1996 Saturn SW SW1 review from North America
"Not bad for an American-made small car, but not great either"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Lots and lots of things. Basically, the car was pretty much trouble-free (more or less)...until it hit 90,000 miles. Then it began to nickel-and-dime me like crazy. It was partly my fault, though. I changed the oil religiously every 3k miles, so I figured I didn't need look at the dipstick in between changes. Oops, learned that lesson a little too late. Shortly after I hit 90k miles, I had to get the timing chain replaced "due to running the engine with low oil levels", according to the mechanic. Luckily, I never had a problem with the transmission.
One other thing: the "starter interlock" switch behind the clutch pedal died somewhere between 80k-90k miles. Small part, but I had to jumper its electrical plug with a paper clip just so I could start the car until I got a new switch put in.
For about the last 20k miles that I had the car, the steering wheel made a kind of squeaking/groaning noise when you turned it.
General comments?
My SW1 was a base model, only option it had was a/c. Power train was the single overhead cam 100 hp engine & 5-speed manual transmission.
I think it's safe to say that the 2 things that really sold Saturn's were the "no-dicker" stickers and the dealer service experience. The cars themselves were not cutting-edge, especially compared to Toyota's and Honda's.
Performance-wise, my SW1 was just OK. There was only so much power under the hood, though. When passing, you really had to push that motor, and it was noisy as all get out above 3,000 RPM. And on really, really hot days with the a/c running, it felt like I was driving an 1880's steam locomotive.
Interior comfort wasn't a strong point. Saturn's of that era are infamously noisy inside: road noise, wind noise, you name it. The a/c was always weak: it struggled to cool air on really hot days (I think '96 was when Saturn switched to R 134-A coolant). The service folks always said the a/c was working correctly, no coolant leaks or anything.
Fuel economy was good. I averaged anywhere from 28 to 31 mpg depending on how much freeway driving I did on a given tank of gas.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model year | 1996 |
| Year of manufacture | 1996 |
| First year of ownership | 1996 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2006 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.9 liter SOHC Manual |
| Performance marks | 6 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 7 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 4 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 8 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 4 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 16 miles |
| Most recent distance | 156000 miles |
| Previous car | Mazda 323 |
| Date of Entry | 2nd December, 2006 |