Freelance writer review of the Sky

[TOY4TWO]

I asked the resident auto reviewer at http://ClubLexus.com to review the Sky. He is a freelance writer and I really like all the other cars he reviewed so I asked to see if he was interested in reviewing the Sky. Here it is:

http://clublexus.com/forums/showthre...=1#post2992365

[mbeardsley]

I guess I don't understand how he can complain about rollover safety. He certainly didn't roll one over on his test drive, and he didn't mention having any rollover comparison data (probably because there ISN'T any).

No one who has seen the Miata rollover test video can claim that Mazda's rollover protection is any better.

I found his review to be somewhat strange...he LIKED the interior control layout... and he DIDN'T like the engine !?

At least he seemed to put some effort into the review, I just found his opinions to be quite unfounded.

[plausibledenial]

I appreciate that he took both out and wrote a reasonable and fairly balanced review. Actually, given the forum name, I was surprised we didn't get more rattling from the 'luxury' mindset.

Anytime they rail on our cars we're going to bristle a little. We're invested in these machines, financially and emotionally. I did find the rollover part a little odd, especially given than it got a 5 star on the government safety ratings. I guess I'll try and keep it wheels down then.

[xmicro_Redline]

The review was OK, I disagree with some things, like the hood!

I think the reason the car does not need a roll bar is because of the hight of the doors and trunk in relation to seating position. The average person 5' 9" maybe, just has their head peeking above the door, you barely see shoulders.

As in Dengels Roll over, she was inside the cock pit under the car and safe. Outside her arm being pinched (and thank god unbroken) she walked away scott free.

A roll bar would have detracted from the humps wayyyy to much. What would have been cool is a roll bar in the headrest of the seat and a much stronger seatback!!

[1Man1Sky]

I agree with the cheap hinges of the hood and trunk. These are FLIMSY. That's why we have to close the trunk from the center, so as to not twist and torque on those weak hinges.

I found the roll over thing strange. Not sure how he can compare when there, at least that I've been able to find, is no comparison of hard data.

Interior is subjective.

Trunk size - yes, Miata's is bigger. But, its not like you can't fit anything back there in the Sky. Reviewers always forget to mention that and make it sound like there is NO room for anything other than the top.

He didn't like the "sound" of the engine??? Again, subjective. I like it.

Now, for the ragtop...here we go again. Are these people monkeys? Personally, I like that the top goes in the trunk. It gives the car a clean look. So what if you have to get out. That's like complaining that you have to get out to pump gas. Don't see this as a plus with the Miata at all.

Also, does anyone actually care that there isn't an analog temp gage??? I could care less. I can't believe he brought that up...and more than once.

One thing that I think would have been nice for the Sky is a little compartment on the hump. It doesn't have to be deep, but a little door to open to put gum, pens, tire gauge, or whatever would have been nice right there. And, I think it can be done.

[mbeardsley]

I have never understood the whole "you have to get out of the car to put down the top" problem.

I am never IN the car when it is time to put down the top. If the top is up, it's because the car is parked at work (or the mall, or whatever). When I approach the car, I hit the trunk release and lower the top.

The only time I would be IN the car and want to lower the top is if I was driving on a rainy day and it suddenly cleared up. This has certainly not happened to me yet.

[Nemesis]

