In a recent Edmunds comparison test of economy sedans, Saturn's new Ion sedan had the distinction of coming in last. Not all was rotten in Spring Hill, Tenn., however. The Ion had some very likable qualities; several editors gave the Ion's powertrain and handling props. But in a few key areas, such as seat comfort and overall fit and finish, it fell short. And with nothing outstanding in the way of performance or features to compensate, the Ion sedan was relegated to the back of the pack.
The compact coupe segment isn't nearly so competitive; there are no Corolla, Sentra or Protegé coupes for example. And with the Ion coupe, Saturn offers a couple of interesting features not typically available on a sporty economy coupe, such as four doors and a continuously variable automatic transmission (a.k.a. CVT). Well, OK, a CVT is available on Honda's Civic HX coupe, but the extra doors aren't.
Replacing last year's dated S-Series coupe, the Ion Quad Coupe's name and body style may seem something of a contradiction. "Don't coupes have two doors, not four?" one may ask. Normally, yes. The Ion Quad Coupe is styled like a coupe, meaning it has a swooping roofline and longer front doors than a sedan would have. There are no exterior handles for the small rear access doors (RADS in Saturn terminology) which also helps to hide the fact that there is an additional pair o' portals here.
When it's time to let passengers into the rear seat or throw a gym bag back there, the benefit of those small doors quickly becomes apparent. Much like the rear doors on extended cab pickup trucks (or those of a mid-1960s Lincoln Continental sedan), they are hinged at the rear. As a result, passengers getting in back needn't contort themselves between the front seat and B-pillar — the latter structural component is essentially integrated into the rear door and thus "disappears" when the door is opened.
With just two trim levels, Saturn keeps things simple for the potential Ion coupe buyer. We drove an Ion "2," which can be considered the base coupe. A number of attractive features, such as air conditioning with a dust/pollen filter, power door locks, a stereo with CD player, a driver-seat height adjuster and a fold-flat front passenger seat are included as standard equipment. Stepping up to the "3" adds a sport-tuned suspension with 16-inch alloy wheels, power windows and mirrors, foglights, different seat fabric, cruise control and an upgraded audio system that has a cassette player and better speakers.
We know, styling is always subjective. But to our eyes, the Ion coupe manages to pull off certain quirky Saturn design cues (such as the upwardly angled concave swipe on the lower body side) while still being attractive — not something we can say about the gawky Ion sedan. Also uniquely Saturn are the dent-resistant body panels, which proved their value when we returned to the car after shopping to find a shopping cart kissing the rear fender. No harm done.
Inside the cabin, the center-mounted instrument cluster was criticized by a few staffers who thought it was weird, yet it proved functional. Oftentimes, when a tilt steering wheel is set to the optimum position, the rim ends up blocking the top of the gauges. Not so with this setup; no matter where the wheel was set, the sight lines to the gauges were unobstructed. As far as getting used to looking slightly to the right instead of down in front, it was a nonissue — in fact, it took most of us no time at all to get used to. And because this configuration allows the gauges to be set a little farther away, it was easier for our eyes to focus on them at a quick glance.
Those who've read that comparison test mentioned earlier may remember that the Ion's front seats were a sore spot, literally, among our editors. For some reason, the seats in this coupe weren't as uncomfortable to some of our drivers and passengers as those in the sedan were. As that backhanded compliment suggests, they still need work — one driver still thought they approximated the accommodations of the bleachers at Dodger Stadium. Covering the seats is a two-tone fabric that resembles the material used to make running shoes. Though sporty in a sense, it drew mixed reviews. Doing absolutely nothing for sporty appeal is the steering wheel that looks as if it was pilfered from an old amusement park's bumper car ride. We've complained quite a bit about the excess of hard plastic trim used in Ions and have been told that Saturn has addressed this issue for 2004, though we'll have to wait until we get into one of those models before we pass judgment.
Safety features are a strong point in the Ion. In addition to features such as dual-stage front airbags (that adjust deployment force according to crash severity) and optional ABS and traction control, the Ion can be had with optional head curtain airbags, a feature not typically available in this class. The Saturn has posted excellent frontal impact crash test scores, earning five out of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It has yet to be tested for side- and frontal offset impacts.
