Homely outside, good inside

2006 Saturn Ion

I recently had to take a long trip (800 miles total), and since it is cheaper for my company to rent than pay me mileage to drive my car, I went to the local rental place and was surprised to find myself with a Saturn Ion.

I have owned two Saturns, both 92 SL models, one a base 5 speed, and currently an SL2 automatic. I love these cars, except for the oil burning problems. I know that the current Ion is a spiritual ancestor to my cars, but it has changed tremendously since. Saturn does not design their own cars anymore, and if you go to the Chevy dealer, you can pick up a Cobalt (and soon another model at the Pontiac dealer) that is very similar to this Ion.

Knowing this, I figured they would have also designed out the character of Saturn, but there are still enough quirks to keep me interested.

Exterior:

When people buy cars, they usually see the car and make first impressions. If they like it, they will usually drive it, and then the interior look and feel, and how it drives really factor into it. Do not forget getting a good deal.

I feel that this car looks homely. Not completely ugly, but more like that girl at the prom that did not get a date because she is not the prettiest or thinnest. The nose is just wrong. Who thought up that grille? The lights do not match the grille, either. This front end is better than the old Ion, but not by much. Chevy and Pontiac did a lot better on their front ends.

All models fail at the C pillar, however. I am not sure what gets me wrong about this area, but maybe it is because it is too thick. In the Ion, if there was a small window aft of the door, I think it would look a whole lot better.

The rear looks okay. My Ion had a spoiler, so I cannot say I hate it, but it does look like the clay model was dropped and squished, but nobody noticed.

Overall, the car had good fit and finish. The white paint (Polar White) looked good, but white just is not the color for this car. I would love to see one in that orange/copper (Sunburst Orange Metallic) you can get the Cobalt Coupe. There is a nice red (Berry Red), blue (Laser Blue), and black (Onyx Black) though, plus various beige/grey options as well.

Interior:

This part of the car was done well. The first thing you notice may be the one thing you hate about the car and that is where the instrument bin is located. Normally you would have to look down. That is normal. But in the Ion, like in the Toyota Echo/Yaris and Scion xA/xB, is higher up and in the center of the dash. This takes a little getting used to but I have to say I got used to it and I spent less time taking my eyes off the road. It is not something everyone would want to have in their car. It would not cause me to reject this car, however.

Otherwise the base interior is very well thought out. The steering wheel is a little smaller, but still has good thickness and grip. The whole center of the wheel can be pressed to sound the horn, and the horn, while not terribly manly, is at least nice and loud and not embarrassing like the horn in the 2004 Corolla I reviewed here. There are four spokes on the wheel, and the top two of them were filled with cruise control buttons on my Ion.

The radio is the best I have had the opportunity to use. The controls all look sharp and have a great tactile feel. It is easy to adjust the sound, either using a pre-set EQ setting, or creating your own. The radio has six preset buttons in three total rows for a total of 18 presets. When you are playing the radio, you can see what your presets are on the screen above the buttons. This is a neat trick, since I usually forget immediately what I set where.

This radio also had an MP3 CD player. I fortunately burned a CD before I left and this is what I used for most of the trip. I had it in the random mode the whole time, and unfortunately a lot of tracks got replayed as the miles went on. Otherwise I love the whole setup, especially in this age of iPods. If you have an iPod or similar player, you can also plug it straight in to an aux jack on the face of the radio. This radio is only a $220 option, and well worth the money.

The interior really looks sharp. The controls for the windows and rearview mirrors are on the driver’s door rest, instead of in the center like older Saturns. They are not as intuitive as they could be, but in time I would get used to them. The seats were comfortable and firm. I did not get a chance to sit in the back seat, but it did not look like there was a lack of space for adults. The rear seats are a 60/40 split, and the trunk was huge for a small car. The only complaint I have is the cup holders for the driver/front passenger. They are not deep enough for the newer 16.7oz bottles and mine always kept tilting whenever I hit a curve or accelerated onto the interstate. 20oz bottles it may fit just fine, however.

The Drive:

This is one smooth car, for a small car that is. It comes with a 140hp 2.2L Ecotec 4. This is enough power to keep you out of trouble getting on the interstate, or squirting through traffic. Opt for the Ion 3 and you can get a boost to 170hp with variable valve timing. I went 800 miles in mostly highway driving and got over 30mpg.

I found it hard to keep it tracking straight to start, but I attribute this to the smaller steering wheel. Once I got used to it, I had no problem keeping it between the lines. Although it has base wheels, my Ion still got around the curves just fine.

The cruise control is one of the best I have ever used. As previously mentioned, the controls are on the spokes of the wheel. Even my wife said they were the most logical place for them. A button on the left turns it on/off. Two buttons on the right are used to set/resume and coast/accel (or +/- as it is labeled.) Everything works as it should. Once set, the speed stays constant. Need more or less speed? Click the plus or minus a few times and the cruise control responds right away. When resuming it does not feel too hurried, either. The only thing I did not like about it is when setting or resuming, the odometer will flash "cruise" for 5-10 seconds. There should be a dummy light to let you know you have the cruise set.

Traveling down the interstate is not quite tomb-like, but for a car this size is quite nice. You get a lot more wind and road noise than engine noise. At 70mph I could still hear the radio as well as I could while sitting still, but bump it up to 80mph and I had to push the radio up a couple notches.

This car ate up the miles. I have not been this comfortable on a long trip since I rode/drove the 10 hour trip from my house to my brother’s in a Buick Park Avenue. I knew smaller cars had improved dramatically, but I had not quite experienced it until I drove the Ion.

Overall:

Looks aside, this is the perfect small car for long travel. It is not half bad in the city, either. If the looks turn you off as much as it did me, or you do not like where the instruments in the center of the dash, I suggest popping over to your Chevy/Pontiac dealer and checking out the Cobalt/G5. They look a lot better, and you get pretty much the same car. If you do like the looks, or do not care about the instruments, this is the car for you if only to experience the Saturn ownership experience.