The phenomenal LS2 6 cylinder 2000 Saturn, what a car! It represents inspiration at it's best! Why do I use a word such as inspirational? Consider a standard option such as a oil life monitor. A monitor that takes into consideration the length of your trip, the kinds of roads you drive on. The power train control system figures out when you need to changed your oil and tells you so. Inspirational with the standard being a AM/FM stereo with CD/cassette, automatic tone control, theft protection and eight speakers! A paint used that is more environmentally safe, a water based primer and base color which is topped with a tough clear coat. Consider a transmission that doesn't have a dipstick with servicing not being required for the first 100,000 miles. Sound to good to be true? I think NOT. These features and many more on the new LS2.

Having just moved to California, being in need of a oil change, we made a appointment with Saturn of Elk Grove. Having heard about the 6 cylinder engine, we had to take a peek at it while we were there. But lets get back to the service department at Saturn of Elk Grove. Having been spoiled by Saturn for a number of years we always believed Saturn was consistent all over in terms of prices, service, customer service and their service department. I have heard of just a small handful of dissatisfied customers, but they were few and far between. So later in this review, after completing considerable research I will divulge the reason you hear of an occasional unhappy customer at Saturn.

Service Center Saturn of Bloomington Minnesota
Drive in, no appointment for a oil change required. The minute your feet hit the ground a team is vacuuming your car. But wait, we're just here to ask a question, oh well, car is clean. Oil change prices are reasonable, completed quickly. You would always be treated to a freshly washed car. You don't have to ask them to wash your car, it's done, period. If the weather is lousy, rain, snow, and what ever else Minnesota can throw at you, a rain check would be issued to return later for the car wash. Buying a car at Saturn of Bloomington was a delight. Walk in, no pushy salespeople. If you want to drive a car, help yourself to a basket of keys, enjoy your test drive. Folksy, nice, non-pushy salespeople. We bought the same day because of the CUSTOMER SERVICE. Some times customer service will close a sale over the product itself.

Service Center at Saturn of Elk Grove
We parked our car, grabbed a few things out. We were looking forward to getting the dirt from twelve different states vacuumed out. We went into the service desk and were greeted by a very nice service representative. But that is when things went downhill. We were asked if we wanted the car washed, we replied yes, we were asked a few other questions. A service recall was tagged on the computer on our car so they inquired if we wanted to have the seat belts changed at this time, informing us it would take no more than fifteen minutes. We replied sure, no problem. The service order was being drawn up and we were quoted a very high price and a wait of one and a half hours. Say what! Forget it, we're out of here. Hold on, we asked. Explain all this to us. Why, first of all the hour and a half wait. Will the oil change takes about twenty minutes to a half an hour, then the car wash, and fifteen minutes for the seat belts. Forget the car wash. At this time we noticed not all Saturn dealers are alike. Intriguing our curiosity to look into this interesting phenomena. We did have the oil changed without the car wash. When we returned for the car it hadn't been vacuumed, much to our disappointment.

We were escorted to a waiting lounge which was very pleasant. A television set was provided as well as coffee, coco and tea. Not being the types to sit around, we had heard about the new 6 cylinder Saturn's and wanted it go take a look.

On the Sales Lot
As we walked out the door to the sales lot we were greeted by a cordial sales consultant by the name of Charlie Krencicki. It was obvious from the start he was knowledgeable about Saturn's, enjoyed his job and was proud of the product he sold. The car he showed us was a Silver Plum LS2, 2000 Saturn with a 4 speed automatic transmission with the list price of $20, 135.00. On this particular model the options included were a power sun roof $725., 6 way power seats $325., Rear spoiler including unique alloy wheels $325.00. I'm not real fond of plum, silver or other wise, so he directed us to a Gold model that was gorgeous. Other colors available; Blackberry, Bright White, Dark Blue, Dark Red, Green, Medium Gold, Silver, and Silver Plum. There were several upholstery colors and styles to choose from, ranging from blacks, grays to tans.

Lemon Law Index
As we were viewing and comparing vehicles we were taught a great deal about Saturn that we didn't know before. One of these was the ratings on the Lemon Law Index. The Lemon Law Index lists the Saturn as best and Ford as the worst. In between 2 through 7 were Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Hyundai, GM and Chrysler. To make this a little more understandable. Saturn sold 1 car with a lemon dispute out of 13,000 good cars. Ford sold 1 car with a lemon dispute out of 369 good cars. What a significant difference. There could be companies even worse off than Ford. Many companies don't offer Lemon law arbitration for example, Lexus, BMW and Toyota. Another noteworthy feature is the fact that Saturn has a 30 day return policy. If you don't like the car, return it! Most people that do occasionally return a Saturn during this 30 day period do so for a upgrade like a automatic transmission instead of the manual transmission.

