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In virtually all cases,
current cars on sale in the United States are either adequate or better by
most standards, and comparisons must only determine what is even better. The
Ion makes choosing a last-place car easy. While it is not without impressive
characteristics, such as its peppy engine and roomy trunk, as well as
Saturn’s traditional friendly dealership service and rust- and dent-proof
plastic body panels, it is also notably bad in many other areas. Interior
quality remains disgraceful, by far the worst in this group; its rear seat
is among the least accommodating here despite generous exterior dimensions,
and the steering feel remains lacking despite upgrades. And safety ratings
are not up to the standard of the contemporary competition. A number of cars
here aren’t worth this car’s $16,000 price tag simply because you can do
better for that much money rather than from their own faults. (In other
words, they’re good, but the competition is better.) The Ion lacks even
that. Spend your money elsewhere.
The Ion has a smooth,
stable, absorbent, and overall comfortable ride, despite some ride jitters.
It handles competently, but isn’t nimble. The steering is too light and
lacks feedback, but is adequately responsive. The Ion never feels fun to
drive. The car is quick for this group, but achieves relatively unimpressive
gas mileage by this group’s standards. The car is noisy, with pronounced
engine roar under acceleration and a constant hum otherwise. Road noise is
obtrusive as well.
The Ion is mediocre to
drive, but downright awful to be inside. The front seats are roomy enough,
but the seats are hard and poorly shaped. The tiny rear seat is worse than
many subcompacts’, including GM’s own Chevrolet Aveo, and lacks head
restraints. Interior trim is cheap and flimsy, and is assembled sloppily.
As to the design, it is unclear whether counting this as effort would be
more or less of an insult than suggesting that no effort at all was given,
but either explanation is reasonable. The dash is arranged around a central
pod that houses the gauges usually found directly past the steering wheel,
and they are too small to be so far from the driver. Improvements have been
made over the years to the car’s interior quality and instrument layout, but
it had too poor of a start and the competition has also improved since 2003.
GM's well-designed corporate radio is a welcome insertion into the center
stack at least, but the climate controls should be higher. Drivers sit
rather low, but visibility is adequate. Entry/exit is complicated by finicky
door handles inside and out, and the rear seat’s lack of space. The Ion has
one of the largest trunks in the group, but it isn’t as well-shaped as a
number of smaller ones.
The Ion is reasonably
priced by the standards of the group at $16,040. At that price, it includes
GM’s exclusive OnStar assistance system and an MP3 hookup, but lacks
torso-protecting side airbags (a deficit that likely would have improved the
Ion’s disappointing performance in its IIHS side crash test.)
The Ion has a few merits,
but they cannot overcome its many shortcomings. When you can get cars with
much better gas mileage, much more interior space, much better interior
quality, much better ride, handling, and refinement, and much better crash
test scores, the friendly dealers and plastic panels don’t look so
significant. 2007 is the Ion’s last year for good reason.
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