Saturn has made a big improvement over its corporate twin, the Pontiac Solstice, with regard to the five-speed manual transmission. Engineers have added something called a torque tube, which puts the mechanicals further back in the car while refining the shift action. Thus, the clunky and noisy shifting about which we complained with the Solstice is almost gone from the 2007 Saturn Sky. The standard four-cylinder engine, however, isn't the most refined piece of work. The Sky is quick – not fast – and delivered unimpressive fuel economy during our test driving. We average 20.3 mpg in the Sky. A Mazda MX-5 Miata that we drove for a week delivered 24.4 mpg and lots more powertrain refinement.
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