2005 Saturn Vue Review

Specifications

An SUV to be Reckoned With

After driving Saturns 2002 VUE when it debuted in the fall of 2001, I was left with mixed emotions. While I liked the crossover sport utilitys styling, packaging and performance, I was put off by less than ideal interior quality, poor exterior panel fit and questionable paint finish.

Now, three years later, I still like the VUEs exterior design, especially when upgraded with the new Red Line performance package. The deep front fascia and aggressive lip spoiler looks racy, highlighted by what must be the largest air inlet in its class. The fenders are beefy too, melding into solid looking rocker extensions that give the little SUV a rooted-to-the-road visual presence.

The rear fascia has been modified to look like a diffuser, and incorporates a thick chrome exhaust tip on the drivers side. Saturn has painted the mirrors, plus door and liftgate handles to match the body, in my test vehicles case a bright hue dubbed Electric Lime. If youre not quite so outgoing, Black Onyx or Silver Nickel might be preferable.

Adding to the sporty styling cues are 7-spoke, 18-inch alloy rims on P245/50R18 Bridgestone Turanza performance touring tires. They grip extremely well, aiding the upgraded sport-tuned suspension system. The body is lowered too, by just over an inch, while the power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering has been tuned for more immediate response to input.

I noticed a marked handling improvement on smooth surfaces, which were hard to come by in Quebec, Canadas rural highway system - where Saturn debuted the new Red Line series. Truly, most of the roads throughout la Belle Province are beyond repair, or at the very least have been repaired so many times that any original pavement would be impossible to find. This made it difficult for the VUE Red Lines rigid suspension to find contact with the road, bouncing us around rather harshly and upsetting the SUVs balance.

It might have felt more stable if the seats were capable of holding driver and front passenger in place even remotely, but they are soft with very little side bolstering, about as sporting in nature as an average midsize domestic sedan - i.e. not at all. This left me and my copilot hanging onto the dash, door panel grips or anywhere else close at hand while negotiating high-speed corners.

Unfortunately the poor road surfaces also played havoc with other aspects of Saturns hotrod SUV, causing rattles and rumbles that otherwise wouldnt have been heard. One particular squeak in the dash drove me nuts. Id press on the spot where it sounded like it was coming from and it would stop, for about 20 seconds, and then start up again in such an annoying way.

I cant say the plastics quality inside the VUE Red Line was particularly top-grade either, maybe one of the reasons the dash squeaked. The leather-wrapped steering wheel (other than the awkward looking hub) and shift knob are nice, as is the CD audio system with MP3 compatibility. I liked the backlit instruments too, along with their white faces and chrome rings - a very nice touch.

One of the reasons the VUE was shaking was from liberal use of its Honda-derived 250 horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine with 242 lb-ft of torque, a truly refined powerplant that transforms Saturns SUV from domestic wanna-be to import fighter. It gives the VUE a significant dose of forward thrust, optimized by a really slick 5-speed automatic transmission with grade logic control. Unfortunately no sequential manual mode is offered, which is too bad as the inability to hold a gear through the corners impedes the sport utilitys sporting pretense. The transmission runs out to either front-wheel drive or optional all-wheel drive.

Saturn compliments all the VUE Red Lines go-power with a decent level of standard stopping aids, including four-wheel discs and ABS, front seatbelt pretensioners and dual-stage airbags.

At the end of my test I had once again felt mixed emotions. I like the styling more than before, and love the power the 3.5-liter engine delivers. The transmission was a letdown, as was its interior build quality and lack of support in the seats. My advice to Saturn is to make certain features, such as sport seats with firm support and more aggressive bolsters, are made mandatory to achieve Red Line status. In comparison the ION Quad Coupe Red Lines front seats are excellent for sport driving.

The ION version also sports a unique 6-speed manual transmission, something that could be available from Honda for 3.5-liter V6. Currently the only thing different from a regular V6-powered VUE is distinctive paint, the extensive styling upgrades and suspension improvements - including the wheel and tire package. While it doesnt need any more power, it needs more to separate the Red Line experience from Saturns regular SUV.

But for those wanting the style of a custom street machine combined with a powerful drivetrain, the VUE Red Line is ideal. Its far from perfect, but is still an SUV to be reckoned with.