Saturn’s last attempt at creating a small car—the Ion—was an unmitigated disaster due in part to its cheap feeling plastics, lack of power and nonexistent styling. That’s why I was eager to experience just how the reinvented brand—its product lineup has been revamped from the ground up over the past two years—would reinvent the “American” small car with the introduction of the Astra, a carbon copy of the Belgian-built Opel Astra.

Though the Astra is clearly better than the Ion, it's a dubious honor as Saturn could have not done any worse than that car. And the Astra still falls short when it comes to meeting two characteristics most small car buyers crave: fun and efficiency. Frankly speaking, the Astra is not a driver’s car like some of its competitors—Volkswagen’s Rabbit and MINI’s Cooper—to name just two. Blame does not fall onto the Astra’s power plant, a 1.8L 4-cyl. producing 138 hp, as it stacks up pretty evenly with the competition. The fault results with the steering, which is ponderous and lacks feedback, while the suspension is equally culpable thanks to its numbness and a less than sporting nature—odd since the Astra I tested came equipped with the sport handling package (a $695 option). Though the car is European, it doesn’t feel like it’s been to the Atlantic coast much less across the Atlantic Ocean.

On the bright side, the Astra looks much better than the Ion thanks to its tailored styling and crisp lines. The bold face is accentuated by headlamps that flow neatly into the front quarter panels, wheel arches that accentuate the body’s aggressive nature, and a rear fascia design that lacks gimmickry while still providing a modern appearance through the crisp tail lamp and sculpted liftgate design.

Astra’s perceived interior quality is on par with its European competition, although it still lacks some visual appeal. The extensive use of matte finish materials with no brightwork makes everything look bland, while the layout of the center control stack controls are confusing—I kept turning the large center knob for the driver information center to turn up the volume on the radio, while discovering that the large center knob on the climate control system didn’t raise the speed of the fan, it changed the direction of the airflow. Needless to say, both of these were counterintuitive.

Yes, the Astra is leaps and bounds ahead of the Ion when it comes to providing Saturn with a credible small car, but it still has some kinks to work out before it can truly be a leader in the small car segment.

Vehicle as Driven:

Engine: 1.8-liter 4-cylinder

Horsepower: 138 @ 6,300 rpm

Torque: 125 lb-ft @ 3,800 rpm

Transmission: 4-speed automatic

Wheelbase: 102.9 in.

Overall length: 170.5 in.

Height: 57.4 in.

Width: 69 in.

Curb Weight: 2,921 lb.

Price as tested: $21,410