Safety

The car has standard dual front air bags, available ABS brakes and traction control and seatbelt pre-tensionners. The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) awarded the car 5 out of 5 stars (a perfect result) for a frontal impact and 3 out of 5 stars (an average result) for the front passengers and 4 out of 5 stars (a good result) for the rear passengers in lateral impacts. The IIHS has rated it "Average" in frontal impacts and rated it "Poor", even when equipped with side air bags in lateral impacts.

Conclusion

The Ion is a simple car that should be kept that way. It will not appeal to those that enjoy driving, to those that require a larger interior or even to those that are looking for a certain level of comfort. It is for these reasons that I think the Ion should be priced between $14,000 and $17,000 for those that need basic A-to-B transportation. Once the Ion reaches north of $23,000, it is outclassed by the majority of its competitors like the Mazda3 GT, the Honda Civic Si and, to a lesser extent, the Ford Focus.

The Ecotec engine was first made available in the unappreciated L-series  in 1999. Since then, there have been a few reports of head and head gasket failures over the last few years. If you plan on purchasing this car, also plan on picking up an extended warranty if you have the intention to keep the car past the period of the basic warranty.

Good stuff:
Punchy Ecotec
Good solid ride

Not so good stuff:
Too much bon marché plastic
Limited interior volume