Can GM do a sports car? Not just a car that looks like a sports car, and accelerates like a sports car, but actually feels like a sports car?

I feared not. A sports car must have chatty steering. A sports car must feel responsive. A sports car must dance. And even the Corvette, which pre-Viper was proclaimed “America’s only sports car,” suffers from numb steering and feels considerably larger and heavier than it is. Could the new Pontiac Solstice and Saturn SKY be any better? The spec sheets, which state that these parts bin compilations outweigh the similarly-sized Mazda MX-5 by over 400 pounds, suggest more of the same. Heck, a Corvette only weighs about 200 pounds more than a similarly-equipped Solstice or SKY. The roadsters’ 71-inch width, nearly four inches over that of the Mazda, is also uncomfortably close to that of the Corvette. With sports cars, bigger is most definitely not better. Not promising at all.

But I try not to prejudge a car from its spec sheet. Only time in the seat can provide a true test. If it feels good, it is good. And if it doesn’t feel good, then the best spec sheet in the world means nothing to me.

Styling and Accommodations

This is my frame of mind as I approach a yellow Saturn SKY. Saturn adds a few creases, slits, and chrome bits to the clean, round lines of the Pontiac. Less classic, and perhaps a bit busy, but also less bulbous and very much up-to-date. No hint of retro in this one. While the Solstice could be British, the SKY could be German. (A good thing, because with the simple addition of some Opel badges it will be German.) My eyes prefer the Saturn. They don’t like bulbous. They also prefer it to the MX-5; Mazda’s latest adds some trendy wheel lip flares but fails to make a strong statement.

And yet attractive as it is the SKY is no Audi TT. It won’t literally send designers around the world back to their drawing boards. Nor is it a Porsche Boxster; there’s no distinct brand identity. Which isn’t entirely a bad thing, as whatever brand identity Saturn has at this point has no place in a sports car.

The top is already stowed beneath the sculpted decklid. I open the door, and drop into the driver’s seat—like pretty much any sports car you cannot simply slide in. The car might or might not be agile, but if you want to get in and out you had better be.

In pre-2006 Miatas, the seat was set too high for my taste, but the seat height in the new Mazda is about right. You sit lower behind a taller cowl in the SKY. Yet while the cowl is higher the windshield header is not, constricting the view forward. At 5-9, I feel a touch buried in the car. Shorter drivers will wish they could raise the seat an inch or two. Too bad. As in the Mazdas, seat height is not adjustable.

In other ergonomic aspects this car is no MX-5. The steering wheel feels too close relative to the pedals. The shifter is set too high (or the seat too low); to grasp the comfortably shaped knob my hand must reach well above my unsupported elbow. And the power window switches are hidden beneath my forearm, which is to say well aft of my fingertips.

Prior to this test drive I’d sat in a Solstice a few times. The cloth seats in that car feel overly soft and amorphous. The leather seats in the SKY feel a bit more taut, yet the seat bottom still lacks any shape to speak of. Toss a pair of prominent side bolsters into the mix, and I can easily imagine what sitting in a baseball mitt sized for King Kong would feel like. Not firm, yet you won’t be sliding about in turns. At first the prominent non-adjustable lumbar bulge hits a few inches too high up my back for comfort—here again the car was clearly developed for a tall driver (Mr. Lutz?)—but after a few minutes I don’t much notice it.

The Solstice’s interior struck me as cheap. The materials in the SKY are no more expensive, but the Saturn does without the huge matte gray plastic trim plate that sweeps across the entire driver’s side of the instrument panel before flowing down the center stack to surround the shifter in the Pontiac. In the Saturn the instrument binnacle and center stack are distinct entities, with a dip between them. This significantly reduces the visual mass of the instrument panel, a welcome alteration given the high cowl. The relatively small trim plate gracing the center stack is fashionably piano black. I sense Opel’s influence. Thank you, Opel. Now please do something about the generic instruments.

On the Road

Time to hit the road. I take it easy at first. Shifting through the gears to keep up with the flow of traffic, I find a thoroughly pleasant car to drive. Make that a surprisingly pleasant car to drive.

The powertrain isn’t the source of the surprise. It warrants little comment, positive or negative. The sound of the thoroughly average four neither encourages nor discourages twisting the tach’s needle to the right. The shifter has moderate throws and is reasonably smooth and accurate, making it among the best shifters GM has ever produced. But it does not beg comparison to that in the MX-5.

No, it’s the chassis that surprises me. Specifically, the smoothness and quietness with which the SKY glides down a patchily paved road. As in just about any sports car, the suspension doesn’t have much travel. So hit a healthy bump, and you’ll feel a healthy kick. But take the car across moderately pocked pavement and you’ll feel surprisingly little. Compared to an MX-5, the jitter-free Saturn roadster feels positively serene. You won’t hear much, either. Unlike a Corvette’s, the tires don’t roar across the slightest texture. They have a wide, quarter-meter cross-section, but they’re Goodyear Eagle RS-As—mid-level all-season performance rubber most often found around the wheels of a sport sedan. Not the best for pulling lateral g’s, but my ears and rear are now fans. A final aid to relaxed cruising: wind buffeting is relatively low. Credit the high beltline.

