Orlando Sentinel's view

Let’s get this on the record first: The 2007 Saturn Sky is a knockout. Though it shares a platform and a powertrain with the Pontiac Solstice — also a knockout — General Motors designers made the two roadsters look quite different but equally appealing.

During a 1,100-mile weekend round trip, people asked about the car at most every stop. And the majority were impressed with the price — slightly more than $23,000 to start, and loaded, as the test Sky was, $26,074.

This under-$25,000 sports car market has been the near-exclusive domain of the Mazda Miata since 1990. Now, with the Sky and Solstice, there are two legitimate challengers. And although the price of the pair is appealing, good luck finding them for list price — that’s how hot they are.

It’s easy to praise the styling of the Sky.

The rest of the car? Well, not quite as easy.

The engine is the GM corporate 2.4-liter, 177-horsepower four-cylinder. The standard transmission is a five-speed manual, and a five-speed automatic, which the test car had, is an $850 option. The manual Sky has an EPA rating of 20 mpg in the city, 28 mpg on the highway. The automatic is rated at 22 mpg city, 26 mpg highway. We averaged 24.1 mpg in mostly highway driving.

The engine is powerful enough, but it’s slightly rough and quite loud, and not in a sporting way. Under acceleration, the exhaust note sounded rather agricultural, like my father’s old Chevrolet Cavalier when there was a hole in the muffler. I recall the Solstice, which I tested with a manual transmission, sounded better. The automatic transmission was smooth, but reluctant to downshift. If you want performance, you’ll want to wait for the Sky Red Line, which will be offered with a 2.0-liter, 260-horsepower four-cylinder late this year. But the current 2.4-liter engine gets the job done.

Handling is very good, with standard 18-inch tires and wheels, and a firm suspension that offers a decent ride on smooth asphalt. But on rough concrete freeways, it’s jarring, and that sort of pavement accentuates tire noise. At highway speeds, even on the smoothest pavement, you’ll have to crank the stereo up to hear it.

Even after more than 1,100 miles in slightly more than 24 hours, the leather-trimmed bucket seats were still comfortable. The rest of the interior was not quite as endearing. Storage space is at a minimum, consisting of mostly unusable little trays at the bottom of the door sills, a small glove compartment, and a hard-to-reach compartment between the seats at the rear of the interior. Instruments and controls are fine, but viewing the gas gauge in the daytime is like sighting through a gun scope. At night, when it is lighted, it’s fine. To the car’s credit, even though the Sky is small, we never really felt cramped.

The trunk space, though, is downright amusing. Saturn claims 5.4 cubic feet of room, and there probably is, but it’s a half-foot there, a half-foot here. Even the smallest roll-on airport suitcase won’t fit. Having had a Solstice, we knew that for our trip, we needed to pack several small, soft-sided bags. And this is with no spare tire — instead, Saturn gives you a can of sealer and a little electric air compressor.

Drop the top — open the trunk, flip a lever at the windshield, lower the top into the trunk and close it — and you lose 3 of those 5.4 cubic feet of trunk space.

But really, is anyone buying a Saturn Sky for luggage space and over-the-road capability? This is a car that loves top-down Sunday cruising and handles well-enough to make winding roads a lot of fun.

A little more sophistication, though, and the Sky would be even more fun. The air conditioning moaned and groaned, the flip-down panel over the gas cap didn’t close quite right, and there was a little body shake when you drove over rough railroad tracks. These are things you don’t get in a Miata, but Mazda has been building those for 17 years.

Give General Motors another year, and mechanically, the Solstice and Sky should be as good as they look.

And man, they look great.

Sentinel Automotive Editor Steven Cole Smithcan be reached at 407-420-5699 or scsmith@orlandosentinel.com.