After a long and successful run, Saturn decided to replace the S-Series with the Ion in 2003. The new model gave loyal Saturn consumers a roomier, sportier, and more powerful version of what they had come to expect over the years. As in previous Saturns, the 2003 Saturn Ion used polymer based panels to minimize scratches and dents. In addition, the car operates with a 2.2 L, 140 hp engine, an improvement from the 1.9 L and 124 hp in the most powerful S-Series trims.
The 2003 Saturn Ion comes in 5 different trims: Sedan 1, Sedan 2, Sedan 3, Coupe 2, and Coupe 3. All trims have standard 5 speed manual transmission with optional ABS brakes and traction control. The sedans have optional 5 speed automatic while the coupes offer optional continuously variable transmission (CVT; see earlier Saturn VUE models). In addition, all trims give you 25 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway. The coupes seat 4 and the sedans seat 5. Other innovations include 4 doors on the coupes and trunk space in the sedans that has increased almost 2.5 cubic feet from the S-Series.
Overall, consumers agree that the 2003 Saturn Ion represents an upgrade from the S-Series. However, many wonder whether Saturn did too little too late. Occasionally rough handling, road noise, and internal vibrations detract from the driving experience while hurting Saturn's initial position against competitors such as the Civic and the Corolla. Like Chicago Cubs fans, Saturn consumers would have to wait til next year for the home team to come through in the clutch.
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This car was purchased from a private seller who took excellent care of it. I have had very little maintenance done to it since purchasing in Feb. 2014. I would absolutely recommend this car to others. I just have to get the knocking noise behind the glove box tended to - I have been advised about this situation by several people.May 01, 2014
by Anonymous
Jul 15, 2013
Has been a great car for the wife. Fun, safe & reliable. I see why there are so many Saturn ION followers. The maintanance has been easy and affordable, the ride is nice and smooth & the car stops fast and straight. Jul 15, 2013
User rating:
by Anonymous
May 30, 2022
this. a good car i want buy this car May 30, 2022
by Anonymous
May 01, 2014
This car was purchased from a private seller who took excellent care of it. I have had very little maintenance done to it since purchasing in Feb. 2014. I would absolutely recommend this car to others. I just have to get the knocking noise behind the glove box tended to - I have been advised about this situation by several people.May 01, 2014
by Anonymous
Jul 15, 2013
Has been a great car for the wife. Fun, safe & reliable. I see why there are so many Saturn ION followers. The maintanance has been easy and affordable, the ride is nice and smooth & the car stops fast and straight. Jul 15, 2013
by Kevin D
Apr 17, 2012
In my young and stupid days, it blew the doors off of Korean four-cylinders in a
straight line (and even beat my wife's Miata and my friend's Ford Explorer Sport
Trac), but it can't handle to save its life. 159,000 miles later, the engine is still
going strong after beating the hell out of it (but leaks oil), and I haven't even
changed the transmission fluid. The downsides might seem minor, but they're
really big to me. I've never driven something with such incompetent handling
(and I was a car detailer and auto parts delivery guy in past lives). I've even
done the struts, shocks, and bushings, and it still sucks. It's amazing
how poorly engineered the ION1 suspension was, and it's easy to see why the
level 1 was canned the very next year. It's also easy to see why GM couldn't
compete in the segment. The car is ugly, and the seats are uncomfortable on
long trips. As long as you change out the flawed timing chain tensioner and re-
torque flywheel yourself, though, the
engine is my favorite four cylinder of all time. (I hear loose flywheels are
common on GM's.) I get about 27 mpg. I'm the original owner. I run synthetic oil
and drive the car like I stole it at a current rate of about 30,000 miles a year.Apr 17, 2012
by Samuel H
Dec 26, 2011
This is a good day to day driving car, No extra power to rave about about, but good enough to get around town and to school. I like the plastic bumper and side impact resistance body..No dents on this body. Gas mileage is great....... Poor on fixed up....key lock fell out, wiper fell off....But runs good now..Dec 26, 2011
by Rae Anne T
Oct 21, 2011
overall the car is pretty good. we havent had to really replace anything on the car except for tires. the performance is average. the apperace looks nice and the interior is comfy. the car is a nice daily driver type of car.Oct 21, 2011
by Anonymous
Jan 02, 2010
Don't waste your money! This car is known not to start on a regular basis. Google it! Its great once/if you get it started. Almost lost my job b/c it made me late too often!!! To make things worse,GM wont acknowledge that the problem exist. Oh, and don't me started on the MPG! It sucks. Yeah you heard me. Sucks. If you google this car you will find thousands of complaint about this issue! One last thing, these cars seem to be magnets for get dents in the. hood Jan 02, 2010
by Maggie J
Oct 27, 2009
accels well, handles the road awesomely, power pretty much everything, little repairs, reliable, awesome on gas, available in manual! looks good, super fun to drive.