What's it like?
The 3.0 liter, V6 engine gives you plenty spunk, no problem accelerating onto the freeway with this vehicle. The stiff body structure and the independent suspension gives you a ride comparable to European imports. The car corners extremely well and has the sound and feel of a sport's car. Seating capacity is 5. The back seat is a bit cramped for a tall person, but comfortable for a average sized family of five. The instrumentation has large, easy to read gages. Basically every chime and warning light you can think of! The panel itself is a handsome wood grain accent.

The LS2 Saturn's exhaust system has a full stainless steel dual exhaust outlets. Which would have had come in handy for me when I lived in Minnesota rusting out exhaust system's regularly because of the snow, ice and road chemicals.


Fuel mileage is average. The MPG fairy tale is city 20, highway 26. the medium range being, mpg 18-27 for city and 21-32 for highway. The fuel recommendations of Saturn is unleaded, 87 octane. When we bought our SL2 Saturn we we're warned not to use premium gas that the "cars brain" would grow accustomed to it.

A new feature on the new LS2 Saturn are Kevlar impregnated timing belt, long lived, strong and quiet, making the new Saturn much more reposed, Silent Running comes to mind.

Safety First
Saturn's safety features are impressive, side-impact protection, include steel beams and cross bracing inside the door frames. Also reinforced side pillars and underbody for additional support. Reduced force air bags included with safety belts and child restrains protect passengers from moderate to severe collisions.

Standard Equipment
Standard equipment (Lots of extra bells and whistles!)
Floor mats (No big deal you say? We paid $70 additional dollars for the floor mats on the SL2)
Air conditioning, in the L series the air conditioner includes a pollen and dust filter. Great for us allergy challenged people.
Engine Immobilizer - anti theft deterrent responds by disabling and preventing the car from starting for a period of 30 minutes.
Remote Keyless Entry. Door also locks themselves when you begin driving.
Computer diagnostics. A port under your dash is plugged into to be scanned to help identify and fix a problem.
Dent-resistant Polymer Panels - resists dents, nicks and dings. Keeps your car looking newer, longer. If your car is struck they can be replaced and removed easier.

Disadvantages
One disadvantage to the water base paint is that it is flexible to work with the Polymer Panels and is inclined to show dirt and imperfections on the darker colored paints.

One other disadvantage to the LS2 Saturn if you live in the mountains and snow is that there is no recommended chains or cables that can be used with the Firestone Affinity tires that come with the car.

Some of the features I was glad that were added to the LS2 is the pull locks instead of the old-styled locks our SL2 Saturn has and a bigger, safer located ashtray and lighter.

Optional Equippment
Many additional options are available. I won't mention them all, but a few are worth examination. One worth mentioning is the Leather Package ($1,420) that includes a seat heater on the driver's side. My rear end can stay cold for THAT many dollars! Anti lock breaks with traction control are a add on option for a cost for $695. Some insurance companies will give a discount on insurance rates for the anti lock brakes. One other little appointment I find amusing is the rear spoiler. It looks good no doubt, but does the $225. help with the aerodynamics? Maybe by a miniscule. The coefficient of drag with out the spoiler is .309 with the spoiler .315.

A Sprinkling of Dissatisfied Customers
When we returned home from the dealership I got on the phone, internet and talked with various people to find out why, when good service and consistency is suppose to be Saturn's backbone, why ISN"T IT?. Why DO YOU HEAR about a sprinkling of dissatisfied customers? It wasn't to difficult since I had the benefit of Epinions. I got the names of the dealerships of the dissatisfied customers. I compared them. I found out that Saturn has Saturned owned dealerships, owned by the Saturn corporation. I found that most of the dissatisfied people bought from a individually owned Saturn dealership. Saturn of Elk Grove that gave us the poor service is owned by a individual. Apparently Saturn is noticing this also. Many individually owned dealership that consistently over charges. and don't follow Saturn's guidelines is "bought out" by Saturn. My suggestion to Saturn, to provide good, consistent service you must keep all Saturn dealerships corporate owned.

If we hadn't been treated with the caliber of respect, and quality of service we had been with our salesperson Charlie Krencicki, I would have never gone back to Saturn of Elk Grove. Charlie Krencicki is Saturn of Elk Grove's saving grace. Because of his knowledge and friendliness we will most likely buy the LS2 from him. If we hadn't talked with a salesperson and had just sat in the lounge after the poor service we would have taken our business elsewhere.

Conclusion
I won't let our minor sour experience with Saturn of Elk Grove take away from a sensational new car. For a moderate price $21,410 we're going to continue to be mighty happy Saturn owners for many years to come when we buy our new Golden Saturn LS2 Sedan.