1997 Saturn SW1 Review - A Trip Down Memory Lane with Rose Colored Glasses!

This week's review - the 1997 Saturn SW1.
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[@AllCarswithJon]

Many thanks to Tommy for letting me spend some time with this Saturn and doing the review. What a trip down memory lane for me. A couple of pieces of background here - this wagon was parked near where we take the dogs for grooming, and after literally MONTHS of seeing it I finally caught the owner nearby and struck up a conversation. I asked for the chance to review it, and here's the result! Second is he told me a little old lady drove this to church, and when she passed she willed it to him. He still drives it to this day for the gas mileage!

[@bkucinschi]

I had a '97 Saturn SC2 coupe with 1.9L DOHC engine and 5 speed manual transmission, bought it second-hand but was a wonderful car that served me until 2012. It corroded badly on the bottom... yep, Ohio and Michigan winters with too much salt. When we parted it had around 200,000 miles on the odometer, and didn't burn any oil. The fuel economy was great, I remember doing 41 mpg checked with my first GPS... driving at night from Chicago to Toledo, OH. And unexpectedly comfortable for long trips. The only serious and costly repair was replacing the clutch at about 100,000 miles. I replaced the front struts myself in the parking lot ( I was a poor student, trying to save money, doing oil changes myself).

[@rnt45t1]

Jon, I mean this with the height of respect, but you so obviously LOVED worked for Saturn. The enthusiasm you have for this vehicle is not only palpable, it's invigorating. I can honestly say I am jealous. I have NEVER, and I mean NEVER loved an employer or been as passionate as a product as you present in this video. Wow!

[@AllCarswithJon]

Thank you so much. Not to split hairs, but I loved the Company and the Cars. Selling at the 'dealership' level... not so much. :)

[@tjhess2]

Oh Jon, what a blast of great memories! That generation embodied what American auto makers could be...quality and reliability without all the frills. Those are some of the best made cars in history and I see them on the roads daily still. It reminds me of my 96 SL1, which was a blast to drive and own! Nearly 300,000 miles before I handed it off. Fun fact, Google Street View still has the old image of my house with my maroon SL1 in the driveway! I remember LKQ junkyard trips to gather upgraded accessories for mine, like the cruise control assembly (which then worked when activated by the dealer) and the armrest center console. The paint had the classic clearcoat peel, but the interior was just as nice as the one in your video. A special thanks to Tommy for letting you share it with us! The Engine Temperature Coolant Sensor and sticky piston oil rings were the Achilles Heel of those cars.

[@larryelliott6321]

I have a 1997 SW1 that I assumed ownership of with about 152k miles. I drove it to and from work for over a decade until I retired. I've added over 50k miles. Wow such a reliable car! IT AWAYS STARTED! AND SO QUICKLY!! I put a new 750CCA Walmart Everstart battery in the car shortly after I bought it AND THE BATTERY LASTED 11 YEARS!! The only maintenance was to change the oil, replace the muffler and change an idler pulley on the engine. I was so impressed with this car that we helped our son buy a 1998 twin-cam SW2. On the highway he gets 42 MPG! Same reliability too! It is so sad that Saturn ended during the car manufacturers' crisis and bailout in 2009. They were so innovative for their time.

[@tkskagen]

Oh how much that I wish the Manufacturers would offer Mid-Size Station Wagons again! Maybe you can test drive a 1986 Taurus Wagon next?!

[@AllCarswithJon]

If I can find one. The problem isn't desire, it's availability of vehicles.

[@theadvocate4698]

Chevrolet trax 2024...

[@don1857]

I've owned 4 Saturns over the years and although basic they faithfully got me through the long commute each day. The main problem I had was that they literally ate wheel bearings! Everything was fixable on the driveway and never needed to see the inside of a garage.

