Wife and I went yesterday after seeing a outlook out front.I never even considered a saturn in my life,but now saturn has 3 cars I would very strongly consider owning.The outlook not only looks better than most *** and american suv's,but the interior is laid out perfectly.Seats are very supportive and the base models brushed alum trim looks good.For around $28,000 you get a very well optioned car.The aura is kinda like a optima,but with better styling.Nicely done.The plastic seatbacks don't look too good,but the rest is great.And the sky is drop dead georgous.I think it actually looks better than corvette.I wonder if you can up the boost to get around 300hp?We parked our '06 explorer next to the outlook and the explorer looked ancient next to it.Just a box on wheels.We have had a lot of problems with it and are considering the outlook sometime this summer.Good job saturn! I think GM is on track for a comeback.

 

I agree, Saturn has some products on hand that should be good sellers for the brand.

 

Yep Saturn is definitely on it's way up .

David

 

I agree, Outlook and Aura are great looking vehicle. I was very impressed when I saw them in person.

 

How do you like that 05 Ion? I'm thinking about taking my sister to look at a few 06's but I dont know anything about their quality.

 

Yeah, I was at a dealer a few weeks ago trying to work a deal on a Sky Redline. They wouldn't do a thing for me. Wouldn't honor the GMS discount and would only order them fully loaded. I'm thinking, this is a Saturn dealership, when did they get so full of themselves. But they do have some good cars these days.

 

To answer the original question, no.

 

Saturn doesn't do deals. Save the occasional GM rebate program, they never (or at least very rarely) have.

 

GM Employee price is not the same as haggling or rebates, though. Typically, they honor GMS.

However, as with any brand, whether or not they honor GMS is up to the dealer. If I'm Mr. Dealer, and I can sell my handful of RedLine Skys to the public at full retail or sell it to an employee for a smaller profit holdback from the General, I can see selling it at the regular price...

 

The critical flaw in "no haggle pricing" people say they dont want to have to go through the effort of fighting the dealer... But when you get there and they give you that you want to make sure you get a "good deal"...

 

It has been a solid DD. Not very fun to drive (I got it because at the time the lease deal was seriously way too good to pass up).

I'm getting around 28-30 mpg combined, with trips being around 34 mpg. Pure local driving in the winter has probably shown me a low tank of about 26.5 mpg. I'm at about 28k miles on the car now.

As for issues:

1) At one point the sunroof leaked, when I had the car sitting without driving it for 3+ weeks straight. One time. I don't know what caused it. Perhaps some gunk had built up in one of the drain tubes and hardened temporarily. Had a bit of water on the floor of the car. This was probably at around 14k miles. The problem has never returned. I think sunroofs are kinda the devil in general, but this seemed like a weird one time deal. Incidentally, my brother's car (identical to mine except the color; he couldn't pass up the deal either...) did the same thing, also after sitting for a somewhat extended period. I think his was also a one time deal.

2) The only other thing I've really noticed is that the driver's window has acted up a couple of times. It works fine, but on a couple occasions I've had the air on high in the car, with all the windows up. When I rolled the driver's window down (say to drop a letter in the mailbox), it did not seal right when I rolled it back up. I could actually see a gap as if it went up slightly off kilter. If I lowered it back down, and lowered another window or turned the blower to a lower setting, I could put the driver's window up and it would track/seal properly, with the pressure relieved. Kinda weird. Again, this hasn't happened much lately (haven't had the blower on high much), and it was merely a mild annoyance, so I didn't even take it in. Figured I might mention it when I turn the car in (lease is up in March), or perhaps I'll go ahead and let the dealer change the oil and mention it then.

Overall, though, it has been a solid, dependable DD. Good mileage, reasonably quiet for an econocar (it got some refinements in '05 to quell noise complaints, including the use of "quiet steel" in the firewall). Just not the most exciting car to drive. If that's what she's after, they now offer the 2.4L with 170 hp, or of course the underrated RedLine model, which is a formidable car. The plastic panels are nice too, though I still park far away and all that.

I wouldn't talk someone out of it for a DD, but I might steer you away if you are an enthusiast type driver. In that case, I might suggest the Cobalt SS (N/A or S/C), or the aforementioned sportier Ion models.

Hope that helps some.

 

Thanks, yea that does help alot. She's not interested in speed at all, just needs a DD for work. Puts on around 20k a year and spends a lot of time on the road so it has to have enough room for luggage, get the mileage, and be reliable. We drove a new Ion 3 at the dealer and I liked the ride. Looking at the gauges in the middle took a bit of getting used too though. But after awhile it was no big deal.
Thanks again.