This is with the top down. What about with it up? I pull over to make the switch, and find that I cannot get out of the car. The doors lock automatically as soon as the car starts moving, and only automatically unlock when the engine is shut off. But there's no power lock button (note: one was added later in the model year). And pulling the door handle doesn't unlock the door. So as long as the pistons are firing there's no easy way to open the door and get out of the car. The key fob will unlock the doors—seems GM’s lawyers aren’t as thorough as they are cautious. But I fail to explore this possibility. So, unwilling to hunt for the manual lock doohickey in the neighborhood of my left ear, I turn the engine off, hit the power lock once more, and lift myself skyward out of the SKY.

See, unlike in a MX-5 you must get out of the car to put the top up or down. Compared to the same task in the Mazda, this is a moderately troublesome procedure. I do wish that Saturn had canned the top’s flying buttresses. You must walk around the car to fasten the right one. And even once fastened they don’t attach tightly to the decklid. Instead, they ride a bit above it and even when new curl a bit at the edge. I imagine the designers had something more tailored in mind. I’m not crazy about the form, and this form has made a mess of the function.

The SKY's standard equipment includes a premium headliner that is a $150 option in the Solstice. It works. Top up the car is about as quiet as the average compact sedan inside. Very impressive for a small soft-top roadster. But now that the slit of a windshield is my main source of sunlight I feel claustrophobic. A shame, since there’s actually a fair amount of room inside the car. Best put the top back down, though this does eliminate nearly all of the already scarce cargo room in the trunk.

Enough fiddling about. Does the SKY have the moves of a sports car, or not?

When pushed the powertrain neither disappoints nor inspires. The 177-horsepower 2.4-liter four feels soft at low RPM. In other words, it’s typical of a DOHC four with a 6,600 RPM power peak. But unlike the similarly peaky engine in the MX-5 it isn’t especially eager to rev, and never quite comes alive. Still, it furnishes adequate thrust over 4,000 RPM, and while not musical is at least easy on the ears. Similarly, the shifter doesn’t delight, but it doesn’t aggravate, either.

Turning the thick-rimmed steering wheel this way and that while going down the road, I find a refreshingly quick, sharp reaction just off center. I head into a set of turns that require significantly more lock, and find good weighting and a moderate amount of communication from the contact patches. As in the Corvette, effort is higher than that in a Japanese sports car, but not too heavy. Pushing the car harder and harder, I find that the wide tires despite the moderate spec stick quite well. If anything, given the moderate level of thrust the car is over-tired. Goose the throttle mid-turn and the rear steps out just a touch. Unlike in the MX-5, you can’t delicately drift the SKY through turns at a half-reasonable speed. This sucker is planted. With such a balanced, poised chassis and quick steering the SKY should be capable of dancing. But, partly because of the amount of rubber the Saturn puts to the road, any dancing requires a faster clip through turns than is prudent within metropolitan limits.

Even on a curvy rural two-lane the Saturn roadster is never going to feel as agile as an MX-5. I suppose it’s just not that kind of car. Instead, like the Corvette it feels larger and heavier than it is. Look back through my comments, and you’ll find “planted,” “balanced,” even “poised.” You won’t find “agile.”

Last Words

And yet, thankfully, the SKY does not feel as large and heavy as the Corvette feels. Even GM cannot make a car with a 95-inch wheelbase—ten inches shorter than that of Chevrolet’s GT—feel irredeemably large. And so the SKY does, just barely, have the character of a true sports car. Figure two-thirds Corvette, one-third MX-5, and you’ll about have it.

I personally prefer something more delicate and tossable. But those who desire the basic feel of a sports car but put a high priority on ride comfort and quietness, and who don’t need to go particularly fast, could very well find exactly what they’ve been looking for in the SKY.

Saturn SKY Pricing and Price Comparisons

Prices, because they change frequently and can include many variables, are also handled through my site. With TrueDelta, you do not need to select trim lines or option packages to price a SKY. It is also the only site that provides true "apples to apples" price comparisons, with adjustments for feature differences.

The page for the SKY, which includes links to its most popular price comparisons, can be found here:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/SKY.php

The two most popular comparisons (base to base, without rebates, adjusted for feature differences):

Pontiac Solstice: $300 more at MSRP, $700 more at invoice

When similarly equipped, the price difference is smaller.

Mazda MX-5: $1,100 less at MSRP, $900 less at invoice

Currently, you'll pay at least sticker for the Saturn and Pontiac, while discounts are available on the Mazda. So the acutal difference is likely around $2,000 in the Mazda's favor.

A Note on Saturn SKY Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a SKY rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Saturn SKY reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need reliability data on all cars--not just the SKY--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Chevrolet Corvette
Honda S2000
Mazda MX-5 Miata