C&D Review Ion RL

[cthomas]

Saturn Ion Red Line
Finally, an Ion with attitude.
http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=7370

Mostly positive review but short on new information.

"The folks at Saturn didn't give us much time behind the wheel—a few laps on a race course in Michigan, followed by a few miles on public roads—but our impressions of the Red Line are generally positive. Power delivery is sweet, with the lovely midrange response that's typical of boosted engines."

"As for public roads, the Red Line treatment strikes a civilized balance between supple and stiff. It seems likely to be a more pleasant setup to live with than the SRT-4. "

[Dale Seeley]

Originally Posted by cthomas

Saturn Ion Red Line


"As for public roads, the Red Line treatment strikes a civilized balance between supple and stiff. It seems likely to be a more pleasant setup to live with than the SRT-4. "

Good, it will make replacing the springs and struts that much easier to justify...

Anybody have a release date yet?

Dale

[matt]

Originally Posted by cthomas

"It seems likely to be a more pleasant setup to live with than the SRT-4. "

HAHA

Car and Driver is definately off on their numbers. I've seen official numbers from Saturn saying 1/4 mile times of 14.2. Pretty good guesstimates for not even taking the car on a track.

[ATL-SRT]

Originally Posted by matt

HAHA

Car and Driver is definately off on their numbers. I've seen official numbers from Saturn saying 1/4 mile times of 14.2. Pretty good guesstimates for not even taking the car on a track.

Zero to 60 mph: 6.2 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 16.0 sec
Standing 1/4-mile: 15.0 sec @ 96 mph

Yuck. Unless saturn is giving us wheel HP and TQ ratings AND underrating the car by about 20 HP and 50 LB/FT of TQ, I think those numbers are accurate. The only thing I see that would help it get a better 1/4 time (using stock SRT numbers as a basis for comparison) is that the curb weight is 2600 lb's, 250 lbs less than an unmaned SRT-4. Still for the money, this appears to be a very formidable lil rocket.

[matt]

I don't see how C&D can claim numbers without even track testing this car. How you get 1/4 miles times by driving on a road coarse and on public roads is beyond me. I have seen articles directly from saturn claiming low 14 second 1/4 miles from the Redline ION. Unless saturn totally destroys this car by power reduction, I think C&D and a lot of other people will be in for a real surprize.

[matt]

"The key is a serious horsepower bump, achieved by plumbing an Eaton helical Roots-type supercharger into the intake system of the 2.2-liter DOHC 16-valve Ecotec four."

Ummm..Wrong C&D! The Redline ION is going to have a 2.0 Ecotec. After reaing their article it's shows they didn't pay much to detail on this car.

[DarkApollo]

matt, that supprises you HOW?

[matt]

Originally Posted by DarkApollo

matt, that supprises you HOW?

It doesn't, Cock & Diver magazine is retarded.

[Dale Seeley]

Originally Posted by matt

It doesn't, Cock & Diver magazine is retarded.

I thought everyone in the Saturn world thought Car and Driver was the best magazine in the world when they devoted 4 pages to the turbo SC2 and then their TV show did that piece on the Redline landspeed runs....

Dale

[DarkApollo]

yeah, that still doesnt mean they have their facts right. or that they know how to hustle a car down the track.
--
the redline might not be a straight line performer, but it was tuned on the neuremburgring to be an great track car.