A new ride for Dad
Written: Nov 22 '02
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Pros: Interior looks, comfort, lots of options for the money
Cons: none that I can think of
The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a V6 sedan that gets you from point A to point B comfortably and safely, you can't go wrong with the Saturn L300.
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| loguesmith's Full Review: 2003 Saturn L-Series |
The lease on our 1999 VW New Beetle was coming due, and I wanted to get a replacement. As much as we contemplated keeping the VW, the fact that we have 2 teenaged kids made the decision pretty easy. A 4 door sedan was in our future.
Now, we already have a 2002 Ford Explorer on lease, so I didn't need anything too big. Something mid-size would work fine. Something like ... well ... a Camry or Accord, which 800,000 other people do each year.
After some quick research, the two obvious candidates were eliminated. The wife (aka "Boss") took one look at the Camry and said no way. She also has this strange dislike about Hondas, so the Accord was out, too. Back to the drawing board.
During our research, GM introduced the 0/0/0 program -- 0 down, 0% interest and 0 payments for 90 days. Now, I haven't driven a GM vehicle since I was in college in 1985 - and that was a 1978 Olds Omega that ran on only 7 of its 8 cylinders. Needless to say, I haven't been impressed with what GM has been peddling to the public. But Saturn, that was a different story. Plastic body panels impervious to rust and door dents - nice. A sweet European sourced V6 that is also found in some Saab model - enticing. New styling that makes the L-series look less like its smaller brothers and more like a small Cadillac - well, that made it worth a look. Throw in the 0/0/0 incentives, and we might have a winner.
My first impressions of the car were good. I was looking for the L300, the top level model that comes standard with the V6. I also wanted a sunroof and ABS. I ended up driving a sales manager's demo car, and I was impressed with the power of the V6 (181hp, 190 ft/lbs of torque), and the general ride and smoothness.
The interior design also appealed to me. Silver accents on the dash, surrounding the stereo, A/C controls and the shift plate were a nice touch, as were the white-faced gauges. The ergonomic layout was pretty decent; the only minor complaint might be that Saturn puts its power window switches on either side of the transmission lever instead of on the drivers' door panel. Odd. Overall, the feeling was one of luxury. The amount of room was decent, and my head did not scrape the headliner, even with the sunroof option.
Several weeks later, I came back with my wife to drive it again. After the second test drive (again, a demo, this time with leather), the wife was ready to make a deal. We decided on the color (Pewter) and, since the dealer did not have one on the lot with leather, we decided to have it added as an aftermarket option. We are soooo glad we did; we were able to match the shade of leather to the color of the headliner and it complements the black dash and silver accents magnificently. Also had the windows tinted bronze.
The car we picked out had just about every option available; only the DVD player (which we couldn't get because of the sunroof) and the 6-disc in dash CD changer were absent. Since I qualify for a GM supplier discount, the price I paid was less than MSRP; Saturns normally are not discounted from sticker price.
It took a week for the aftermarket work (tint and leather) to be added to the car. When we went to pick it up, our salesman commented that many people were interested in our car, specifically due to the aftermarket leather.
It's been a week now, and I couldn't be happier. While I miss the sportiness of the VW, I'm getting older and comfort is more of an issue on my 35 mile (one way) commute, most of which is in bumper to bumper traffic.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 24,300
Condition: New
Model and Options: 2003 L300 V6
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Epinions.com ID:
loguesmith
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Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 0 members
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