I like how he groups all the good qualities togetherin one sentance, then elaborates on the bad points. He's not very thorough as he is quick to mention that there is no temp gauge, obviously did not scroll through the DIC. Later he said in the thread that there was no turbo guage. I am a real stickler for details, and have never owned an American car, only Japanese. The main differences I found were the plastic dash and the gaps in the occasional gap in panels wider then normal (not drastically so). Then engine did not seem as refined, and the top is slightly heavier then normal. But other then that, this is a well build british/japanese roadster. The top latching mech. is very nice, the steering feels tight just like my MR2 and Lexus GS300. The brakes are wonderful and the handling feels tight just like my father's 89 nissan 240sx. I actually like the handling on this car better then the handling on my 91 MR2 Turbo. The things that are often over looked in reviews by japanese car owners are the fact that when you put your foot down, it kills the japanese car. That when you look at it from outside the cockpit, it looks like a $50,000 exotic (don't tell me no one has come up to you and said look at the *fill in exotic car name*, cuz it happens to me all the time and never in any of my japanese cars). The engine may not seem as refined as a japanese engine, but it ise putting out 260hp/260ft lbs of torque and still gets 32mpg hwy. The stick shift feels just like my father's nissan 240SX, he seats leather is better then any japanese car I have ridden in.
he also mentioned that Saturn should make the panels plastic: no thanks, I'd like to stay alive when someone hits me. I am an auto adjuster and see deaths in old plastic panel cars. I'd have to say that I have looked at buying nothing but japanese cars (and the mini cooper s) for decades. This car kicks A and no one is standing up to say so. It's like they are so use to saying American cars stink, that to say the Sky RL kicks the foreign car's tail is a Tabu. As long as Saturn doesn't destroy this car with stupid looking tacked on items and poor re-designs, the foreign car makers better start practicing. I have driven the RL and would not trade it for my MR2, Lexus, 240SX, 300Z, 2002 corvette, or anything else I have driven. Every car has things that need fixing. The Miata looks horrible, needs a lot more power, and is missing a performance version. The S2000 has the initial power of an 83 civic, until you rev the Bah-Jesus out of it, and the looks are bland when next to the Sky RL. It is also over priced. Do I think the price is justified for a miata, no, it looks like a bar of soap on wheels, and needs more power. Do I think the price is justified for the S2000: reliability without question, but you are sacrificing looks, and the all important low-end torque. I could not stand it, if everytime someone wanted to race, I had to rev the junk out of my engine. Plus, if you don't get it just right, you get whooped by passengers cars off the line. This is the same reason magazines kept getting initial 0-60 times of 6.8sec times and kept doing redos. Who wants a car like that? I like the RL, a car that will pull respectably from a light without making a sound like youare squeezinf the last bit of reliability out of it. Which brings up another point: if youhave to wring it so hard to get the performance out of it, does it really have the reliability it claims? I think not. Just my educated review of the RL and it's competitors.

[Nemesis]

Sorry for allthe typos, I had to hurry because I am at work....

[RedlineBlue]

This is from another poster but it talks about rollover saftey

Saturn Roadster Gets 5-Stars in Rollover Test
February 13, 2007

The two-seat 2007 Saturn SKY earned five stars for rollover resistance in the latest round of tests performed by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. The car did good, but didn't fare as well in the agency's front and side-impact crash tests. The SKY scored a 4-star rating in both the front and side-impact crash tests. By comparison, the Mazda Miata MX-5 received 4-stars for the driver and 5-stars for the passenger in the frontal test when it was last tested in 2005. The Miata received three stars in the side-impact test.

A four-star rating in the frontal crash test indicates that there is an 11% to 20% chance of serious injury. In the side-impact tests, a four-start rating means a 6% to 10% chance of serious injury.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (http://www.safercar.gov)

Link to Saturn Sky at NHTSA http://www.safercar.gov/Index2.cfm?m...ecific+vehicle

[forkee]

Then you unsnap two different levers under the roof with a pull-out-and-twist motion.

huh? last time i checked, there was only one in the middle...

as for the plastic panels? i might actually agree with that. the metal outside shell doesn't provide most of the protection, its the crash bars and support beams underneath it that will shield you. plus the plastic doors are great at resisting dents. quality would suck though so nevermind haha

there is sort of rollover protection and its disguised in the windshield frame A pillars. In a lot of cars that have convertible versions, they just cut the top and make a convertible top, so the a pillar starts at the dash and ends at the top with no reinforcements really added. In the event of a rollover, these pillars would just break off. But on the sky, the A pillar continues in its direction all the way down to the frame of the car for added support. Nothing will protect you 100%, but it does give life saving extra time if you should need it.

and who cares about what it takes to put the top down. it gets more attention when people see the trunk open backwards

[KappaMan]

Rollover ratings are solely judged by the center of gravity height -NOT the amount of protection IF a car rolls over. Just about every convertible or small sports car has a 5 star rollover rating. It is an expression of the propensity of said vehicle to roll if involved in a crash.

[Polar Wind]

I think it is an overall positive review coming from a non-Sky owner. I think it is hard to get past how darn good looking this car is. I think it makes reviewers tend to over sell the negetive. I really do not get the top critisizem. What do you see when you look back after you release the Miata top with one hand? An exposed top that needs a boot. Can you install boot with one hand and where do you keep it....in the trunk? Can you put on the boot with out getting out?

Last week I was on a run with three Sols (one LS2 V8) We were parked in a row after lunch and a really neat 80 year old woman came by and said she had a Miata (06 I think). She wanted some pictures so she pulled her Miata up next to our group. (Sol folks took pics and I do not have yet) She was very enthusiastic and we had a hoot talking to her. But the car: inside, not impressed; top down without a boot, not impressed; trunk, yea there is one but I bet I can creatively pack as much or almost.

Anyway, to each his own but I love my car and would not trade for Miata or S2000 or Nissan 350Z. Oh yea and that low RPM torque push you back in the seat ain't bad either!

[XplosivePlushToy]

When did they start producing the VX Lightning?!

Eh, the article was alright, but there were a whole host of factual errors in it.