2004 Saturn VUE Consumer Reviews

I was quite intreagued with buying a Saturn due to the name that they have earned in reliability with all of their cars. That said I decided that after my accident, it was time to get a safe and reliable small SUV for the utility that I was going to need for renovating a house that I'm closing on. I was always a Mopar fan and have owned 2 Dodge Trucks('95 Dakota, 2000 Ram 1500), a Dodge Intrepid, an '03 Toyota Corolla (the most problem free car) and 2 VW Jettas (my '05 wagon saved my life in a high speed crash that left the car looking like a fatality accident, though I only had a few bruises; all my love to VW for making a very safe car). I was very much considering buying a Dakota Quad Cab though my wife being 4'11" could barely drive one. I worked out a great deal on an '04 Vue with 2.2L 4Cyl, 5sp man., 2wd @ 26K mi. and paid $1100 less than KBB. I was immeadiately impressed with the milage I was getting (27mpg average) though I'm really easy on the accelerator. I did find though that my milage dipped rather severely (17mpg average) as I was close to 3500 miles and an oil change. 97% of my commute is highway and it's quite noticable that way. Saturn says that it's mechanically sound and just the nature of the beast. Still, I suppose that it's fine milage for a vehicle of it's size. As I've read in a few reviews, while accelerating quickly or braking from highway speeds I experienced a great deal of shaking and in wet weather, it was frighteningly squirrelly. I was convinced that it was the Bridgestone tires and wide factory alloys that came with it so I went with a slightly narrower Goodyear with heavy tread and it seemed to smooth it a little. The one thing that changed the least was that when braking, I could cross a 1/2" division in the concrete while braking on a dry day and the ABS would sound off. Saturn said that this is perfectly normal. Overall interior space is quite nice as far as leg room though the back seat is quite narrow. With 2 toddler car seats, there is barely space to place the diaper bag between them. At 5'7" I find the layout quite well placed in the front though my right leg always rests against the center console - this is my peeve of my wife's Corolla. Shifting is quite smooth and the 2.2 is a good match though it seems the gearing is just a touch too high. It's accelerates quite well and has plenty of power to accomidate most loads. I am quite appreciative of the sway bars in preventing body roll and it drives very much like a sports car, especially when I'm the sole occupant. For an SUV the suspension is very stiff and I hear a lot of noise going over even small cracks in the pavement. The only counter to this is when it's well loaded down. Not a good "winter driver". I've had 12 years of New England winter driving experience and have had equal experience in front, rear, and 4 wheel driving in both my own vehicles and in the vehicles of friends. I consider myself a very safe and cautious driver when traction is reduced. I have never driven a scarrier vehicle in the snow. The traction control was the most frightening part due to the braking effect. As a front wheel broke loose slightly from the high grearing it was immeadiately slowed all too fast and control was immeadiately lost. As a result, I disabled it for the duration of the winter. I began the winter with the factory Bridgestones and after changing to one of the best winter tires on the market, there was no effect on this. The primary issue is the gearing and having to ride the clutch to maintian traction, even while driving in a straight line on rather well kept roads. I'm sure that the 6cyl, FWD drives a bit better due to the added weight and that the AWD model with 4cyl and manual would drive far better. Yes, definately, at LEAST get DIFFERENT TIRES. Bridgestone has a great reputation for tires but the factory installed units are bad news for this model of vehicle. Not a bad overall vehicle though I believe that this will be the first and last VUE I may well buy and I'm ready to sell with just 44k miles.