Sporty Saturn satisfies drivers

The 2004 Saturn Ion Quad has smart, eye-catching lines. Although it looks like a traditional coupe, it actually has four doors and a spacious interior and trunk.

The Ion Quad Coupe is actually a four-door hot rod

"Watch out for the torque steer," I told my brother as he slid into the driver's seat of my new '89 Ford Probe GT.

I had picked up the front-wheel-drive turbocharged speedster from the dealership a few days earlier, and had been warned about torque steer, the phenomenon experienced when one wheel of a front-wheel-drive vehicle looses traction during hard acceleration, causing controllability problems. We had been exploring country roads when we came to a stop at an intersection. My brother slipped the transmission into first gear, turned the wheel a bit to the left, opened the throttle, and before I could protest he popped the clutch. We lurched forward, tires screeching, engine roaring, but instead of making the turn we hurdled straight for the ditch at the side of the road. The steering wheel spun as the Probe swerved side to side. The tires that were supposed to be steering us were instead spinning madly on the pavement, and we soon found ourselves in the grass on the side of the road.

So when I picked up this week's test car, a front-wheel-drive 2004 Saturn Ion Quad Coupe that looks like a modern version of my old '89 Probe, I was a bit suspicious. Would this sporty little hot rod have the dreaded torque steer of days gone by?

General Motors, watching the import automakers chip away at their market, decided a few years ago to get back into the compact car game. Although not the most profitable market segment, compacts are what young people buy, and if you're not selling cars to young buyers, you're not going to sell them cars when they are ready to move up to more expensive, and more profitable, cars. So the world's largest automaker decided to do something about it. Enter the Ion, the first vehicle built on GM's new delta platform.

The area's newest auto dealer, Saturn of Cape Girardeau, loaned me the silver Ion 2 Quad Coupe. The "2" refers to the trim level. Saturns come in three trim levels. The "quad" refers to the four doors, which most people don't notice because there is only one door handle on the side of the car. The rear doors open like an extended cab pickup truck -- you first open a front door and release a catch on the inside leading edge of the back door. The door swings wide, revealing a pair of handsome rear bucket seats, and makes entry to those seats easier than any other compact car I've seen.

The new delta platform gives the Ion a pleasant ride and a roomy interior. The rear axle rides on a space-saving torsion beam suspension, which gives the Ion a class-leading, roomy trunk. The trunk opening is large, and when the rear seats are folded down there is a huge pass-through to the passenger area. Even the front passenger seat backrest can be folded down to accommodate long items, such as a roll of carpeting or a small kayak.

Another nifty feature is the Saturn practice of making the doors and fenders of plastic polymer for scratch, ding and rust resistance. The hood, roof and trunk lid are still made of galvanized steel. Under the hood is a new, smooth running 2.2 liter, four-cylinder engine producing 140 horsepower and 145 foot-pounds of torque. It uses two balance shafts, and willingly spins up to its 5800-rpm redline without a hint of vibration or protest. Our Ion was equipped with a five-speed manual transmission.

You are either going to hate or love the other controversial Ion feature -- the instrument panel. It's in the center of the dashboard! Gone is the familiar hump directly in front of you. Now you have to shift your eyes over to the right to check your speed, fuel and oil pressure. But wait! You use your side view mirrors, don't you? You should. While you're glancing over there to check the traffic, why not steal a glance at the speedometer? When you return your eyes to the road you'll notice that you're seeing a lot more of the road because that intrusive instrument hump is not blocking your view. You can practically see your front bumper from the driver's seat.

Driving the Ion

In one word, the Ion is fun to drive. It's zippy, the handling is crisp, the transmission provides quick, positive shifts, and the clutch is easy to operate. The innovative electric power steering not only improves handling but also eliminates the power-robbing hydraulic steering pump. And, thankfully, the torque steer is gone. Three of us drove the Ion down to Caruthersville and back. I sat in the back seat most of the time. The ride was very quiet and smooth for a car in this price range. I really appreciated how easy it is to get into the back seat, thanks to the unusual rear doors. I did wish for inside door handles, however -- rear seat passengers are dependent upon front-seat passengers to open their doors.

Whether sitting in a parking lot or cruising the interstate, this good-looking coupe attracts a lot of attention, as does the Saturn brand. Saturn has proven how many consumers hate doing business with conventional car dealers. Saturn's main attraction has been the fixed, no haggle sale price. Now that the Ion Quad Coupe is here, I think the main attraction has four doors!

Steve Robertson of Robertson's Creative Photography is a car enthusiast and former staff writer/photographer for the Southeast Missourian.