Those came with recaro seats btw.

I always thought the ion redline looked cool. Like a fictional car you’d see in a grand theft auto or burnout game.

Did he actually do any research on this? It was 205 hp, slower than the SRT, and more expensive than the SRT.

They were potent!! I was playing with one on the highway, and I had an '04 Impala SS with the 3800 Supercharger...we were about neck and neck up until about 125 mph, and he just kept pulling on me!! I know my car has a limitet at 123, but it was reprogrammed. Still, that Saturn kept pulling quicker than I was! Salute!!!

Fyi the SRT-4 hood scoop was functional it directed air from the hood scoop to the turbo exhaust manifold

I've always felt the ecotec gm 4 was the best 4 cylinder on the time. It was winning a lot of hp wars.

I always liked the 2.5 door Saturns. The Saturn ION Quad Coupe is a front wheel drive Mazda RX-8.

Imagine this but AWD. Lol

You're right about the Redline exceeding 100k easily. Mine has just over 230k and still runs like a top. However you did miss one glaring problem they had: the clutch. Specifically the rubber bushing that stops the pedal in place when it is released. This WILL fail eventually. If you catch it early replacing the bushing is relatively cheap and simple. But once it completely fails, part of the linkage actually punches through itself and you have no choice but to replace the entire pedal assembly. I've gone through two, and now there isn't a single one left in a junkyard within 200 miles of my house.

Stock Ion redline is 205hp and 200 ftlbs torque. Weight was listed 2980.

the oldsmobile lss from the late 90's was the ultimate sleeper back then!!!!

Hood scoop was functional on the SRT. It directed air over the turbocharger.

Let’s not forget they made the vue suv in a redline edition also

I grew up around Saturn's my dad owned way too many to keep count. I grew up working on them and I learned how to drive in a L300 which came with a v6 out of a saab, I've owned 4 Saturn's in my life 98 sl1 00 sl2 06 ion 2 07 ion redline And every single one would get any place I'd try to take them my 00 sl2 was swapped with a 2.2 ecotech from a 05 ion and me and my buddies made a 5" lift kit for it and it would keep up with all the trucks so it's safe to say I love saturns

I had 1 of these in high school. My friends would call it the "panty dropper" because when I would show up to a party my friends knew they didnt have to worry about me dropping any pantys so it gave them a better chance.

And no. 205hp(more like 210-215hp) stock. Stage 2 has 42lb injectors and 3inch pulley for 240ish hp, stage 3 with heat exchanger dual pass 60lb injectors and option b with 2.8 pulley will get you 260ish hp and 230ish tq. It's the same lsj as the cobalt ss/sc that I have currently. I have stage 2 with all the intake and exhaust goodies(catless do, header, resonator delete and 2.5 high flow out the back.) And I'm at about 240hp and 215-220tq. P.s. they only torque steer you off the road is you are a noob lol.

Although I've owned and loved several fwd performance cars, fwd burnouts just look silly.

I never knew about the Redline until a year ago I thought all the Ions were junk. Then I got the doors blown off of my lightly modded 04 mustang GT by a straight piped Redline 😂

The ion has good Acoustics at least. I had a system that sounded twice as good in that car than in my mustang. I had two 12's but it sounded like 15s

You really shamelessly mimicked Regular Car Reviews in narration.

Great video! I have owned a 2006 ion Redline Competion With the GM stage two package since new. It has always been a blast to drive. It’s was only a daily driver for me for a short time so to this day it only has 45k miles on the odometer. And even better I also was a band new dad in 2006 when I purchased it. I will never sell it. RIP Saturn.

First off, Badass video, And second, I had one of these as my second car, I used to troll all kinds of people in it, and surprise them to how quick it could be, course, i was young, and broke, so i didn't ever mod it. Sadly, i had to keep it stock, but it still hauled ass. and could break the tires free all day.

Gm killed Saturn and Saab. Took their tech and ideas for their rebirth from bailout

A. Your horsepower figure is wrong. These made 205. Sane as the 2005-2007 Cobalt Ss’ 2. That’s a heluva lot of mods for just 45hp. You’d be better off with a dozen go fast stickers. C. The LNF motor beats this in every way, for only a bit more coin. All that being said, I’m a sucker for supercharger whine, so I’d still take the LSJ.

Wasn't stock it was the same as the SS Supercharged? 205hp not 230ish.

2006 owner. I put 320k miles with no major issues. Vehicle might still be out there running.

