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My next door neighbor thought I was testing a Mustang. And, truth to tell, on the day the Saturn Ion Red Line coupe test car was delivered, I couldn't see it when I looked out the window. Where had the GM people had parked it? It turned out it was sitting right there in plain view; it just didn't look like a Saturn. I guess that's a compliment.

The Ion Red Line — whose name is taken, apparently, from the point of maximum power output of an engine — is Saturn's attempt to build a high-performance "boy racer" coupe. GM says it was "inspired by the 'tuner' cars popularized in southern California." If I knew anything about popular culture, I suppose I would know what they're talking about. Whatever. It debuted as an interim 2004 model.

It features a 2.0-liter, supercharged and intercooled version of the Ecotec four-cylinder engine that generates 205 horsepower (153 kw), and a heavy-duty five-speed manual transmission with short-throw shifter. GM claims the Red Line is capable of achieving an "estimated" 0-60 mph (0-to-97 km/h) acceleration time of 6.3 seconds

Other Red Line highlights include: beefier drive axle and equal-length drive shafts; high-flow, performance-tuned exhaust system; four-wheel disc brakes (with standard ABS); "racetrack-bred" suspension tuning, including revised springs, shocks, bushings and stabilizer bars; 17-inch, five-spoke forged alloy wheels; Continental 215/Z45-series performance tires; 10-mm lowered ride height; Unique front and rear fascias, rocker moldings and a family of available rear wings; and leather-trimmed Recaro sport front seats.

To demonstrate the ultimate performance capabilities of the Ion Red Line package, Saturn and GM Performance Division took their show to the Bonneville Salt Flats on October 17, 2003. There, a tricked-up Red Line established a new land speed mark record in the G/Blown Fuel Altered class at 212.684 mph (340.294 km/h). This eclipsed the previous record by almost 30 mph: 183.086 mph set in 2001 by a Honda Civic.

I am dubious about the quoted acceleration figure of 0-60 in 6.3 seconds. While I don't question GM's honesty, it is an estimated figure on their part, not a hard number. Also, I suspect it is a number they got under ideal conditions at the proving ground. In the real world, where undulating pavement scrubs off speed, where torque steer under intense acceleration poses all sorts of challenges, where a little thing like tire pressure can cost you dearly, and where even the weather can be your enemy, I would add a couple of seconds, at least. That still leaves you with a car that is pretty darn fast.

There has always been a market for inexpensive, high-performance boy racers, and Saturn is hardly the first manufacturer to build one. The Dodge Neon SRT-4 we recently tested is another example of this breed. And, on the theory that exciting driving experiences shouldn't be reserved solely for the wealthy, hooray for them and all the others like them.

Of course, there's a downside here. (There's always a downside, isn't there?) The old saw that you get what you pay for is just as applicable to the car business as it is elsewhere. Actually, the saying has it backwards. You don't always get what you pay for, but you rarely get what you DON'T pay for. And what you don't pay for with the Ion Red Line or the Neon SRT-4 is sophistication. You get racing seats, but without a lot of adjustments because those things cost money. So the seat either suits you (as in the Ion) or it doesn't (the Neon), but, either way, there's not much you can do about it. You get a taught suspension and good handling, but the ride is bone-crushing. Again, engineering great handling AND a smooth ride into the same car is expensive. Also, both the Neon and the Ion are front-drivers, which makes them cheaper to build and therefore more affordable, but carries with it all the torque steer issues that go with high-powered engines in that configuration. And so it goes.

Probably none of this matters to the target buyers of these cars: young guys with too many hormones and too little money. When I was young, I drove a Studebaker Avanti with lousy seats and an air conditioner that worked perfectly until the weather got hot. But I didn't care. These days I do, and boy racers can be a bit of a trial.

The sticker on our Ion Red Line test car was an even $21,320, including options and destination charges. The option list consisted of floor mats and Saturn's "advanced" sound system, which, for $290, should have been a little more advanced than it was. Anyway, it was adequate and the sound system on the Neon SRT-4 we recently tested wasn't much better. The overall price is roughly the same as the Neon's (surprise, surprise). The Neon has four doors, the Ion two, although the Ion comes standard with Saturn's nearly unique dual rear access doors. Call it a draw on that one. The Ion has by far the better seats, but the Neon has more raw horsepower (230 to the Ion's 205), even though torque steer negates much of the Neon advantage there. Still, I thought the Neon was more fun to drive. That's a subjective judgment, of course, and yours may differ.

One thing is clear. If you're in this market, you should consider all your options and the Ion Red Line is certainly worth a serious look. R&D