The Ion's 2.2-liter Ecotec inline four puts out respectable numbers — 140 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. On paper, this soundly beats cars like the Civic DX and LX coupe (115 hp and 110 lb-ft) and Hyundai Tiburon (134 hp and 132 lb-ft). But in the real world, although it's peppy enough for most situations, such as midrange passing and merging maneuvers, it doesn't feel any quicker than its rivals. Part of the problem lies with the CVT; although it's very smooth, it seemed to sap power at low speeds. And if you want an automatic gearbox in your Ion coupe, it's going to be a CVT. Automatic Ion sedans come with a more conventional five-cog unit.
Although we applaud Saturn for using this new transmission technology, we really don't see any advantage over a more responsive four- or five-speed automatic tranny. Most modern-day, conventional automatics are smooth operators. And it's not like this CVT is any more efficient than Saturn's own five-speeder; the CVT coupe and five-speed automatic sedan have identical fuel mileage ratings of 24 city and 32 highway. For the record, we averaged 25.1 mpg in over 300 miles, although 200 of them were on the freeway.
With the Ion's front disc, rear drum setup, braking performance is adequate. Although we didn't have access to our testing facility to generate numbers for this coupe, the Ion sedan we tested before (also equipped with ABS) posted an unimpressive 136-foot stopping distance from 60 mph. In the Saturn's favor, the brake pedal's action was linear and smooth.
On a twisty road, the Ion is likewise middle-of-the-road. The car's composure when pressed a bit is neither sporty nor sloppy. Although the Ion does a decent job of holding a line through a corner, there is noticeable body roll and the electric power steering lacks feel. We imagine that the Ion 3, with its sport-tuned suspension, would fare better in the handling area.
In general, we came away from the Ion unimpressed. Although we see genuine merit in the Ion coupe's additional doors, they're not enough to make up for mediocre seats and undistinguished performance. But with Saturn's forthcoming Ion Red Line series coupe, that should all change. With the promise of around 200 horsepower, supportive sport seats and a tightened-up suspension, the Red Line could pump a lot of life into the nearly flat-lined Ion.
The compact coupe segment isn't nearly so competitive; there are no Corolla, Sentra or Protegé coupes for example. And with the Ion coupe, Saturn offers a couple of interesting features not typically available on a sporty economy coupe, such as four doors and a continuously variable automatic transmission (a.k.a. CVT). Well, OK, a CVT is available on Honda's Civic HX coupe, but the extra doors aren't.
Replacing last year's dated S-Series coupe, the Ion Quad Coupe's name and body style may seem something of a contradiction. "Don't coupes have two doors, not four?" one may ask. Normally, yes. The Ion Quad Coupe is styled like a coupe, meaning it has a swooping roofline and longer front doors than a sedan would have. There are no exterior handles for the small rear access doors (RADS in Saturn terminology) which also helps to hide the fact that there is an additional pair o' portals here.
When it's time to let passengers into the rear seat or throw a gym bag back there, the benefit of those small doors quickly becomes apparent. Much like the rear doors on extended cab pickup trucks (or those of a mid-1960s Lincoln Continental sedan), they are hinged at the rear. As a result, passengers getting in back needn't contort themselves between the front seat and B-pillar — the latter structural component is essentially integrated into the rear door and thus "disappears" when the door is opened.
With just two trim levels, Saturn keeps things simple for the potential Ion coupe buyer. We drove an Ion "2," which can be considered the base coupe. A number of attractive features, such as air conditioning with a dust/pollen filter, power door locks, a stereo with CD player, a driver-seat height adjuster and a fold-flat front passenger seat are included as standard equipment. Stepping up to the "3" adds a sport-tuned suspension with 16-inch alloy wheels, power windows and mirrors, foglights, different seat fabric, cruise control and an upgraded audio system that has a cassette player and better speakers.