Interesting video. I happened to work at Saturn when the Ion Redline was sold new. We had three that sat on the lot for six months, not because Dads bought them, but because no one bought them. Heck, the parts manager picked one up with the GM friends and family discount for something like $5000 off msrp. I took each one out and tried to scare myself with any of them, but nothing happened. There is the expectation that these would be fast, but it's all hype. The supercharger doesn't make meaningful boost until about 3000 rpm, and then the thing starts pulling timing at around 4500 and the fun (if there was any) comes to an abrupt halt (6500 rpm redline). Bear in mind these were brand new cars, with about 300 miles on them, zero wear. Oh, and as others have mentioned-your HP/TQ numbers are off. It's 205 horse. GM Performance Parts offered the 236 HP as a dealer installed upgrade-if memory serves, it was higher flow injectors with an ecu reflash-we sold zero of these. There was no torque steer. None. It wouldn't, it had equal length half-shafts with lifeless electric powersteering. You neglected to mention the final run of these could be had with an LSD to improve traction out of tight corners (it would spin the inside front). Ultimately this is no sleeper and is just a slightly quicker Ion. Chevy went to the 260HP turbo version of this engine in the Cobalt SS Turbo, and that was actually fairly fast for the time and the true SRT fighter. Especially when paired with the 290 HP GM Performance Parts reflash. The only Saturn sleeper there ever was is probably the 2004-2007 Saturn Vue V6 FWD, which is only fastish because of the 250 HP Honda drivetrain.

Why are you trying to sound like the guy from Regularcars

Mine never torque-steered. It would roast the tires but it wouldn't pull to other side. They thought about this and made the cv axles are equal length. Same with the cobalt ss. I've had both. Only scary part is under throttle you have no steering because it just wants to roast the front tires lol

i was just driving down the road earlier today, never heard of this car before but then i saw one, and it was loud, and i was like, nice car, oh wait thats a saturn, pretty cool, then i get home and see this video and am now in a state of awe.

The Cobalt SS TC(09-10) was stock 270 horses. for 600 bucks you could buy a chip and have it installed by the dealer, ie not voiding the warranty, and have 300 horses. the fastest front wheel drive car ever at VIR (car and driver Lightning Lap) until the Civic type R showed up. dont take my word... go look it up.

My gti had 350 whp with no traction control and it was my daily for a few years and it was the best, you make 250hp sound like its 500 in a fwd, the torque steer isn’t even that bad. you better go watch some boostedboiz if you want to see a fast fwd.

They were listed as 205 stock but some cars off the line were dynod up to 230 it all depended on the tune update and the car itself. Stage2 was a factory upgrade at the time was like 1200$ and usually pushed it to 245-250. Neons did not kill the sales on redlines. Saturn did not promote the redline fully and only produced around 7500 total. I purchased the last new redline in my state and still drive it today at 350hp

I test drove on of these when they first came out. Was a fun car for the 10 minutes i drove it. And they implemented that dent proof shell. Was my first boosted car experience. They are even better turbo charged. Still i love my cobalt, had an lsj, now got an lnf.

One of my favorite car of all the time the Saturn Ion Redline I really love that car and really want on so bad

My 2006 Redline still up n running 130K. Always reliable. Just did Vegas - SO Oregon. The supercharger is a lifesaver on overtaking. Suspension is super stiff so going over some bumpy roads can suck. Nonetheless car looks great and is still great fun to drive. People still ask what car it is.

The LNF Cobalt SS is GM's best kept secret. Most ppl still don't even know a turbo version was made. Basic bolt ons ($1100) with an e47 or full e85 tune will put you at 340-350whp & 380-400 torq. What are you talking about, an ION? 250hp lol thats decent but simma down now!!

The red line and cobalt have the same LSJ engine. One huge turnoff for me is the car gauge cluster is not in front of the driver. I do like the suicide doors though. I just finished dyno tuning my 07 Cobalt SS. I came in at 253HP at the wheels. I've got 60# injectors, 2.9" pulley, and an upgraded intercooler. Nothing too crazy. I'm honestly more than happy with this much power for a front wheel drive car. I've got good control and I feel I won't have issues in winter (I live in Canada)

This video was a little miss informing. I have an ion redline. It comes with 205hp stock but with a pully, injectors, and a tune it will put the car at 246-ish hp. ZZPerformance sells a full kit for 400 dollars. You don’t need ported heads and spacers to crank out power but it sure does help!

