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Saturn Wagon behaves like a sedan with vast trunk attached
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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Saturn's wagon behaves like a sedan that packs a really big trunk.
In a test drive, chances are that the only way you may be able to tell you're steering a wagon is by checking in the rearview mirror to spy the reflected cargo bay.
To create the wagon variation, designers at Saturn started with Saturn's popular 4-door sedan, now in second generational format with many improvements applied over the original issue of 1990. The stylists erased a typical sedan's trunk section, installed new structural supports, then extended the roofline and passenger compartment rearward in a format that resembles a conventional wagon.
Virtually everything else remains from the sedan, including the 5-person seating arrangement with two buckets in front and a rear fold-back bench for three, impressive mechanical equipment that delivers a crisp handling character, plus a choice of two engines, each with aluminum components and fuel-efficient economy ratings.
Park the wagon next to a Saturn sedan and you may still see the sedan's sensuously curved C pillar integrated into the wagon's upper side at the trailing edge of the rear door. The only difference between the two is that the wagon's roof continues to the tail, where a forward-canted D pillar slopes down to squarish lower tail treatment.
The good looks of this wagon begin at a sensuous slant of the front hood, with recessed modular headlamps creating hard horizontal cuts in a sharply honed nose.
Overall, the exterior shape comes off as sophisticated in a quiet statement which manages to blend current styling trends from European and Asian automakers.
Also, quick impressions from a glance at the styling suggest a classy look, yet the wagon is not expensive.
An examination of Saturn's 1997 price chart reveals a range of mid-teen figures beginning below $13,000.
The entry SW1 model, for instance, totals to only $12,195, plus a $400 fee for delivery to a Saturn dealer.
Top wagon SW2, with power boost and equipment added, starts at $13,495, freight fee included.
Although these prices reflect modest increases over the previous generational editions, far better products emerge with improvements extending beyond skin-deep comparisons.
Seats of the wagon now feel more comfortable and, with the revised design of the roof, riders in both front and back seats will find more headroom added.
Rear doors measure wider for easier entry and exit. Also, all doors contain steel reinforcements designed to protect occupants from crushing forces of a side impact.
Formerly noisy Saturn engines has been drastically quietened, thanks to new sound deadening materials, particularly for 1997 models with more insulation added between engine compartment and cockpit to nix noise, plus new engine mounts on the chassis to dampen vibrations.
Suspension tweaks create a smoother ride quality.
Like previous editions, however, the new Saturn wagons wear dent-resistant polymer side panels which will withstand blows from another car door or a runaway shopping cart. Only hood and roof decks contain steel panels.
On the inside, front bucket seats for driver and passenger were enhanced with new fabrics and raised height.
A modular dash houses twin airbags.
Other standard interior features range from a lever-activated tilting steering column to front console and height-adjustable front shoulder belts, plus split-folding rear seatbacks and remote rear liftgate release.
For power, Saturn presents choices.
Two aluminum 1.9-liter 4-in-line engines, produced exclusively by Saturn, motivate the wagons. The single-cam edition generates 100 horsepower and shows up in Saturn's base SW1 wagon. Installing twin cams improves output to 124 hp for the top level SW2 version.
Either a standard manual 5-speed transmission or optional automatic 4-speed can be linked to each engine, with an automatic adding $840 to the bottom line.
The automatic contains fuzzy logic computer components in the powertrain control module which governs shift patterns after studying a driver's performance habits.
Chassis and suspension systems for Saturn's sedans continue from previous editions, only with evolutionary improvements and new tires on the ground to improve ride quality and road handling capability.
All of these improvements, which occur throughout the vehicle, combine to make Saturn's wagons easier to operate and certainly more enjoyable to drive.
A week of tests living out of a SW2 proved that point.
Admittedly, my tester Saturn SW2 represented the top of the line, as it stocked the larger engine and an automatic shifter, plus a deluxe package of options with power-operated windows and door locks, air conditioning, cruise control, even fog lamps and a brake system with four discs and anti-lock controls.
The price tag capped Saturn's line at $17,550, but the wagon made mobility easy to handle.
There was ample power underfoot when needed, the auto-shifter performed efficiently but also quietly, power-enhanced rack and pinion steering reacted fast in response to the slightest flick of driver's wrist, and all of those facets of the independent suspension setup combined to take the harshness out of road bumps and also check body roll through any tight corner maneuver.
From the driver's seat, instruments in analog array spread out in ideal visual display, the visibility appeared generous, form-fitted front bucket seat felt firm yet comfy.
Then that backpack design: With rear seatbacks folded down, Saturn's wagons provide more than 58 cubic feet of storage space.
Even with the seats up and filled with passengers, there's enough room in the rear to tote a big boxed TV set.
If you need that kind of space for hauling goods, Saturn has an easy answer that still drives like a sedan.
1997 SATURN SW WAGONS
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 1997 SATURN SW WAGON Specs |
| Description: |
Subcompact wagon |
| Model Options: |
Subcompact wagon |
| Wheelbase: |
102.4 inches |
| Overall Length: |
176.9 inches
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| Engine Size: |
SOHC 1.9-L I-4
DOHC 1.9-L I-4
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| Transmission: |
Manual/5, Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
Front |
| Braking: |
Disc/drum
Opt. Power 4-disc/ABS |
| Airbags: |
2 |
| Gas Mileage: |
SOHC: 28/40 mpg
DOHC: 27/37 mpg |
| Price: |
$ 12,695 to $ 17,550 |
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