headlights arent the brightest, but can be fixed with aftermarket bulbs, parts are fairly easy to find second-hand, but to buy new can get a little costly! overall, i love it, since parts are rarely replaced.Oct 27, 2009
by Michelle T
Aug 11, 2009
It drives nice. It looks really good. It really is a SHARP looking car! It gets GREAT gas mileage. I can go to work and home for a week on a quarter tank of gas. This car is fun to drive. Aug 11, 2009
by George D
Jul 30, 2009
performance-needs a bigger engine
Great Gas Milage
fun bc its a stick
very basic appearance but nice bc the plastic doesn't rust or get very dirty
needs better wipers. overall i like having it and am glad i didn't pick the taurusJul 30, 2009
by Robert H
Jun 01, 2009
high gass mileage, diffrent, hate the appearance. the body is made of diffrent material and the speedometer is in the center of the dash. the car has good acceleration and is fun to crusie in but again the body needs work.Jun 01, 2009
by Danette C
Dec 05, 2008
i have had it and i have had very litte trouble out of it it gets good gas milage and it has a lot of room for people and all the stuff too you can fit at least 3 people in the back seat and 2 including the dirver goodDec 05, 2008
by Shawn M
Sep 09, 2008
Ion - 3
- 2.2 L I-4 DOHC 16 Valve
Ecotec Engine
- 140 hp @ 5800 RPM
- 145 ft-lbs. @ 4400 RPM
- 0-60MPH in 9.0 sec
- Five-Speed Manual Transmission
- 16" Alloy Rims
Tinted windows to keep the sun out and a sound system that will make your ears ring for hours, but of course this is no stock sound system im talking about, all aftermarket.Sep 09, 2008
by Daniel P
Sep 07, 2008
Cheap piece of crap. It gets me around and I don't
feel so bad when i go back to it and see dents in the
hood, scratches on the side, and rubs on the bumpers.
She is rippin with 140 bhp and 120k miles... If anyone
has advice about zipcars please let me know how it
is.... Getting tickets and parking this piece of crap is
starting to get annoying! Sep 07, 2008
by Ashley C
Aug 10, 2008
Great car, love the placement of the speedometer and whatnot. Makes for a smaller steering wheel which is perfect for women. I have had my car for 2 years and have never had a single problem with it. It's a great car, fun to drive. The only negative thing I could possibly say is that the seats can get a little uncomfortable if you are on a long drive. Otherwise, it's a great car!Aug 10, 2008
by Aileen H
Jul 25, 2008
It's alright. I think I would like it more if I didn't have to have a car payment. And it doesn't have near the balls my Accord had. Nor did I ever want to drive a GM product again, BUT it's what I could get at the time I was shopping.Jul 25, 2008
by Kaylynn B
Jun 29, 2008
This car is awesome! not only is it awesome looking, but it performs extremely well. its easy to handle and i like that the brakes arent touchy like most models out there. its only needed minor repairs like fuses that keep blowing and one time the windshield wiper came off track. It's appearance is stellar. i love the coupe doors and the low profile tires. the interior could be a little prettier, though. i'd say it gets maybe a little under par on gas mileage which is one major downfall of this car. But overall, this car is wonderful! i'd recommend it to anyone who wants to have a sweet looking ride that handles well. Jun 29, 2008
by Kristopher D
Jun 23, 2008
Gas SaverJun 23, 2008
by Jeffrey D
Jun 19, 2008
It's paid for. That's the best feature. Jun 19, 2008
by Jeff C
Jun 10, 2008
Too many little things have gone wrong that cost a lot to fix. Tires are super expensive for a little car. Jun 10, 2008
by Hannah S
Jun 09, 2008
I hate the car, its ugly and it feels big to drive. But having said that it's cheap to fix when i rear end people cause I can't stop in time or put it into guard rails, and best of all parked cars. haha :-PJun 09, 2008
by Samuel S
May 19, 2008
no ,good carMay 19, 2008
by Dustin G
May 08, 2008
I am getting this car next August and cant wait gets about 34 mpg and has more horse power than my cavalier. A nice sparkling dark blue paint job.May 08, 2008
by Anonymous
Apr 14, 2008
Very nice interior. Very roomy. This car overall has been good!Apr 14, 2008
by Anonymous
Apr 14, 2008
This is a nice car.Apr 14, 2008
by Casey J
Mar 28, 2008
Spent more time in the shopMar 28, 2008
by Jeff B
Feb 22, 2008
This is my wife's car it's got 100,000 miles and it's running strong. Feb 22, 2008
by Phillip P
Feb 19, 2008
this picture is actually of the car after it was passed down to my sister who then somehow lost a hubcap. I'd bet she probably hit a small childFeb 19, 2008
by Tamika K
Feb 14, 2008
I loved this car. It's definitely not as sexy as my new car but it's a solid GM vehicle. It had amazing features. It never broke down or needed more than gas for 2 full years of me driving it. Feb 14, 2008
by Leah B
Feb 09, 2008
Good interior, good for short people, spacious for it's size, lots of trunk space. Feb 09, 2008
by John E
Dec 30, 2007
Its a fun little car to drive. I love it mostly because its a 5 speed and its good on gas.Dec 30, 2007
by Jordan G
Dec 30, 2007
This is the base model of the 2003 Saturn Ion. This was the first year for production of the Ion, and so there were a few kinks that needed to be worked out. They were not numerous, and included such things as an over-revving engine. this would only happen when the car shifted(automatically) from 3rd to 4th gear, and when it was accelerating uphill. Overall, this car was fantastic, so much so that we have upgraded to the mid-level 2007 Ion, which is sadly the last year for production. From start to finish, this car was and still is the absolute best way to get wherever you are going.Dec 30, 2007
When I start my car, it beings squealing. After it stops and I back out of my drive, the squealing resumes when I turn the steering wheel. It does the same thing after sitting at a long red light, and tends to stall out. Any ideas?
I have a 2003 Saturn Ion 3. Today the car was running and i went to put it in gear and it would not shift key was stuck the ignition in the auxiliary position in the car lights were still on on the inside power steering light battery light brake light and ABS light windows won't close, turning signals wont work what could that possibly be?