AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

NCTD Reviews 2008 Saturn Vue
Good but Overweight

The new Opel-based Saturn Vue is starting to make its way to dealerships, and the reviews are coming in. Like most recent General Motors products, the reviews are favorable, but there are some troubling trends. In particular, the XR AWD model they tested has a listed curb weight as 4325 lbs, about the same as a loaded Toyota Sienna minivan. (The Sienna has more room, more horsepower and gets better mileage. The Sienna is also available with all-wheel-drive, and even with 4 wheels doing the pushing should match the Vue in the performance and economy department.) The 2008 Vue is more than 500 lbs more than a similarly equipped 2007 Saturn Vue, and it's almost 600 lbs more than the larger 2007 Pontiac Torrent, which rides on stretched version of the Vue's previous platform. I haven't seen such weight creep since the Jeep Liberty replaced the old Cherokee.

The new Vue has GM's high feature 3.6 liter engine and the new 6-speed transmission, but weight and the new-for-2008 EPA rating formula keeps the MPG down to 16 city and 22 highway, and there probably will be no performance gains over the Honda V6 from the old model. The Vue competes directly with the Ford Edge, a vehicle with very similar dimensions, strengths and weaknesses.

Personally, I don't agree with the automakers' strategy to churn out hundreds of thousands of these crossovers and target them to the mainstream public. These crossovers don't really do anything that a 1000 lb. lighter sedan can do, and they get 20% worse mileage.

Finally take note: the previous Vue was built in Tennessee. The new one is built in Mexico, so the odds are it won't be on the plan-approved vehicles for driving to work.