Wednesday, August 10, 2005

GM / Saturn The 2006 Saturn Ion Red Line

He Drove, She Drove

Ion Red Line price is right

With savings and attitude, 2006 Saturn coupe should delight young customizers.

By Paul & Anita Lienert / Special to The Detroit News

GM / Saturn The 2006 Saturn Ion Red Line's Competition Package features unique Forged Wheels with a Gunmetal Finish. 2006 Saturn Ion Red Line Type: Front-engine, front-wheel drive, five-passenger four-door coupe Price: Base, $19,990 (inc. $565 destination charge); as tested, $21,445 Engine: Supercharged 2.0-liter I-4; 205-hp; 200 lb-ft torque EPA fuel economy: 23 mpg city/29 mpg highway Where built: Spring Hill, Tenn. Key competitors: Acura RSX, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Dodge SRT4, Ford Focus ZX3, Ford Mustang, Honda Civic, Hyundai Tiburon, Kia Spectra, Mazda3, Mini Cooper, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Sentra SE-R, Pontiac G6, Scion tC, Subaru Impreza, Volkswagen Golf 12-month insurance cost, estimated by AAA Michigan: $1,406 (Rates may be higher or lower, depending on coverage and driving record.) Anita's rating: Likes: Quad doors add practicality and functionality. Seat fabric approaching design level of Mazda, Subaru. Cool gauges with backlit needles. Standard OnStar communications system. Upgraded audio with MP3 plug-and-play. Better value than '05 model. Dislikes: Side curtain air bags cost extra. No cover on right-side vanity mirror causes glare from sun. Small cup holders dont work with square bottles. No grab bars on a performance car. Trim pieces dont fit well on top of IP. Paul 's rating: Likes: Lots of performance for the price. Revised center stack provides more knee room. Sturdy chassis with nimble handling. Responsive supercharged engine makes 205 horsepower. Decent fuel economy in a sporty car. Dislikes: For the money, Dodge SRT4 is a better, more entertaining car. Have to take eyes off road to read center-mounted speedometer and tachometer. Recaro bucket seats too small to fit larger torsos. Rating system 1. Unacceptable, 2. Subpar, 3. Acceptable, 4. Above average, 5. World class 2006 Saturn Ion Red Line What do you think of the 2006 Saturn Ion Red Line? 1. Unacceptable 2. Subpar 3. Acceptable 4. Above Average 5. World Class Get results and comments Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

We haven't often had the chance to test both 2005 and 2006 versions of the same car in the same week. Thanks to the good folks at Saturn, however, we were recently able to put some miles on two different editions of the Ion Red Line "quad coupe," including an early production '06 model.

The mechanical differences are not startling, but the most significant change is the price; the '06 version of Saturn's performance-tuned sport compact is $1,460 less expensive than last year's counterpart and starts at $19,990.

We tested an Ion Red Line with the optional competition package, which includes a limited-slip differential, a boost gauge and painted aluminum wheels. The 2006 model had a bottom line of $21,445.

SHE: I'm sure many young car customizers are going to be thrilled that the "Ion with attitude" now has an under-$20,000 starting price. The $1,460 you save can be budgeted for lots of personalization items, and I imagine that many of those things will be cosmetic because Saturn does a really good job of providing a mechanical base that is durable and fast. You shouldn't have to spend too much money on a fancy audio system, however. The standard system has been upgraded on the '06 Ion Red Line and now includes a standard jack for your iPod or MP3 player. You can preset up to 36 radio stations, instead of only 18, and you can mix up the presets between AM, FM and XM on the same display line.

HE: And, honey, how I envy those young car customizers, because they're the only ones who will be able to squeeze their slender torsos into those form-fitting Recaro bucket seats in the Red Line. I know I sure couldn't find a comfortable position for my oversize frame. And that's a shame because the Ion Red Line provides a lot of entertainment value for the money. That supercharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, which Saturn shares with the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, makes 205 horsepower and 200 pounds-feet of torque, and injects a whole different personality into the Ion. We're talking about a package that's aimed directly at the sport-compact tuner crowd, except Saturn's already done much of the initial tuning on this baby.

SHE: You can see how GM is coming out of its funk with the Ion Red Line. Even on the subtle stuff, like the fact that the silver and black seat fabric on our test car complements the silver and black instrument panel. That's a change from the 2005 model, and it makes the car look and feel more expensive. Saturn didn't really do anything dramatic to the Ion besides slashing the price. But the subtle changes make the Red Line more livable. Even though you had trouble squeezing into the seat, I know you appreciated the thinner center stack, which leaves more knee room for the driver. The cupholders have a more finished look, and OnStar is standard, which is a feature that moms should appreciate since it gives the kids an electronic lifeline in case of trouble.

HE: With the Ion Red Line, Saturn is butting heads with some formidable competitors, including such in-house products as the Cobalt SS and crosstown rivals like the Dodge SRT4. It holds its own pretty well, but as is the case with several other GM performance variants, the company didn't address some of the fundamental flaws on the base vehicle before it installed the performance add-ons. My biggest concern involves the catchy center-mounted instrument cluster, which looks really cool, but in practice is dangerous. We had some problems on our twisty and narrow local roads, which are heavily populated with bicyclists and pedestrians. Because you literally have to take your eyes off the road to scope out the speedo and tach, you constantly run the risk of hitting one of those bikers. Not good.

SHE: What is in front of the driver is the optional boost gauge, which tells you how hard the supercharger is working. It seems like an orphan, all alone there on top of the steering column. I did like the backlit needles on the center gauges, by the way. One thing you may not realize at a glance is how practical and functional the Ion quad coupe is. It's got four doors, including two smaller, rear-hinged doors. They make it easier to load people and gear in the back seat.

HE: The Ion Red Line is an entertaining drive and a good value, but it has enough niggling problems and flaws -- distorted windshield glass, trim pieces that don't always fit tightly, a cramped rear seat, door trim panels that look like they were designed by Fisher-Price -- to keep it from contending for first place.

He drove, she drove Anita and Paul Lienert are partners in Lienert & Lienert, an Ann Arbor-based automotive information services company.

GM / Saturn