Red Sky At Night, Everyone’s Delight

by Joe Tralongo

The Red Line performance division creates high-performance variants of popular Saturn vehicles at a price well within reach of the average consumer. By giving its new Sky the Red Line treatment, Saturn has transformed its stylish but tepid roadster into a red-hot rocket.

A turbocharged and intercooled 2.0-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine motivates the Sky Red Line. The normally economy-minded Ecotec is updated to include gasoline-direct injection, a technology which greatly improves both horsepower and fuel economy while producing fewer emissions. Horsepower jumps from 177 in the base Sky to a whopping 260 in the Red Line. Torque is also way up, good news for those who enjoy jack rabbit starts, rapid passing maneuvers and tire-spinning teenage antics.

From a dead stop, the Sky Red Line shows a brief moment of sluggishness, but as soon as the high-pressure turbo spools up, it’s “Hold onto your pearls, Mary.” Saturn claims the Sky Red Line can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.5 seconds, placing it in the same category as some near-exotics costing three to four times as much. The car exhibits exceptional road manners with a tight chassis, minimal body roll and precise steering. Over rough pavement, however, the ride becomes uncomfortable harsh. The Sky tracks straight and true, and the hydraulic power steering responds quickly to sudden inputs. Although the five-speed manual feels a bit crude, the thick shift knob falls directly underhand and requires minimal effort when changing gears. Despite the big boost in horsepower, the Sky Red Line maintains its four-cylinder fuel economy with an EPA rating of 21 mpg city and 30 mpg highway.

The Sky Red Line shares the base Sky’s long list of impressive standard equipment such as coil-over Bilstein shocks, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes and most importantly, a near 50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution. Anyone who’s ever balanced a serving tray while weaving around a crowded restaurant floor knows the importance of this last attribute. To this mix the Sky Red Line adds polished aluminum dual exhaust outlets, polished 18-inch alloy wheels, a stiffer suspension, functional brake cooling vents incorporated into the fog light slots and a revised gear ratio for the Aisin five-speed manual transmission. Inside, the Sky’s standard bucket seats receive unique leather embroidering, while the instrument panel is upgraded to include a digital boost gauge and a 160-mph speedometer.

From behind the wheel, the Sky’s controls are easy to read and operate, even in bright sunlight. The upgraded audio system packs sufficient punch to overcome the roar of wind with the top down and the optional XM Satellite radio provides an almost unlimited variety of Diva-inspired music, although there is no gay and lesbian channel as found with the Sirius Satellite service. Seating is firm and supportive, but anyone taller than six-feet is going to experience a snug cockpit. As with most roadsters, the driver loses the ability to recline when the seat is pushed to the end of its travel, and a diminutive trunk dictates gay America learn the art of “packing light”, which may be a deal killer if this is one’s sole mode of transportation.

Although it is easy to fall in love with the Sky, the car comes standard with one major bone of contention: its maddeningly complex convertible top. The formula for the simplistic, one hand convertible top operation was set down two decades ago by Mazda’s Miata. Somehow, GM missed the lesson, giving us a manual top that requires no less than five steps to raise and lower. Step one: open the glove box and press a button to pop the rear clam shell cover. Step two: release the top latching mechanism. Step three: get out of the car raise the clam shell cover and lift the top’s flying buttress-like trailing edges. Step four: retract the soft top into its storage bay. Step five: close the rear lid by placing one’s hand at the center front edge and applying a liberal dose of muscle power. The Saturn folks tell us this was the only way to make the convertible top operate and still keep the look of the original show car. Even so, at a time when Mazda is introducing a power retractable hard top version of the MX-5 Miata (the top fits into the same space as the soft-top version and adds a mere $1,700 to the bottom line), me thinks the Saturn team needs to take another shot at simplifying the process.

With a Manufacture’s Suggested Retail Price of $27,895, the Sky Red Line cost about a grand more than the less powerful Mazda MX-5 Grand Touring. On the other hand, the Sky Red Line undercuts the Porsche Boxster by a cool $16,000 and the Nissan 350Z by nearly $7,000.

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