By the fall of 1993, Saturn had come into its own as a new car brand with something different to offer. It was a new American brand that focused on building reliable, affordable small cars with an ounce or two of innovation. It was, as the marketing tag line said, "A different kind of car from a different kind of company."
My old Nissan Sentra was starting to show signs of age after seven years, and I decided it was time to buy a new car. The requirements were simple and few: reliability, good fuel economy (I was commuting about 85 miles a day), a manual transmission, and a horsepower upgrade from the puny 69 that was all my Sentra could muster. The list of contenders whittled down quickly to three, then two. One sit in a Dodge Neon got it quickly chopped off the list - it just felt way too cheap.
That left a choice between Nissan's Sentra SE-R and Saturn's SL2. The SE-R was a darling of the automotive press back then, with loads of power for a sub-compact, and all the right chassis improvements to go along with it. The SL2 car itself, on the other hand, was overshadowed by the brand's reputation for cuddly dealerships and no-haggle pricing. After test driving both, it still felt like there wasn't a huge gap between the Saturn and the SE-R.
The decision came down to, frankly, an indifferent Nissan dealer and a bit more comfort in the Saturn without feeling like a lot of performance was sacrificed. So, on a cold October day, I signed the paperwork on the Saturn, and drove a brand new Medium Red SL2 out of the dealership.
Getting acquainted, and making a few changes
The SL2 was a lot of things my old Sentra was not. Though still a four-cylinder, the engine made almost twice the power. It had came with cloth seating, which was way more comfortable than vinyl or the squishy, slide-y covers I had eventually put on the old seats. It felt sportier and had better handling thanks in large part simply to wider tires. Overall, the Saturn was much more solid than the old car.
Then again, as new, the Satty still wasn't quite everything I wanted. Except for optional fog lights, the SL2 was about as stripped down as could be ordered. It came with just an AM/FM radio, no air conditioning, and steel wheels with plastic covers. If I was going to be spending two hours a day just commuting, some of that had to change.
The first order of business, unsurprisingly, was a new sound system. Out came the factory radio in favor of an Alpine 7401 AM/FM/Cassette (cassette!) head unit. The Alpine had only an 8.5-watt on-board amplifier, so a 20-watt Sony amplifier was added. The new amplifier drove a new set of separate tweeters and 6-1/2" woofers. The factory speakers in the front doors were left in place. This setup wasn't going to win any awards, but it made a huge difference on those long daily drives.
A removable-glass sunroof was also installed within the first year, making commutes much more bearable in the summertime. An electric sunroof was offered as a factory option, but being an even six-feet tall, my head nearly touched the headliner even with the seat cushion adjusted all the way down as it was. An electric sunroof would have robbed at least an inch of headroom, so a manual roof made more sense.
Performance
Saturns, particularly of this era, weren't especially known as enthusiast cars. When people actually DID talk about the cars themselves, they usually talked about the plastic, dent-resistant body panels. That was still a new thing in 1993. The cars' performance rarely came up.
Still, for a relatively inexpensive sub-compact, the SL2 wasn't entirely gutless. The 1.9L inline-4 engine was rated at 124-hp, and had a relatively flat torque curve to about 5300 rpm, peaking at 122 lb.-ft. Redline for the DOHC motor was 6500 rpm. With a curb weight of only 2405 lbs, the power/weight ratio worked out to be just over 103 hp/ton. That may not indicate over-the-top performance, but the SL2 could definitely hold its own. This was the first car I ever pushed over 100 mph (105, actually), so there's that.
The transmission was a 5-speed manual that featured closer ratios than the base SL or SL1 models. By this model year, Saturn was beginning to tout the innovations of the available automatic with its "fuzzy logic" and "shift stabilization" that helped make more appropriate and decisive gear changes. I was perfectly satisfied to make my own.
All 1994 Saturns came with a front disc and rear drum brakes. ABS was an available option (I passed). They also had four-wheel independent suspensions with MacPherson struts - pretty normal for this era and in this class. The SL2's ride was definitely firm but not harsh.
Nothing is ever perfect, and the SL2 did have a few drawbacks. The interior stands out as the biggest problem area - not terrible, but it could have held up better. The interior was very plasticky, especially by today's standards, and the fitment of the top piece of the dash did look like an afterthought, just lying there on top of the rest of the dash. Made worse by the choice of a light colored interior, stains appeared in the cloth door trim where the fasteners connected it to the sheet metal behind it. The driver side door armrest also cracked badly after about 6 years, possibly an undetected result from a small accident years before. On the mechanical side, the brakes required a fair amount of work over time, though that may have been more related to the shop that did some of the brake work.
Still, over eight years and 160,000 miles, the SL2 was worked hard and, all things considered, it held up well. It carted me, friends, colleagues, dogs, bicycles, skis anywhere I wanted without much complaint, and even served well in moving duty. The engine still felt strong, the body was still in good shape (thanks to its mainly polymer construction), and it still handled well. It remained reliable and fun to drive the whole time.
Epilogue
About a year and a half after I sold my SL2, I had heard that the timing chain finally gave out. At the time the SL2 had over 200,000 miles on the odometer. Last I heard the car was sold to my wife's friend's brother, who was going to repair the engine and get it running again. How's that for bullet-proof?
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Date: 14 May 2019.....By: Todd Nielson.....Photos by: Todd Nielson
#lefthanddrive #saturn #sl2 #plasticfantastic #smalltribesrule
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Comments (2)
And you miss it everyday.