[@johnh2514]

Great review Jon! I fondly remember these cars too. My friend owned a ‘97 SL2 with a 5-speed manual. Well equipped except for power windows. I drove it on numerous occasions and thought it was a lot of fun to toss around, especially compared to the Lumina I owned at the time. Thanks for that explanation on the eye lid on the passenger side dash….I recall wondering 25 years ago just what purpose that had :)

[@AllCarswithJon]

Well it's what we were told and it stuck with me all these years. I can only assume the eyelid was there for that reason and it wasn't all just blowing smoke! LOL

[@weegeemike]

My late grandfather had a 2002 Saturn 4 door sedan 5spd. He absolutely loved that car. He was a hardcore Ford guy and hadn't owned anything else in 40+ when he bought his Saturn in '02. His was optioned odd, it had leather and all the options, nice stereo, sunroof, spoiler, alloy rims, the bigger engine(I think they had more than one engine in '02, I'm not sure but he always claimed it had the "bigger" engine), power everything, cd player, etc. But it was odd because it was a manual. He had trouble finding one optioned like that, took him over 6 months. He wanted it to tow behind his RV and used it to run around LA and Orange County, he was getting older and having trouble driving and parking his Explorer in the city. He had it until the day he passed, my dad's gf wound up with it and still has it as a second vehicle. I always thought it was so cool that he could still drive a manual at 90 years old. Even at that age he was waaay better than most drivers on the road today 😅.

[@AllCarswithJon]

Cool, thanks for sharing!!

[@nowiecoche]

Commenting on the engine, all S series only had the 1.9 L inline 4, but you could choose between single overhead cam or double overhead cam, with the double cam obviously getting bigger power.

[@MrChevybaja]

My first three new cars were saturns. 95 SL2, 97 SC2, and 00 LS2. Never been treated better.

[@williamegler8771]

Had a Saturn SW2 that I bought brand new and owned for the next twenty years. It started as a commuter car and accumulated its first 200k miles in its first five years. After that, it was the semi-retired extra vehicle and dog taxi. Finally sold it to our housekeeper's brother for the princely sum of $150.00. He replaced the rusty subframe and proceeded to drive it from Madison Wisconsin to Fairbanks Alaska and on that trip, it turned 300,000 miles. He used it as his everyday driver until he drove it down a dirt track on the way to a deer stand punctured the oil pan on the rock and didn't notice the oil light. He had it towed back to his house and propped the passenger side front door open and it became a dog house and to my knowledge is still there.

[@thsarethbreaks]

My sister had the sedan version of the SL1. I assisted her with purchasing it at a public auto auction so she could have a car to go to college in. That little car lasted all the way through 4 years of college and even after college until she got her first real job with a pay check. Anyway, I would borrow the car sometimes when my own car was having problems. I really enjoyed driving it. It was a car the was easy to drive/maneuver and i loved the way it would track strait down the road if you weren't holding the steering wheel.I believe the transmission is an old honda design because it shift just like a Honda Accord in years past.

[@dabutler07]

Ive had two Saturn's. A 96SL2 automatic and a 99SL2 5Spd. After that i owned a Subaru legacy gt and honda civic si. To this day both of my saturns have been the most reliable cars ive owned

[@colinschmitz8297]

I have always struggled with why GM didn't use this as the replacement for the J cars, and why they didn't make a full vehicle line up based off the S series in the way Chrysler used the K car.

[@rustyshackleford1687]

My first car was a 2002 Cavalier purchased in 2003. I purchased a 2001 SL2 last summer and it's remarkable how better of a car the Saturn is in every way.

[@nowiecoche]

This is an amazing review. I love where you say the car gets better the longer you drive because it's how I feel when I drive my Saturn SC2. I bought that Saturn quite recently but the front suspension needs a massive overhaul. Yet the highway drive is such dream to drive. A 22 year old car but the ride is so stable on the highway with the only jerkiness coming from the bad front suspension. Saturn, such an underrated brand.

[@AllCarswithJon]

Thanks for the comment and glad you enjoyed it!

[@kennethswain6313]

I had two first generation Saturn cars- coup and sedan I really believed in the Saturn program. The sales and service departments were so user friendly I wish they would have caught on.

[@ianperkins8812]

I remember reading that there was a lot of jealousy directed at Saturn from GM's other divisions, leading to Saturn being starved of R&D money, which ultimately led to Saturn becoming merely another GM badge (The L series was the first symptom, I think). When the L series was discontinued, it's replacement was the Aura, which was supposed to herald Saturn's rejuvenation, but I think it was too late and the 2008 financial crisis that killed off Pontiac and other brands was the final nail in that particular coffin. A friend had that generation sedan and it was quite nice.

