturn back and making them part of the GM immediate family and not some distant cousin. The crappy Chevy Cavalier and Ponitac Sunfire will share the same platform with Saturn's small sedans for the 2005 year, taking all the quality engineering Saturn had as a flagship for their brand vanish into GM crap. It's this reason why I wanted to get the last Saturn S-series before the Ion took over and drew people away from Saturn. I purchased the Black-Silver SL1 with the electric window/cruise control option package. It's all I needed, as the standard radio would soon be replaced by a Sony CD player. I got the 0% APR and no payments for 90 days, so I was happy with that, as well as year end incentives for a total of $2000 off the car. After working with the friendly dealer staff and getting the Saturn cheer as I drove off, I felt like I made a wise purchase.

In regards to the car, it has been moderately restyled over the years from it's inception in 1990. They made a lot of reforms to the car (especially the engine to make it quieter) and have smoother lines. Dent resistant doors can take a shopping cart with 600 pounds of cement at 20 MPH in -10 C (I guess they had free time in Research and Design). The doors are also cheap to replace on your own, so you don't have to use that "Ding King" on them and set you back even more cash. Under the hood, everything is marked brightly so you can see what dipstick is what as well as where the "Change Oil soon" light reset is located. It is laid out well so that even jump starting with the battery terminals is not in an position either.

Inside the car, you can just see the increase in simplicity inside the car with the smoother lines and better placement of devices. The horn is in the middle, unlike the 96 Saturn with the small horn buttons, the cruise is where the old horn buttons were on the steering wheel, which is easily labeled to use. The Lights switch and wiper blades are both on the steering wheel column, giving you easy access to these. The only problem with the interior devices is the AC/Defogger/recycle air switches are located in an odd spot at the bottom of the climate controls that easily be hit when shifting and small enough that you can hit the wrong one. The Fan switch is not illuminated, so it can be hard to tell what fan setting it's at in night driving. The seats offer good support and the middle console offers a change holder, cupholders and a cubby for CD's and such. The rear seat is a little cramped with tall people, and three in back is a joke, but the seats offer good support as well, and a backseat cup holder for 2 that folds out where an ashtray once was located. The trunk is a tad small, but the new feature is locks so that no one can enter the trunk from inside the car (even though there's a remote trunk switch inside the car).

The ride of the car is amazingly quieter than previous models. The used extra insulation through the doors and tighter window seals to keep out road and wind noise. The suspension is not as great as the SL-2's, but it does absorb road bumps a lot better than the 96 model. The engine is a tough little guy, that gets 27/32 gas mileage, but with the A/C on, it can take him a little time to get up to speed on the highway when merging, but it still has 105 HP, so it's not the weakest car in it's division. It's a good workhorse that gets the job done though and saves you gas money. It's got an extra 20 horses in the SL-2, so if it really bugs you with the getup-and-go, look at the next up model.

The car has lived up to it's expectations so far, with no problems at the 3000 mile mark. The engine still runs quietly (for a Saturn) and every intrinsic part is still working great. Although you have the faults that every car has in this class with room and engine power, the part that keeps Saturn as an outlier is the fact that it's a quality product built in the USA that you can rely on day in and day out.
Amount Paid (US$): 14350
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: SL1- Power windows, locks, cruise, remote entry