Our test drive of the 2007 Saturn Sky Red Line led from the coast in Santa Barbara, up highway 101, then along the back roads of the Santa Inez Valley, famous for its wine, its scenery, and Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. On this route we were able to sample the car in a city environment, on the expressway, and on the twisty two-lane roads where the Sky Red Line is most at home. In most respects, we decided that the Sky Red Line is a capable, engaging, and entertaining sports car.

Let's get the criticism about the driving the car out of the way. The brake pedal feels too stiff, features a limited range of travel, and makes it hard to feed fine-tuned pressure to the discs. Also, if you choose the automatic transmission, you may be dismayed by the lack of a manual shifting mode. Otherwise, the Saturn Sky Red Line is one fun car to drive. Finally, the steering isn't as communicative as we might like, but we like what a BMW delivers and few vehicles on the road today manage to match the best from Bavaria.

Though the Sky Red Line's manual transmission could use added refinement and an extra gear, it's a much better piece of engineering than what we've experienced in the 2006 Pontiac Solstice. The addition of a torque tube gives the shift action more refinement and better feel while placing the mechanicals farther back in the chassis to improve isolation from the cabin. No, it's not on par with the industry-defining manual gearboxes installed in the Honda S2000 or Mazda MX-5, but if you've never driven one of those two sports cars, you won't know the difference.

Though we claim that road feel could be better, the steering is sharp and responsive, guiding the sticky 18-inch Goodyears around turns with precision. The suspension is taut but compliant enough that the driver and passenger can emerge from a day in the car without fused vertebrae. Body roll is virtually non-existent, and it takes some serious speed or a bone-headed move to break the tires loose, which means the Saturn is not quite as tossable in the hands of an experienced driver as the Honda or Mazda. But since most drivers aren't “experienced,” this is a good thing. StabiliTrak and OnStar are aboard to save the day or rescue your butt if the Sky does get too far out of shape.

The best thing about driving the Saturn Sky Red Line, however, is the engine. The twin-scroll turbocharger spins up quick, cutting lag times. And with torque peaking way down low at 2,000 rpm and stretching across the powerband to where maximum horsepower is made, the Sky Red Line feels like a rocket. The car just wants to go, go, go – and doesn't force a downshift or two to take advantage of passing opportunities or holes in traffic the way its key competitors do. The Mazda MX-5's measly 170 horsepower is no match for this car, and the high-revving 237-horsepower Honda S2000 is going to work much harder to generate the same kind of speed. Our clear preference is this turbocharged four-cylinder from GM, and when you consider that we averaged 22.3 mpg despite regular dips into the Ecotec's reserve of power, it's an even more impressive piece of work.