Just In: Saturn Vue XR

We recently bought a 2008 Saturn Vue XR (available to online subscribers) to add to the CR test fleet. The old Vue was one of those cars where if we followed the old saying "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all," then we'd have a mostly blank page. Sure, the Honda-sourced V6 was a great engine and there was lots of rear seat room, but there were simply too many negatives.

However, with this new model, it seems as if many of those negatives have been addressed:

• Like the Saturn Aura, the Vue has a great-looking dashboard (although we wish they had removed all of the protective plastic sheeting from the A-pillars on our car). Overall, it is a big improvement over the shabby interior of the previous version.
• First impressions are that steering feel is much improved from the old Vue's electric steering.
• The modern 3.6-liter V6, which works well in a lot of other GM products, is optional here, too.
• Standard stability control is a welcome and overdue feature.
• The slab-sided plastic-body-paneled exterior is gone, replaced with something much more stylish. However, there is now a sloping rear window that cuts into cargo volume.

Initial complaints so far are minor. The seats seem overly soft and short-cushioned, and we're surprised that there is no trip computer or telescoping steering wheel (especially considering the $27,970 sticker, which seems like a lot, given that our Vue lacks leather or a sunroof). And we'll see how this modern V6 and six-speed automatic manages for fuel economy vs. the Vue's hefty 4,000-pound curb weight.

To me, the Vue's new exterior looks a lot like various Hyundai and Kia SUVs. This isn't a big surprise, given this Vue's global origins. Although the enthusiast magazines have been harping on the Opel connection--this Vue is basically identical to the Opel Antara that will be sold in Europe--don't think that the Vue was designed by white-coated engineers toiling away in a laboratory/racetrack deep in the Black Forest. The Vue starts out with an updated version of GM's Theta platform, the one that's under the Chevrolet Equinox/Pontiac Torrent, with a lot of design and engineering work from Daewoo, GM's Korean subsidiary. And it's all bolted together in Mexico.

In the end, it doesn't matter if the Vue was designed in Detroit or Duesseldorf, but rather how well that design functions on the road. We'll let you know how it performs when we test our Vue up against another updated high-selling domestic SUV, the Ford Escape, later this year.

--Tom Mutchler

Comments

[Ann D'Onofrio]

I just purchased a 2007 Vue instead of the 2008 because of the sloped window in the back. I felt, just as you mentioned, that it took away from the viewing area. It seems that several of the 2008 SUV crossovers have that slope. My question to you as an authority in cars is why hasn't the Saturn/GM company made the front seats longer after years of complaints? More importantly, why the manual lever for the back of the driver's seat when they have the powered positions for the bottom? With the short seat I'm constantly trying to get the back to a position that's comfortable but because it's a lever it either goes back too far or not far enough. Oh, and what's with the lumbar "wheel"? I haven't found it useful at all.Why do they keep doing things half way??

[steve]

In regards to the sticker price being a little high, I think you guys need to take in to consideration the fact that the vehicle comes with more standard equiptment than most of the competitors. ie. the four way five star crash safety rating from the national highway traffic safety association, six standard air bags, one year of ON STAR with the safe and sound plan, stabilitrak electronic stability control, traction control, standard power windows,locks, mirrors, cruise control, abs, four wheel ventilated disc brakes, air conditioning, automatic lights, collapsable pedal assembly, so on and so on. Just had to share my thoughts on that one as I felt that just because it doesn't have a telescopic steering wheel doesn't mean that the value of the vehicle isn't valid.