Saturn Ion dimensions

In the nearly two years that have passed since Saturn brought us the compact Ion sedan and quad coupe, tweaks to improve sound deadening and revisions to the interior that eliminate the mismatched plastics and colors address some of the more glaring problems with the Ion. However, the driving experience remains untouched, and the Ion continues to discourage enthusiastic driving. The Ion is so resolutely utilitarian that Sen. Joe McCarthy, were he alive, would likely fear that Communists had infiltrated GM.

But there is hope. The new Red Line high-performance Saturns seemingly spell the end of the line for the Reds who were running down Saturn. An in-house performance division, like Ford's SVT or BMW's M, Red Line started with the Vue sport-ute and now is trying its hand with the Ion. The makeover so completely changes the Ion's character that you'll say " do svidan'ya" to its proletarian ways and hello to a car you'll actually want to drive.

As you would expect, transforming an Ion into a performance car takes extensive modifications, a task akin to changing the People's housing into somewhere you'd want to live. Starting with the engine, the all-aluminum Ecotec four-cylinder is reduced in displacement from 2.2 liters to 2.0 liters, and a Roots-type supercharger that forces 12.0 psi of boost into the engine is bolted on. Horsepower increases from 140 to 205, and torque jumps from 145 pound-feet to 200. The engine pulls hard at all rpm, dispatching the 0-to-60 run in 6.1 seconds, 2.3 seconds quicker than a regular Ion. The supercharged mill isn't your typical peaky tuner engine. It makes its power in a laid-back manner as evidenced by our rolling 5-to-60-mph test, which only adds 0.3 second to the all-out 0-to-60 run. Those numbers are slower than the Dodge SRT-4's, but this engine doesn't suffer from the on-and-off turbocharged nature of the Dodge. Despite tweaks to improve engine NVH, the supercharged Ecotec is still plagued with four-cylinder thrash, although it's fair to say the racket is distant and unobtrusive.