DRIVEN: 2007 Saturn Sky

Story by Mark Atkinson
Photos courtesy GM Canada

In the years that I’ve been reviewing cars and the dozens of different models that get parked outside the Inside Track offices continually, no one has ever gotten hurt before.

That might sound like a stupidly obvious statement, and I never truly believed that anyone could injure themselves checking out a ride, no matter how nice.

Then the Saturn Sky arrived.

No word of a lie – one of our sister magazine’s sales managers now sports a bruised and bloody lump the size of an egg on his forehead after walking into an iron support beam while scoping out the Sky over his shoulder. While we all believed his story that the beam ‘appeared out of nowhere’ – sure, Rog – it was perhaps the most dramatic proof that despite its recent troubles, General Motors still has some design mojo stocked up somewhere.



The 2007 Saturn Sky is the sibling to the white-hot Pontiac Solstice, GM’s big attempt to prove that it can produce niche vehicles as well as anyone else. It’s also ‘Maximum’ Bob Lutz’ first tangible results as the company’s car guru, and many have pinned their hopes on the twin two-seat roadsters taking a big chunk out of Mazda’s record-breaking MX-5 sales.

You can’t deny that the Sky looks amazing… when you’re sitting inside, all you can see are those razor-sharp fender creases, both front and rear, and those big rear haunches really do help convey that Saturn means business.

If the whole thing screams ‘Opel’ to you, well that’s because it is. The Sky will be sold as the Opel GT in Europe, while Vauxhall gets a version as well. The new ’07 Aura sedan is much the same as its Continental Vectra sibling as Saturn now becomes a rebadge division after years of being ‘a different kind of car company.’



Unlike every other Saturn, the Sky actually uses (some) sheet metal instead of the dent-resistant polymer pieces that gave the division its reputation for massive panel gaps… a revolution, I know.

Inside, things appear kosher at first glance, however once you spend more than a few minutes sitting behind the wheel, the Sky’s obnoxious ergonomics and cheap materials really make you wish for the keys to that MX-5. The most obvious defects include not being able to contort your wrist enough to reach the window and mirror switches placed too near the driver along the sculpted door panels, and the lack of any interior storage space bar the tiny glove box and the de rigueur cubby between the seatbacks. The ridiculously flimsy cup holders pull out underneath said cubby, and when a drink is installed, interferes with the cubby’s hinged door.



This is nothing compared to the utter contempt and frustration one feels when having to put down the top, which is a multi-step process in futility. Roll down the windows slightly, unlatch the roof from the windshield header, pop the trunk using the key fob as there’s no switch either inside or outside the cabin, fumble with the folding roof’s spring-mounted trunk attachment points, open the rear-hinged trunk by wedging your fingers into an incredibly minute gap between body panels, finally flop the roof down into the now-nonexistent trunk space, close the trunk, pop the trunk again because the center-latched affair takes just the right amount of shove to fit properly… you get the idea.

It’s absolutely the antithesis that is the MX-5 roof, which takes all of three seconds to open or close thanks to brilliant engineering and lots of forethought. And you still get a decently sized trunk in the Mazda.

While it’s understandable that given GM’s lack of experience designing a rear-wheel-drive two-seat roadster other than the Corvette that there would be some bugs. However, the Sky’s roof design really is off-putting. I’m a big fan of convertibles in general, and will gladly dress up in a toque, scarf and gloves in order to really maximize the roof-down season, but after two days of the tedious exercise required to turn the Sky into a sun-chaser, I just left it up for the rest of the week as it was too much of a hassle.



Thankfully, the Sky does have some redeeming qualities. Amazingly, for such a short-wheelbase sports car, it does ride surprisingly well and makes for a decent highway cruiser. Saturn says that its car and the Solstice share the same suspension design, but that the Sky’s bushings are softer, allowing for a more comfortable setup.

Despite being about 400 pounds heavier than the MX-5, the Sky’s 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder give the car decent response thanks to 177 hp @ 6600 rpm and 168 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm, although our tester’s five-speed automatic blunted the car’s acceleration. While the five-speed manual isn’t the last word in refinement, being able to select your own gears does improve the ‘roadster’ appeal.

The Sky works best when not pushed to its absolute limit. The softer suspension allows the car to lean more than the Solstice would, and while the brakes are responsive, actual stopping distances aren’t really impressive.



What the Sky will excel at is more relaxed Sunday drives, the odd spirited blast down a back road or cruising along Yorkville in the middle of summer.

The biggest pill to swallow, though, is the price. Saturn is asking more for the Sky than an equivalent Pontiac as the former is aimed more upscale. The base Sky starts just over $31,000, but once you add the five-speed automatic ($1,250), upgraded sound system ($930), red leather interior ($1,520), and the 18-inch chrome wheels ($950), you get a price – $37,420 – that exceeds a fully-loaded MX-5 GT.

One can only hope that the addition of 100 extra horsepower, one extra gear and some suspension work can help the Sky Red Line bolster the line’s reputation as something other than just a modern boulevard cruiser.