Faults:

Sunroof stopped working and had to replace with parts from a junk yard sunroof.

The car does burn oil. Had to top off the oil every 3rd gas fillup.

The radiator developed a leak and had to be replaced. Also the heater core (inside the radiator for transferring heat to the vents) had a small leak, and so the inside of the car smelled a bit like coolant. I did not change that, but added some sealer into the coolant and it plugged the hole.

The blower fan made a squeaky noise when using the heat or A/C; I swapped that part out with one from a junk yard car and it fixed the problem.

It's somewhat easy to find parts for this car, since many of the parts interchange with other Saturn S cars.

The plastic on the headlights needed rebuffing because they were hazy. I used a headlight cleaning kit and then spayed clear coat on them to stop the haze from returning.

General Comments:

This car is zippy and fun to drive. It has good balance and fun around corners. I added a front strut mounted stabilizer bar to it.

Reliable engine. The dual overhead cam is good. You can rev it high RPM.

The plastic body still looks new.

Comfortable interior.

It is sporty enough, but insurance companies still rate this car as just a family car and not a sports car, so this keeps your insurance cost low.

The car is very lightweight and I can feel structure of the car is a bit less substantial. A few creaks and rattles now and again in both the interior and maybe the frame.

It burns oil. So if you buy one, make sure the previous owner kept the oil level up. I would do a compression test before buying one these cars. These Saturns can run up to 200000 miles or more if taken care of, but people sometimes abuse them.

The 3 door suicide style back door is nice. The car still looks kinda up to date in its style.

The headlamp design of this car are not the best at lighting up the road. I installed LED brighter bulbs to compensate.

Faults:

Needed a new starter at 190,000 miles. Otherwise, just brake pads/rotors and tires.

General Comments:

Wanted to purchase a 4-5 year old car in '05, and found this '01 Saturn at a dealership.

Excellent car. Still running strongly eight years later. The only mechanical part that has needed to be replaced (besides tires, brake pads/rotors, and battery) is the starter.

Good MPG. 30 city, 38 highway.

I would buy another Saturn if GM still made them.

Faults:

Heat shield cam unhinged, brake rotors, band which holds on muffler, a few check engine lights.

General Comments:

Noisy and slow.

Bought the car from a relative, cheaply.

I have had a Saturn before. They get great gas mileage and are usually very cheap to run.

Can anyone say that this car is in anyway refined?

Just a basic car. Like most GM cars, lots of noise and little go. But, cheap to drive.

Faults:

- Leak in the main oil seal.

- Oxygen sensor had to be replaced.

- Intake gasket has to be replaced.

- Side mirror is glued on because it became loose.

- Automatic lock and unlock do not work inside the car.

- Interior light behind the speedometer needs to be replaced.

General Comments:

- Decent air mileage.

- No power going up hills.

- Really wide turning radius, which makes it difficult to park.

Faults:

Eats oil and smokes.

General Comments:

The car is very small and does not handle as well as my Jetta... also I never had to add oil in my Jetta between oil changes, and it never smoked... Should have bought another Jetta...