2004 Saturn ION 3 Special Edition review from North America

-Car needed new rotors and pads; dealer replaced them for free.

-I started to pull away with the parking brake still engaged and now the door locks do not lock automatically.

The positives:

-It took me a lot of research as well as a long time to finally decide that I was interested in purchasing a Saturn Ion. When a deal finally came up that I could not refuse, I went for it.

-The car is beautiful. It is a 2004 Saturn Ion 3 Special Edition. It is black Onyx with two-toned tan and black leather interior. The special edition came with special leather seats, polished aluminum wheels, chrome-tipped exhaust pipe, "special edition" embroidered floor mats and many other amentities.

-The leather interior is smooth and supple, and it is comfortable and easy to clean.

-The car runs very smoothly; when the engine is idling, it is hard to tell that it is even running.

-The manual transmission allows the 2.2L engine to operate at its full potential while still allowing it to have wonderful gas mileage.

-The center mounted gauge cluster and high ceiling allow for the interior to feel very open and airy. This contributes to the car feeling much larger and more substantial than it looks.

-The radio and climate controls are well within reach of the driver and passenger.

-The car handles very well, with very little lean through turns. The car always seems to feel sure of itself over bumps and uneven pavement.

-The gas mileage is also impressive.

I have clocked 31 MPG City and 38 MPG Hwy.

The negatives:

-It took me a very long time to adjust the seats to a comfortable driving position. They still feel somewhat unsupportive on a long ride.

-When driving over severely bumpy pavement, the front suspension seems to rattle a bump a lot.

-The power window, lock, and mirror switches are hard to find in the dark because they are not lit.

-The electronic power steering makes the steering feel a bit numb and much too sensitive at highway speeds.