Saturn’s Ion Quad Coupe poses an interesting question: Do buyers of a small, two-door car really want the extra convenience of two more doors?
After a week behind the wheel of this automotive puzzle, my best answer is: maybe and maybe not.
Certainly having rear-hinged rear doors — once known as suicide doors — made the Ion coupe more flexible transportation.
Getting the kids in and out didn’t require moving up, and then resetting, the front seats. That was kind of nice.
And when I tossed in bags of soccer equipment or sacks of groceries, it was very easy to open the front door, open the rear door (you have to do the former before you can do the latter) and then toss.
But, and this is where I get confused, I kept thinking to myself: If I needed a four-door car and liked the Saturn Ion, why wouldn’t I just buy a Saturn Ion sedan.
To me, the appeal of a two-door is — and this isn’t rocket science here, folks — that it has two doors.
That makes it look and feel sportier, and it lets those around you know that you are unencumbered by the demands of daily life that require four doors.
Perhaps my logic gets sketchy, but I can almost understand it in a car like the new Mazda RX-8. In that case, you’re getting a very sporty car with a bit more function due to its added doors. But, and this is the crucial part, there is no four-door sedan-version of the RX-8. It’s an all or nothing proposition.
That’s not the case with the Ion.
Put another way, you can now get the four-door Ion sedan or the four-door Ion coupe. Doesn’t that seem redundant?
The Ion is Saturn’s replacement for its long-running S-Series models.
These were the first Saturns, produced at a time when it seemed that only making small cars made perfect sense for General Motors’ import-fighting, small-car division.
GM executives belatedly realized they needed more products to keep Saturn showrooms full of repeat customers, and that’s why the lineup now includes the midsize L300 sedan and wagon models and the Vue sport-utility models. A minivan, the Relay, arrives as a 2005 model.
The new-for-2003 Ion models retain some of Saturn’s quirky heritage, including their use of plastic body panels and their oddball interiors.
Power to the Quad Coupe comes from Saturn’s 2.2-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine. It’s an aluminum, DOHC, 16-valve engine that generates 140 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque.
It’s a big improvement over the four-cylinder used in the old S-Series, and it makes more horsepower than what’s found on Honda’s Civic coupe or Ford’s Focus. The tradeoff is that Saturn’s powerplant is a bit noisier.
Still, getting on a freeway was a pleasant experience in an Ion.
The exterior of the Ion Quad Coupe is attractive. Designers have done a good job of keeping the rear door hidden.
Overall, this front-wheel-drive car has a look that makes it seem more substantial than a regular compact model. That’s partly because the Ion is longer and taller than most of its rivals. It has a bigger trunk, too.
Buyer reaction to the Ion models has been mixed. Dealers sold 82,164 Ions through the end of August compared with 94,764 S-Series models in the first eight months of 2002. But things are improving as Ion sales this August topped those of the S-Series last August.
The Ion coupe’s main rivals include the Chevy Cavalier, Ford Focus ZX3, Honda Civic and Pontiac Sunfire and the new Toyota Scion xA.
Coming early in calendar 2004 will be what Saturn is calling the Red Line models of the Quad Coupe. They’ll include a supercharged engine (200 horsepower), a different five-speed manual transmission, a stiffer suspension, 17-inch wheels and tires, unique body panels and an optional rear spoiler.
