1996 Saturn SL review from North America

The ceiling upholstery has started to rip a bit this year, previously had no issues with it.

I have had my brake pads wear out twice now, the first time one pad actually fell off completely.

Two years ago the exhaust system on the bottom started to rust through a bit, and the muffler almost fell off, but after $800 in repairs the issue has not resumed (and this is probably largely due to the over-salting of roads in Michigan during the winter).

Very recently during rush hour traffic on a Canadian highway the transmission refused to go past second gear, however upon parking the car and turning off the engine for a minute, the problem was resolved and has not happened again since.

That said, switching into reverse while the engine is warm can be sort of jumping, and often results in a loud thud noise as the transmission suddenly switches into reverse.

Overall a fantastic car. It has extraordinarily little acceleration, but can still get up to 95mph without any real difficulty and handles very well.

The seats are comfortable, and although leg room is somewhat limited, I'm still able to drive it comfortable despite being 6'4", and the vehicle has a surprisingly large trunk for its size.

The car does require a decent bit of oil, and I would recommend checking it before any trip lasting more than hour, or at least once every 2 weeks.

It also gets fantastic mileage, at roughly 30-40 mpg on average. Typically I find that I only need to refuel it once or twice a month at the most (and the tank is only 10 gallons!).

All in all, it's a pleasure to drive, and what difficulties it has given me have been very minimal. Take care of your SL1 and it'll last a loooong time it seems.