2009 Saturn Astra: Yay or Nay?

[JaneM]

So..........how is this vehicle not a Vibe, other than the obvious Toyota affiliation? We just bought a Vibe, first ever Pontiac. We really like it. I have had 2 Saturn sport coupes but my husband could not sit up in them. I would love to go back to Saturn as a make, so am curious.

[cal]

rhonda SPARKS wrote:

I just purchased a 2008 astra. It is fun to drive handles great. My sister just bought the new mazda SPEED3 (turbo). Also fun to drive, and handles great. The biggest difference is the extras...ie: ipod, storage and the big one, cupholders. Look for saturn to improve in those areas and I will say I am looking forward to the future production of this car. Go take one for a test drive, you will be pleasantly suprised

I just bought a 08 Saturn Astra XR 5-door an I hate this car. I regret the day I signed the papers on it have had it 1 month an this car is a piece of junk. The engine already has a miss an the dealership is a joke. What ever you do do not buy this car. Look at a VW instead they have a 3 year or 36,000 mile free maintence on there cars starting in 09 model year. An there cars are priced about the same as Astra is.I will pay this car down an trade it in an this will be the last GM I will ever own. DO NOT BUY SATURN ASTRA!!!!!!!!

[Truckin]

cal wrote:

<quoted text>
I just bought a 08 Saturn Astra XR 5-door an I hate this car. I regret the day I signed the papers on it have had it 1 month an this car is a piece of junk. The engine already has a miss an the dealership is a joke. What ever you do do not buy this car. Look at a VW instead they have a 3 year or 36,000 mile free maintence on there cars starting in 09 model year. An there cars are priced about the same as Astra is.I will pay this car down an trade it in an this will be the last GM I will ever own. DO NOT BUY SATURN ASTRA!!!!!!!!

Sorry to hear about your regretful purchase. The Astra has not performed well in comparison tests and doesn't appear to have made much penetration in the small car market. GM should import a true European vehicle and give it a decent powertrain. Looks like GM may have lost another customer for life!

My 1995 Saturn SC2 is still performing well, Saturn should go back to that formula.

[SaturnBob]

Let me set some records straight here as far as HP that people are guessing at. Alternatively, you can find the facts here and from the links on the page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Corporati...

Saturn first sold cars in 1990 , not in the '80's.
The early engines (S-Series) were 4cyl. 1.9L single or dual overhead cam rated at 100hp or 123hp (NOT 140hp). 1998 brought out the Ecotec engine, a european born engine to their larger cars 2.2L rated at 140hp (ION and L-Series). Early V6 engines were derivatives of the English built Cateras rated at 187hp, these were replaced in 2003 with the Honda V6 in the VUE only rated at 250hp. All of these powertrains are now replaced by 2 larger and more powerful engines ranging from 138hp (Astra) to 169hp (Aura and VUE 4cyl), 260hp (SKY turbo Redline) and derivatives of the CTS engines, 224hp (Aura V6), 257hp (VUE XR)and up to 275hp (Outlook XR).

Lastly, just as Honduh has it's sport fan base, so does Saturn. Google for Saturnfans.com , TurboSaturns.net , SaturnSpot, IMSaturn, and much more. Other than Honda, Saturn has one of the largest online presences for sucha small car company.

Useless fact: In 2004, Lisa Kubo, an ex-honduh racer,(racing for Saturn Motorsports) beat the all-time front wheel drive racing speed with under 7 second times at Moroso Motorsports in both NJ and FL. This was beat two years later by the Chevrolet racing team...using a Saturn Ecotec derived motor.

IMHO, Saturn's pairing with Opel is a good thing, it's just a shame that GM doesn't see what they have.

[SaturnBob]

JaneM wrote:

So..........how is this vehicle not a Vibe, other than the obvious Toyota affiliation?

Jane, please don't make me quote Dan Ackroyd.
The Astra is built by Opel and has absolutely nothing to do with Toyota. The Vibe is a nice car, it is truly however a rebadged Toyota Matrix.