Car Gazing
Ion provides new charge in entry-level cars
By Derek Price
Let's face it. Most entry-level cars are basically the same.
If you don't count styling, every difference between today's
bread-and-butter transportation – like the Carolla, Civic, Focus, Cavalier
and Sentra – is subtle and subjective. Their power, handling and features
all vary some, but if you did a soda-style, blindfolded comparison, few
drivers could tell the Civic from the Sentra, or the Focus from the Carolla.
This automotive parity is perfect for producing good performance and
reliability across all models, but it doesn't bode well for drivers looking
for something different, perhaps a little off the wall.
That's why Saturn exists.
Since its start in the early '90s, Saturn has tried to offer affordable cars
that don't follow the rest of the pack. They had plastic bodies that avoided
dents like Rubbermaid storage bins, unconventional cabins that were both
exciting and practical, and an award-winning dealer network praised for its
no-hassle pricing.
Only problem: Saturn was the red-headed stepchild of General Motors. While
other brands got new models every four years or so, Saturn's first cars were
left basically unchanged for more than a decade.
That's where the Ion comes in. As a replacement for Saturn's successful yet
12-year-old S-series, it will carry much of the brand's future success on
its plastic shoulders. Yes, it has the same dent-resistant polymer body and
huggable styling from its predecessors, plus it has features that set it
apart – way apart, in come cases – from the entry-level pack.
For starters, there's the four-door "Quad Coupe." Whether or not a four-door
coupe can exist is still a matter of debate, but one thing's certain: it
looks sporty and doesn't sacrifice much practicality like a true two-door
coupe would.
To do this, it has two rear-swinging doors that provide access to the back
seat, and they can only be opened if the front doors are open first for
safety. There's no "B" pillar, either, so opening both front and rear doors
is like peering inside the Astrodome for the first time and marveling at how
sturdy it is without a field of pillars holding up the roof.
Then there's the instrument panel in the center of the dash, not directly in
front of the driver like in traditional American cars. While it takes some
getting used to, it provides a better view of the road than traditional
gauges and lets everyone in the car see how fast they're traveling –
perfect for back-seat drivers.
Best of all, there's an available goodie that no other car in the Ion's
price range offers: a continuously variable transmission (CVT).
Usually found in more expensive cars, the CVT is an automatic transmission
that never shifts gears. Not only does it produce perfectly smooth
acceleration, but it gets improved gas mileage because it offers an infinite
number of "gears" – not just four or five – through some mysterious
process, quite possibly black magic.
This new Saturn also comes with what is probably the best four-cylinder
engine GM has ever produced, the 2.2-liter Ecotec. The 16-valve,
dual-overhead-cam design makes 137 horsepower, an excellent figure for
entry-level cars, while remaining relatively quiet and smooth. It's a far
cry, thank goodness, from some previous Saturn engines.
The Ion also has a couple of downsides. First is poor rear visibility and
thick, distracting "A" pillars on the Quad Coupe, as both the front and rear
pillars had to be beefed up to support the roof. It also has questionable
build quality, judging from a couple of squeaks and rattles that snuck into
our test car and the expanse of hard, poor-fitting plastic on the dash.
Finally, its driving dynamics just aren't exciting at all. Other than the
novelty of its fancy automatic transmission, little separates the feel of
the Ion's handling, braking, and acceleration from its competitors.
It's too bad this "different from the rest" philosophy couldn't extend to
driving fun.
(Derek Price is a newspaper editor and freelance writer living in Texas.
Contact him at dprice@cargazingonline.com)
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