Old Highlander and Pilot Outshine New Rival SUVs in Consumer Reports Test

Consumer Reports, one of the most respected vehicle testers in North America, just wrapped up a comprehensive study of 18 midsize SUVs, placing Toyota's Highlander Hybrid (outgoing 2007 model)

and Honda's ageing Pilot on top, with Saturn's new Outlook in third place, the latter showing major improvements by General Motors in placing higher than a large number of imported competition.

The Outlook posted a "Very Good" overall score, and when put up against larger, truck-based SUVs, something the magazine did due to its large, accommodating 8-occupant interior, it came in second behind Mercedes-Benz much pricier GL450.

"The Saturn Outlook is the most competitive volume model from General Motors in years," commented David Champion, Senior Director of Consumer Reports' Auto Test Center.

Other SUVs with “Very Good” scores were Hyundai's much lauded Veracruz, Mazda's Ford Edge-based CX-9, Chrysler's ageing Pacifica and the new Ford Edge. The Outlook still ranked higher than all these rivals, with the Edge least favorable.

Consumer Reports wouldn't go so far to make recommendations for any of the new vehicles, because all are too new to gather dependable reliability data, said the magazine, while the Pacifica has not been reliable enough to garner a recommendation. The popular consumer advocate magazine only recommends vehicles that have achieved high marks in testing, have at the very least average predicted reliability based on its very thorough surveys of Consumer