[@theadvocate4698]

I love saturn! My first brand new car was a saturn...my father was a gm mechanic and saturn felt more upscale and cool, They were really going after the japanese car with this one! So i got a 2000 s base manual brand new, thing is i drove the LS manual while test driving the S so while signing to buy the S i was watching a silver LS outside, so i switched back to the LS, cost about 20$ more a week, and never looked back! Drove the LS for 8 years and the LS was the superior product, felt european was more powerfull and bigger, a misunderstood product in my opinion, you should try a manual LS (or L100), i'm sure you would get it! Both were great but the LS was the big boy and the S was the sweet little base car...the one you drove brings you back into a GM dealership to buy a TRAX! Saw my first live tonight and felt OMG! This is a big car looking nice at a low price!

[@alstruck8063]

Had a 96 SL1 5speed , drove the wheels off it! 44 mpg and a blast to drive on a twisty road. Power and handling nothing spectacular but well matched.

[@AllCarswithJon]

Very nice!

[@scott8919]

Loved this video.

[@mrgurulittle7000]

Ah man! That’s a cool wagon. And I’m already feeling nostalgic even though I was a kid when Saturn went kurplunk. I wish GM was more serious about Saturn and kept it distinct and different. I’d say they were off to a good start. You can actually call it a different kind of car company because it was Saturn LLC and not just a division of GM, even though GM established the company. Such a cool concept. Well, I’m sure you had great fun. 👍👍

[@AllCarswithJon]

I believe the most correct term was that Saturn was a "Wholly Owned Subsidiary" of GM. For many years they had a lot of leeway, and then it and their identity was stripped away.

[@mrgurulittle7000]

@@AllCarswithJon Wholly owned I see. Well, they seemed off to a good start.

[@doug6191]

Good work! 👍 I like this sort of car content. 4:04 - The best part of this model is its separation from other GM products. It was, in my opinion, markedly better than the Cavalier and easily comparable to, say, Nissan Sentra or Mitsubishi Mirage (which were still decent in the '90s).

[@joemazzola7387]

I had a 97 Ford escort wagon the competitor to this car I Love it Small station wagons make a lot of sense The seats on the Saturn and cavalier seemed thin and cheap especially the back seats

[@radudeATL]

You should do more reviews. This is most excellent!

[@AllCarswithJon]

Thank you so much for the kind words!

[@PearComputingDevices]

Part of the problem with Saturn was that it was better than most Gm's at the time. It wasn't perfect car but we owned one. Loved it. I owned both a sedan and a 2004 Ion level 2. Both had been good cars in general, but the 2002 S series sedan was better. The seats had been better in the newer models though. I remember it being far more superior over the cavalier. I loved Saturn enough to buy their minivan but that was clearly just a rebadged Chevy Uplander and that was a huge disappointment as far as quality was concerned. I sometimes miss my Saturn minivan, but next to my Toyota Sequia it's complexly laughable, especially in terms of build quality.

[@MyHumanWreckage]

I owned a 1998 SL1 and it gave me trouble free driving for seven years. The car handled well but the thumping you heard was a lack of rebound dampening which was inherent in these cars. I found the lower trims could use a better set of tires. Saturn was a great company!

[@AllCarswithJon]

Thanks for sharing!

[@AtomicReverend]

Lol I bought a 99 Saturn SW2 2 years ago with 64,500 miles for my city car (my Hemi Ram is expensive to run around town). I had to replace the headliner get the rear end aligned (its independent) and inside the transmission there is a 23 mm 12-point nut that is notorious for backing off (I bolted it back in torqued it down correctly and haven't had a problem since) and I replaced the radio for one I could link my phone to and overall I like the car, it's a great daily driver My biggest complaint is the automatic transmission, how it shifts. It up shifts a little soon and being a 99 Saturn I don't get the cool little button next to the shifter that gives you a sport mode. Once the car finally downshifts it makes a ton of noise (normal noises that are RPM related) the car is really slow accelerating, I would say it is slow even for 1999 economy Car standards but back then I was driving a 1973 Lincoln Continental with a 460 so everything seemed slow that wasn't big block powered. I think the Saturn would be almost perfect if I would have had a stick shift version. That being said I am very happy with the car, it gets pretty good gas mileage and is perfect for going around town, going to estate sales stuff like that, in pure southern California city driving I average 23.5 a gallon, in mixed driving it's about 28mpg and in freeway at 65ish mph it seems to be 32.5mpg something my dodge or Lincoln could never ever even get close to seeing. Also the Saturn with its automatic even with its short falls is great for sitting in traffic. Even the temperature gauge for the engine once it gets up to operating temperature it rarely moves and it never gets even remotely hot. Again a great car for 25 years old (we are in the 2024 model year so a 99 is now 25 years old as crazy as that is).