I worked at a Saturn dealer during the time these cars came out. I was a detailer so alot of times I would be one of the last to leave at night, after prepping cars for customers on a late sale. One evening the manager came out and asked me to pull the cars around back that the truck was unloading. It was a Saturn sky turbo, I think the first one in Florida. I did a few donuts, cleaned it and put it out front. We did lots of burnouts in the detail booth with redlines too, or anything else we were given to drive good times

i have one lol, currently making 350 hp

4:14 has to be the slowest trans am I've ever seen..

'08-'10 Cobalt SS was the real mvp, extremely underrated.

It doesn't have 230 hp. It only has 205 hp. I have an ion redline and the torque steer isn't really that bad either.

Im guessing he owns a red line. All i heard watching this was "my car is best car".

I remember when these first came out. A dude in my town bought one, 3 weeks later he raced a srt4, and wrapped it around a pole. The srt4 won.

Have you done a vid about pontiac gtp widetrack 3.8 supercharged 4d and 2d plus the 3.8 is the most reliable v6 ever

LSJ full turbo swap from ZZPerformance and an Ion will leave that SRT4 like it was standing still and wouldn't cost a person any more $ (with turbo swap makes 325-375 WHP). It'll require a little bit of work, but FULL BOLT ON. Don't look back, gap some SRT4's on their way to the mechanics (notorious 3rd gear and motor issues with an SRT4). or go Cobalt SS Supercharged. Super cheap, same LSJ.

Wow!! After several mods I can get close to 250hp? How come I never knew about this monster!

The red saturn with racing strips is still around just waiting for a tune

**Coughs** nice cobalt ss

Funny that the Saturn Ion was mentioned on Brooklyn Nine Nine when this video was recommended.

If it weren’t for my foolish driving, I’d still be driving my ion past 160,000 miles

Tons of cobalt ss/sc cars still out there lol.

2006 ion redline owner since new, GM stage 2 kit dyno at 245 HP / 220 torque (in 2007) Just hit 200k miles. Agreed stock to the wheels is 205hp

It's underrated, but it's effectively identical to the Cobalt SS's that were supercharged. They do make more power than what they're claimed to make, but even the SRT4's and cobalts did as well. P.S. Don't install the cold air intake to try and make power in a redline. They don't. They only let blower noises out

Srt-4 advertised hp numbers were underrated. I remember guys getting 230 hp to the wheels. Back In 2003.

You gotta do the Chevy Malibu Maxx I use to work at Avis and would have to drive them from NY to NJ and they was the best thing going

I am so glad some one posted a video about this. I drove one of these when it came out, it was surprisingly quick it was a hidden jewel in its time.

Best channel on you tube i love the cars he talks about

All kinds of wrong info here..This is definitely NOT faster than the 2008-2010 Cobalt SS which has 260hp/260lbs torque in stock form.

Ive got an 04 Ion RL with full bolt on stage 3 and its lovely.

that drag race with the trans am killed me

I’ll never forget, I got this car when I was 16 years old for a STEAL. $6K and only 20,000km’s on it! I was sitting in a parking lot waiting for friends to meet me. And A group of girls - mid 20’s, pulled up near me, in an Escalade and made fun of the car and said that i drive a girly car. I burned out fucking hard, tire smoke everywhere from the front wheel drive, I could barely see and REDLINED IT and watched as their Jaws DROPPED. I tried to pull back up near them to talk some shit back and they wouldn’t roll down their windows from Daddy’s car LMAO. I had great memories with this fun car.

"The Road Dogg JESSIE JAMES, the BadAss BILLY GUNN,... THE NEW AGE OUTLAWS!!!!!"

WTF THIS GUY REALLY LEFT HIS PHONE GOING OFF IN THE VIDEO 😂😂

Other car brands: u cannot put 4 doors on a coupe Saturn : yes I can

The ion coupe is basically a cobalt with RX-8 doors & S15 like nose.

I wouldnt say that it put the SS and the SRT4 to "absolute shame" it was on par with the ss supercharged but failed to meet the later turbo optioned SS's and some SRT4's supposedly came out with 240 even 250WHP from factory. The Saturn ion was undoubtedly the uglyist out of the three as well, wether it was poorly marketed or not. It was NEVER going to outsell the "main brand" chevy ss or the superiorly styled SRT4. The only reason this car has any light nowadays is because it didnt have any back in it's time. It has the light now because it was overlooked in the past. It's a rule that uncool things tend to gain in popularity in the future... hence why datsuns are shooting up in price and the saab 900 classics are aswell... those are just two examples of underappreciated cars gaining interest and value past their prime because supply and demand are limited. You can find these cars with 100k miles on them for around 5k and for that price, it's hard to beat and if you are looking for a "domestic import" this is the only affordable option nowadays.

