When my husband introduced me to the Saturn it was the 1999 SL2. We have driven this car all over the United States; it performs like a dream and hasn’t ever given us many problems. I had to check out the 2001 SL2 Saturn!

The prices are still great. The base price for the 1.9L DOHC 4-cylinder manual transmission is $12,895. Our 1999 SL2 Saturn with all the options cost $13,330.00. Not bad! The 2001 SL2 Saturn with the automatic transmission is $13,755. All the goodies that come with the SL2 is air conditioning, engine-immobilizing theft-deterrent system, adjustable steering column, reclining bucket seats with headrests, rear window defogger, remote trunk and fuel door releases, oil-life monitor a trunk lid reflex panel, cup holders and storage pockets right in the door panels, adjustable lumbar support and so much more. I have never seen a vehicle outside of Saturn with so much standard equipment.

Now for the options you can add on to this little dream car! Option package 2 available for the SL2 is priced at $995. This package includes cruise control, power exterior mirrors, power windows with driver express down, power locks with remote keyless entry and Saturn’s security system. If your interested in just the security system that can be purchased separately for $370. This security system is a pretty good investment. It will lower your insurance and give you piece of mind. The security system includes power door locks with anti-lockout, remote keyless entry system with alarm activation, panic/alert mode, door alarm and power trunklid/liftgate release

Additional options you can add on is the rear spoiler that only increases the coolness factor to the car are priced at $225. The AM/FM stereo with CD and four coaxial speakers is optional at $290. The leather appointment package can be added to the SL2 Saturn if the Option package is chosen. The leather appointments include leather-trimmed seats, leather wrapped parking brake grip, gearshift knob, and leather wrapped steering wheel.

One more option that is now available for the S series and the L Series is the new safety feature, head curtain airbags. These side curtain air bags protect against head injuries in a side collision. The price of the head curtain air bags is $325. With the low impact driver and passenger airbags and the rigid steel structure and reinforced steel door beams, cross bracing and padding this makes for one safe little car. On top of all that Saturn has crumple zones which act like an accordion absorbing the energy from the crash. If you have never been to a Saturn dealership do so. They have a cut-a-way car on display in every dealership I have been in to show all the safety features. It is pretty amazing.

“The 1999 Saturn Sedans are the first cars to earn a double five star rating in the light passenger car category of the NHTSA’s new car assessment.” The NHTSA is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Saturn earned the five star rating in two areas, driver and passenger safety.


The engine is a 1.9-liter double over head cam, 16 valve. It seemed to have plenty of power but unfortunately I drove this car after I drove the V6 2001 L300 Saturn and was already pretty spoiled! The SL2 has a sport-tuned suspension; specific strut valve/spring tuning with 27.2-mm tension strut/stabilizer bar. The SL1 has the independent MacPherson strut, lateral-link and stabilizer bar. The SL2 cornered very nicely. We took the same curve as we did with the L300 and the SL2 held it’s own! The SL2 comes with a power assisted, ventilated front disc/rear drum system but the anti-lock braking system can be added on as an option. The price of the anti-lock braking system is $495.

As with every trip with the Saturn dealership we had a no hassle visit. When we needed help and got to the point of wanting to test drive and discuss purchasing Ina Ross from Saturn of Stockton CA was helpful, courteous and friendly.

The interior colors come in black, tan and gray. The exterior colors are black silver, blue, cranberry, gold, green, gray bronze, light silver and white. We currently own the green, which is beautiful. Having been an ice and snow driver for many years I wouldn’t dream of buying a white car. I want to be seen!

One of the things I respect about purchasing a Saturn is their money back guarantee. For the first 30 days or 1,500 you can return your car for ANY reason. If you return it you can request a refund or purchase another car. The 3-year/36,000 mile bumper to bumper new vehicle warranty is pretty nice too. Especially since they live up to it. We had one experience with out 1999 SL2, a leak in the canister purge solenoid. Saturn quickly and happily replaced it at no cost to us.

The Saturn can tow up to 1000 lbs. This is adequate for a small utility trailer or a small boat. We towed a utility trailer from Oklahoma across Colorado over the Rocky Mountains all the way to California. The trailer was quite heavy since we moved everything we couldn’t live without to California. With the little 4-cylinder engine it had a difficult time on the extreme mountain passes. We also ran across some pretty stiff winds blowing against us and we were running pretty slowly then.

The SL2 gets great fuel mileage. With our manual transmission we have gotten 42 miles per gallon on open highway several times. The EPA for the 2001 SL2 is 27/38 for the manual transmission and 25/35 for the automatic transmission. Not a great deal of difference!

All this and more! I would buy another SL2 in a second if it weren’t for my love affair with the new 2001 L300 Saturn. I would recommend the Saturn to anyone looking for a car. I wouldn’t want anyone’s teenager to drive anything but a Saturn. I have that much faith in the safety of the Saturn. Head down to a dealership and test drive a Saturn! You’ll be amazed!