[@iternityhuman1782]

Yep super reliable car I had the coupe now I have the sedan. It shows that GM could compete with the imports at that time in history.

[@hotelworker812]

I had a 1994 Saturn SL and thought it was fantastic. I really wish GM had stuck with this.

[@AllCarswithJon]

like a base SL? Not an SL1? Like manual transmission and non-power steering?? Those were not good sellers at my retailer! But I remember, about '95 or '96, they were $12,150. :)

[@dmllr5615]

I've got a 2008 Aura 2.4L in the sunset of it's useful life. It is a cool item to have since they are getting rare however it is not all that appealing to drive. It isn't primitive enough like the 97 here to have that fun factor to it and it isn't refined like a honda where it is pleasurable to drive.

[@freddyhollingsworth5945]

I remember tons of RV people would pull Saturn cars behind them... I believe Saturn even advertised the fact that their transmission could be flat towed with out damage?

[@AllCarswithJon]

Absolutely, as i recalled all it needed was to be put in Neutral. Oh, and the transmission filter was spin-on like an oil filter.

[@nlpnt]

Something that always bothered me about the later Saturn wagons, they went to the trouble of updating the wagon rear doors and C-pillar to the sweeping curved style but then blacked it out.

[@AllCarswithJon]

I always liked it myself, and one thing I noted when editing the video (unfortunately not when recording it) was this is similar to how the C and D pillar areas on SUVs are handled now. Saturn was ahead of the styling game!

[@eprohoda]

nice uploading!

[@AllCarswithJon]

TY

[@davidpistek6241]

I had a94 teal like all them it was a great little car easy to work on and Japanese good ,Saturn lost me when they platform shared in the early 00s

[@weegeemike]

I saw this unocorn a couple weeks ago, it was probably this year Saturn Wagon in white. Paint was a little worse for wear but it was still running, looked like a young woman driving it, probably her first car. These are pretty rare nowadays.

[@Jack_Stafford]

I don't think they are painted, I think the color is molded into the plastic body panels. Maybe just needed a good wash and polish.

[@g-mang-man7924]

NVH! Reliable vehicles but woeful build quality. I did like these until they became rebadged Opels. Had a SC2? coupe in the family, at idle in gear it was difficult to have a conversation with someone, and it had around 8,000 miles on it. But as an American built alternative to a Mazda Protégé, Geo Spectrum, Nissan Sentra, it did really well. I liked the Homecoming commercials too. I worked at Toyota dealer at the time, and yes we laughed at the roughness. All in all, they were very reliable. Hence how good this example looks after 25+ years

[@AllCarswithJon]

After 24 years I'd forgotten how noisy they were, and I'll admit when I first drove in this one I was surprised. Even more surprised at the dB reading I got, and even MORE surprised when I read some old reviews that reaffirmed what I remembered - that it wasn't criticised at the time for the loudness, but the coarseness. Overall, the level seemed competitive if not the quality of the sound. But surprisingly, after spending some time in it, I just stopped noticing.

[@smartman123]

these very reliable simple cars

[@Jflux69]

Love wagons..

[@Jack_Stafford]

GM cancelling (instead of limiting) nameplates was so shortsighted. Olds and Pontiacs could easily have been boutique "partner" sub brands for Buick and Chevy, and they could have made some very profitable Trans Ams, GTOs and other legacy models. And Saturn? The groundbreaking plastic bodies and other advancements, PERFECT for GM's new electric cars. Yet they revive Hummer... It's like they want to lose, and want to continue shrinking their market share. What a shame.

[@mrgurulittle7000]

😂You actually listed some legit good ideas. Why not have Olds and Pontiac be the sporty sub marques of Buick and Chevrolet and have Saturn the EV brand. I never thought of that, but it’s genius. I agree GM is very mixed up indeed.

[@AllCarswithJon]

I agree with guru, you made a really good point I'd never considered. IF GM had to delete brands like Olds and Pontiacs, they could have kept them as 'sub-brands' much like the Prius or Bronco lines are to Toyota and Ford. Kept the name alive, and made it very easy to spin the divisions back out when the Company got healthy. Wow....