We know, styling is always subjective. But to our eyes, the Ion coupe manages to pull off certain quirky Saturn design cues (such as the upwardly angled concave swipe on the lower body side) while still being attractive — not something we can say about the gawky Ion sedan. Also uniquely Saturn are the dent-resistant body panels, which proved their value when we returned to the car after shopping to find a shopping cart kissing the rear fender. No harm done.
Inside the cabin, the center-mounted instrument cluster was criticized by a few staffers who thought it was weird, yet it proved functional. Oftentimes, when a tilt steering wheel is set to the optimum position, the rim ends up blocking the top of the gauges. Not so with this setup; no matter where the wheel was set, the sight lines to the gauges were unobstructed. As far as getting used to looking slightly to the right instead of down in front, it was a nonissue — in fact, it took most of us no time at all to get used to. And because this configuration allows the gauges to be set a little farther away, it was easier for our eyes to focus on them at a quick glance.
Those who've read that comparison test mentioned earlier may remember that the Ion's front seats were a sore spot, literally, among our editors. For some reason, the seats in this coupe weren't as uncomfortable to some of our drivers and passengers as those in the sedan were. As that backhanded compliment suggests, they still need work — one driver still thought they approximated the accommodations of the bleachers at Dodger Stadium. Covering the seats is a two-tone fabric that resembles the material used to make running shoes. Though sporty in a sense, it drew mixed reviews. Doing absolutely nothing for sporty appeal is the steering wheel that looks as if it was pilfered from an old amusement park's bumper car ride. We've complained quite a bit about the excess of hard plastic trim used in Ions and have been told that Saturn has addressed this issue for 2004, though we'll have to wait until we get into one of those models before we pass judgment.
Safety features are a strong point in the Ion. In addition to features such as dual-stage front airbags (that adjust deployment force according to crash severity) and optional ABS and traction control, the Ion can be had with optional head curtain airbags, a feature not typically available in this class. The Saturn has posted excellent frontal impact crash test scores, earning five out of five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It has yet to be tested for side- and frontal offset impacts.
The Ion's 2.2-liter Ecotec inline four puts out respectable numbers — 140 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. On paper, this soundly beats cars like the Civic DX and LX coupe (115 hp and 110 lb-ft) and Hyundai Tiburon (134 hp and 132 lb-ft). But in the real world, although it's peppy enough for most situations, such as midrange passing and merging maneuvers, it doesn't feel any quicker than its rivals. Part of the problem lies with the CVT; although it's very smooth, it seemed to sap power at low speeds. And if you want an automatic gearbox in your Ion coupe, it's going to be a CVT. Automatic Ion sedans come with a more conventional five-cog unit.
Although we applaud Saturn for using this new transmission technology, we really don't see any advantage over a more responsive four- or five-speed automatic tranny. Most modern-day, conventional automatics are smooth operators. And it's not like this CVT is any more efficient than Saturn's own five-speeder; the CVT coupe and five-speed automatic sedan have identical fuel mileage ratings of 24 city and 32 highway. For the record, we averaged 25.1 mpg in over 300 miles, although 200 of them were on the freeway.
With the Ion's front disc, rear drum setup, braking performance is adequate. Although we didn't have access to our testing facility to generate numbers for this coupe, the Ion sedan we tested before (also equipped with ABS) posted an unimpressive 136-foot stopping distance from 60 mph. In the Saturn's favor, the brake pedal's action was linear and smooth.
On a twisty road, the Ion is likewise middle-of-the-road. The car's composure when pressed a bit is neither sporty nor sloppy. Although the Ion does a decent job of holding a line through a corner, there is noticeable body roll and the electric power steering lacks feel. We imagine that the Ion 3, with its sport-tuned suspension, would fare better in the handling area.
In general, we came away from the Ion unimpressed. Although we see genuine merit in the Ion coupe's additional doors, they're not enough to make up for mediocre seats and undistinguished performance. But with Saturn's forthcoming Ion Red Line series coupe, that should all change. With the promise of around 200 horsepower, supportive sport seats and a tightened-up suspension, the Red Line could pump a lot of life into the nearly flat-lined Ion.
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