My friends and i were driving this in Forza 4 a few weeks back, this is our inside joke now lmfao

I had a 99 saturn 2 door it was decked out lowerd black 17 rims black paint short throw shifter cams exhaust system intake the whole nine that car haulled ass saturns are really great cars

My mom owned 2 Ion Coupes. Her first one was a redline. She hated that it was stick so when her lease was up she got a normal Ion Coupe with an automatic.

The SRT4 hood scoop is not fake I don't know where you got that information but everyone that I've seen are the actual functioning hood scoop

I bought one new in 2005! I still have it and it has 170k on it now! It’s a stage 2 with stop tech rotors EBC yellow pads, some other chassis upgrades and a magnaflow exhaust system. I love it! It’s been my daily for 14 years!

The supercharged ecotec works well in a 2 seater sandrail if u double the boost and use e85. What u got left is just another disposable American made compact car.

Hood scoop on a srt4 is 100% real and functional there are air passages under the hood that deliver cool air directly to the turbo on the back side of the motor

I've been wanting one of these so hard recently

Make a video on the GM ev1, the real forgotten GM car

"Just to clarify this car WILL kill you" 😂😂😂😂

A budget Regular Car Reviews.

omg...i thought you were mr regular... good shit..

"All the cobalts/neons lie in pieces..." Watching this as my first car, 05 chevy cobalt is on its way to the junk yard for salvage. My heart hurts 😢

I bought one of these for my first car paid 3k for it and man that thing would rip. I never got tired of seeing the guys face in the mustang gt lose to a Saturn. Haha I wish I still had it.

Hell yea supercharged 4 bangers. Haha gm was like "we got to make these domestic some how" haha i have one of gms supercharged V6 Vehicles. 198000 miles completly stock bottom end, heads etc making 100whp more than stock still killing it!

The srt4 hood scoop was active not fake fyi but I love my ion redline.

That car is ugly, that's why it didn't sell

Just 250 after those mods when they dynoed like 210 stock?

Please do a before you buy on the mazda miata mx-5 NC . It's not loved enough compared to other miatas and needs some love!

I just saw one of these for the first time in my 23 years of living and thought it was a depressed mazda rx8

4:10 just to be clear the “pushing just over 250hp” is at the wheels, compared to the 205hp at the motor from the factory.

Dude please. back away from the the microphone. EVERY SINGLE VID. Audacity is not that hard to use.

The srt4 hood scoop is real

I wanted a redline , but it was impossible to find one at dealerships. So I got an srt4 instead. And the neon scoop is not fake

I love how all these tools post about what they supposedly did to their cars, but then they give your numbers like "about" 230hp and 210-215"ish" torque. If you take your car to a dyno, and they say you produced ABOUT a number of horsepower, or a number ISH or torque... Please find a different company to dyno your ride. That being said, everyone who I have ever met who has dyno'd their car/truck knows the exact numbers they pulled. The EXACT numbers. When people start ballparking they are usually lying. Haven't done squat to their cars. "yah bruh i did x, y, and z to my ride yo!!!!!! eets got liek 400 hoarse power!!! " " Sounds great; let's race. " " uhh ahh we'll it ain't been tuned yet n I dun wanna burn up teh motor u know so yah mebbe next tiem??! " " Well, that explains why it sounds like shit. Just. Like. You. " Am I the only one who has witnessed similar interactions? I doubt it. 😉 To the true tuners and modders out there: keep up the awesome work! To the posers: ... Yeah.*pats you on the back* Maybe someday, little fella. Maybe someday.

Bought one of these when I was 20 when they were just a few years old. It was a fun car

That's a lot of shit for 30 horsepower... 42lb injectors, ported heads, 3 inch pulley, intake manifold spacer and intake

This is a terrible review about a terrible car narrated in a stolen voiceover style GM was stupid to use a roots type s/c for a four banger. It needed a centri or a turbo. They wised up later with the real cobalt ss but it was too late by then. The SRT-4 had done the dmg and GM was playing catch up as usual by throwing a turbo four with HORRENDOUS torque management in to a tuna can with a wing.

why is this guy acting like 250 hp at the front wheels is deadly lmao theres plenty of fwd cars out there making 300+ horsepower with no issues

I have a 2009 cobalt SS Turbo and I would blast past this turd into another dimension. The Turbocharged LNF Cobalt is GM's best kept secret.

I was probably one of the few guys his early to mid 20s who wanted an Ion Redline. Come to think of it, I was probably one of the few in that age bracket who loved the Saturns I had.