[@mrgurulittle7000]

@@AllCarswithJonIt wasn’t my idea, but I think GM should really consider it. It’s more of a nostalgia thing, like you said with the Ford Bronco.👍

[@bm9074]

Nice

[@hughbarton5743]

A really superb job of engineering to a cost point( harder than you think, friends....) and a monumental effort to literally change the way people bought cars. (I was in the car business in retail at dealers from 1978 to 2005). A fabulous product + A great marketing concept. Why did it fail? Astonishingly inept choices by GM. They had created a new American automobile industry model, and then stupidly discarded it. A great forgotten American brand. Proof? The near religious zealotry of Saturn owners. The cars were fantastically good. GM? Botched the job....

[@nowiecoche]

Saturn was long gone by the time I became an adult and entered the car market, but it still managed to turn me into some kind of Saturn fanatic. Owning a Saturn is such a unique experience.

[@wmalden]

Really it’s a sedan with a “wagon” back end tacked on. The bar/brace behind the folding rear seat backs really gets in the way if you want to load bulky cargo. BTW, we couldn’t see the cargo area in your video. Looked like a black hole.

[@AllCarswithJon]

Yeah, I know about the cargo area. I thought I'd gotten a shot of the area I would edit in, but no file to be found.

[@michaelbogdanowicz5059]

That’s Gm for you

[@jeffreybrooks8643]

Regarding this Saturn's engine, I'd much rather have the robust reliability of a Timing Chain, than the limited life and danger of pstion-valve interference of a less durable Timing Belt.

[@davinp]

It is sad what happened to Saturn. In the end, GM mismanaged Saturn and in the last few model years they were rebadged Buick or Pontiacs which Saturn was not supposed to be. GM ruined Saturn as they didn't want to spend money on Saturn. After GM's 2009 bankruptcy, they shut down their car brands - Pontiac, Saab and Saturn. The only sedan they make today is the Chevy Malibu which was supposed to be cancelled years ago

[@markchandler90]

I always thought Saturn took the styling from what would have been the second generation J cars. Compare a contemporary Olds Cutlass Supreme sedan to the original Saturn sedans.

[@phillyups3023]

Not to be overly specific but it would be a sw because of the black bumpers

[@AllCarswithJon]

It's an SW1 and you know because of the black bumpers - but other differences such as engine, the cloth on the seats, the base radio, etc. The higher end SW2 had body colored bumpers.

[@phillyups3023]

@AllCarswithJon it's been a bit, but what I know the Saturn S-Series the base models had black bumpers Edit the series wagons where the weird child of the Saturn cars

[@RoadRunnergarage8570]

I bet you asked the owner first dibs on this one when he's ready to sell!!

[@AllCarswithJon]

I may have asked.... but apparently I was not the first to do so! LOL

[@benchmark3332]

They where decent cars but cant beat Toyota, Honda, Nissan and now Hyundai in small car segment. Even Scion fail>

[@ultraviolettp3446]

I always wanted to like Saturn. The problem with the car is that it was complete junk - the interior was putrid - sat too low. Body panel gaps were huge because of the plastic panels. The car was a complete joke other than the buying experience. I always thought that Saturn should have been put into Oldsmobile and the product development would have saved Olds and given it small cars that weren't awful like the Olds versions were. There was a good idea with the body panels but the execution didn't work out - looked cheap and ended up having no value whatsoever. This could have resulted in immediate and frequent styling updates and Saturn turned stale really fast and the subsequent models were horrific - ending with that putrid disaster ION. This was not the worst GM car ever, but the whole idea of adding a new division was boneheaded.

[@runoflife87]

Where the hell are rear headrests? Very unsafe car for those passengers.

[@Al-thecarhistorian]

Troll. Grow up.

[@Jack_Stafford]

Naw. Most cars never had them. Headrests aren't the last word in safety... And in some ways are less safe for restricting rear visibility, especially when reaer sears are empty 99% of the time. And the rare times there are people in the rear? Usually rug rats whose heads are well below the top of the seat anyway.

[@smartman123]

​​@@Jack_Staffordno all new cars have head rest

[@AllCarswithJon]

Rear seat headrests are a very recent thing. 26 years ago, no.

[@runoflife87]

@@AllCarswithJon such a strange thing. Most European and Japanese cars had rear headrests by mid-90's (2 at least).

[@mybigfatpolishlife]

The plastic panels was a great idea though

[@mybigfatpolishlife]

My mother in law drives a 2001 ion

[@mybigfatpolishlife]

Tou are at the food meow meow, that's what my family calls the food lion