Faults:

Well I have spent about $2000 to fix this car, and it still messes up at times. It is a strong car, though it has 90K miles and still runs.

General Comments:

Good car, but bad design.

Faults:

I have read most of the comments, and found that it is a problematic car.

I have Saturn SC2 Coupe which I bought from a Chinese guy who was leaving for his country. It had 164000 miles on it.

The problem that I face is that I had to put engine oil in it after every 50-100 miles, and my AC is also not that good.

My alternator had also blown away, and the battery has gone dead after 4 months. It cost me 300$ for an alternator and 45$ for a battery.

Now my car has 167200 miles. However, I bought this car cheap for 1200$, so I am pretty satisfied as I can commute easily without any problem, except for oil change which cost 15$ a month.

General Comments:

Not a very good option.

Faults:

I did my research on common problems on these cars and they were all cheap fixes (if you can do the work yourself), and this one has the common problems.

I had to replace the heater controls because the arm on it broke, $20 fix and 15 minutes.

The buttons for the fog lights and such were stuck, just needed to be cleaned.

The pre-tensioners for the seatbelts were faulty which is typical, $60 fix and 15 minutes.

The key stopped working and the ignition stopped working (typical GM), cost was $70 for the new ignition switch and tumblers for the key and a new key, and replacing those also fixed the constant chiming of the door switch, and that took 2 hours to fix.

Other than that just normal maintenance, keeping up with the fluids and tire pressure.

General Comments:

I have the 1.9L that has the DOHC, which is rated at 125-130hp and it's pretty quick for a 4 cylinder, revs up a lot like most 4 cylinders, and this one hates going exactly 35mph.

The transmission has normal and performance mode via a switch under normal load. There is no noticeable difference, but when floored the performance mode shifts a lot quicker (because it changes the shift pattern when in this mode) and sucks a little more gas, but that is because you're heavy on the gas.

The handling is a little soft for me, but is stiff without being overly harsh, very nice compromise by Saturn on this entry sports car.

The interior is only meant for 2, the back seat is of no use unless for child seats or hauling small items. The front seats are not meant for large people; I'm of average size and they are OK. I am apparently not a fan of leather seats, now I know.

At 6 foot the seat and steering wheel don't quite adjust to where I want, but are probably comfortable for someone 2 inches shorter or taller than me.

The passenger seat is good for average or smaller sized people no taller than 5'10", as it sits considerably higher than the drivers seat.

The gauges are easy to read, although I do not like the white bulbs for the gauges, so I changed them to blue and it's much easier on the eyes.

I do not recommend using the A/C or heater on full blast on this car, as the small engine has trouble keeping up and sucks gas when they are engaged. Without using these, I observed 30-31mpg in the city, and 38-39mpg on the highway with this car.

The truck is pretty big for a 2 seater, and the back seat seatback folds down for the larger items. I can get my bicycle in the back with relative ease.

The body panels are plastic, thus no issue with rust, and are dent proof. Try to avoid hitting things in really cold temperatures as it will crack the plastics, except for the front "bumper" which is pretty resilient.

Overall I think this is a great entry level sprots car, and I find it is very easy to work on and 1/10th and more cheaper to keep in working order than my last two cars.

I do recommend getting the SC2, as the single overhead cam version is very poky in comparison, and I'm not sure if they offer it, but get the cloth seats, they are more comfortable.

So in conclusion, if you're an average or smaller sized person under 5'10", and want a cheap sporty car that gets great gas mileage and cheap cost of ownership, this is the car for you.