Vibe to Saturn Ion Redline?

MonotoneSatellite · Post by **MonotoneSatellite** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 11:41 am

I went for a rather long test drive today as both my wife and I took our turns at the wheel. Both of us are accomplished at driving a standard transmission, so the lengthy drive was fun. We both babied the tester as the salesman told us where to turn. I only had one chance to open it up a bit. We were merging onto I-94 from HWY 18 and I pushed it a bit going around the circling on ramp. Even in the 40 degree temps the Redline stuck to the road like a slot car. The suspension was firm and held the car nealy level despite the high lateral acceleration. The ride was not luxury car smooth, but it wasn't punishing either. The seats are firmer than I am used to, but the high bolsters held my but in the seat. I would have liked to spend more time driving and playing with the seat position though. The interior is nice but not lavish. My wife found that putting the car into 2nd or 4th caused her arm to rub on the bolsters due to her narrower shoulders. I didn't notice the same problem however. The whine of the engine/supercharger is intoxicating. Even at low RPM the sound is awesome. At highway speed, the tone of the exhaust is a pleasnt, if a little louder than I am used to. Wind noise was inline with every other compact car I have owned. The stereo in the demo was nice, though it wasn't the upgraded unit.In the end I sat in the dealership with my wife and thought about the car as salesman was returning the keys and plates. "I don't like this car... I love it!" I said to myself. So then I said as much to her.I pick up a Silver 05 on Tuesday! I'll post pics when I pick her up!The Vibe has given me a good run over the last two years, but I have decided to trade in. The choice was not an easy one to make as I really liked to drive the Vibe. In the end however, I was able to get more than I owed on a trade and got a nice silver Ion for less than I am paying on the Vibe per month.The Ion is a blast to drive and is a suitable replacement to the Vibe. It has nearly 15 cubic feet of trunk space. Not quite up to the Vibe's standards but it will do nicely. The 2.0 liter supercharged engine is an awesome powerplant. The engine pulls hard!

wicked1981 · Post by **wicked1981** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 2:18 pm

I know exacly how you feel. my friend just traded her Honda Civic for a Redline its nice. A lot more power than my base Vibe thats for sure. I really like the seats too they are Recaro racing seats wich has more support than the Vibes seats. I learned to drive stick not to long ago but pnly practiced for about an hour on an STR-10 Ram so when I tried to drive my friends car I couldnt get the drive I wanted. Either way its a nice car nice bodykit too.

AzFusionGT · Post by **AzFusionGT** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 6:52 am

I think you'll really enjoy your Saturn. They are great cars, and inexpensive to maintain. I've got an `01 SL2 that I just love. Since I got the Vibe, it gets driven about once a week. Each time I drive it, I'm reminded how much I really do like it. I'd like to have a a Red Line Vue, but the wallet won't support it. Enjoy that Ion, and post pics...

MonotoneSatellite · Post by **MonotoneSatellite** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 1:07 am

Here are some quick pics it took before I left for work this morning.

ragingfish · Post by **ragingfish** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 2:14 am

Pics don't wrk for me?

Robert G · Post by **Robert G** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 2:54 am

Sounds like a fun car. Do the gauges in the middle of the dash take getting used to?

drunkenmaxx · Post by **drunkenmaxx** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 4:19 am

still no pics cap'n!!

Vibe_dude · Post by **Vibe_dude** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 7:24 am

should have waited for the cobalt ss.....oh well.enjoy

wicked1981 · Post by **wicked1981** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 12:47 pm

Quote, originally posted by MonotoneSatellite Â» I would have thought it would have taken more time, but it did take too much. The only odd thing is how dark the space in front of the steering wheel is at night. Below I reposted the images. I reduced the color space, hopefully that helps Ragingfish. Nope still no pics... Upload them on photobucket.com its free and then post the link to the pics..

dsegundo · Post by **dsegundo** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:45 pm

what kind of mileage you getting?

ib2loud · Post by **ib2loud** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:19 pm

cool, another saturn owner. I have a 2001 SC2 with 115k miles.. never given me a single problem and still gets 35mpg or so.the redlines are pretty sweet

MonotoneSatellite · Post by **MonotoneSatellite** » Mon May 30, 2005 10:39 pm

At the moment I hit about 26-27 MPG and I drive like a maniac. I have a K&N CAI that I need to install so we will see what that does to my gas mileage.

AzFusionGT · Post by **AzFusionGT** » Tue May 31, 2005 1:08 pm

Gotta love the Redline! Cool color, cool car!

Vibe to Saturn Ion Redline?

Vibe to Saturn Ion Redline?

Re: Vibe to Saturn Ion Redline? (MonotoneSatellite)

Re: Vibe to Saturn Ion Redline? (wicked1981)

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Re: Vibe to Saturn Ion Redline? (MonotoneSatellite)

Re: Vibe to Saturn Ion Redline? (MonotoneSatellite)

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