The 2003 Saturn Ion sedan received a 5 star rating for its performance in the the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) front crash test.

For testing frontal collisions, crash-test dummies are placed in driver and front passenger seats and secured with the vehicle's seat belts. Vehicles are crashed into a fixed barrier at 35 miles per hour (MPH), which is equivalent to a head-on collision between two similar size vehicles each moving at 35 MPH. Instruments measure the force of impact to each dummy's head, chest, and legs. The resulting information indicates a belted person's chances of incurring a serious injury in the event of a crash.

A five star rating indicates that there is a 10% or less chance of serious injury.

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Source: NHTSA