2008 Saturn Vue XR AWD

2008 Saturn Vue XR AWD - “Look share” is the awkward term used to describe the partnership between Saturn and GM’s European automaker Opel. The program ranges from the Aura, which uses the Opel Vectra platform fitted with Opel-like sheetmetal but screwed together in America, to the built-in-Belgium Saturn Astra that is a rebadged Opel Astra and will be sold at Saturn stores by the end of this year.

Largely developed in Germany by Opel, the 2008 Vue and the Opel Antara are almost indistinguishable. Better yet, the Vue and the Antara are supposed to drive identically. We haven’t driven an Antara, but it’s apparent from the first turn of the Vue’s wheel that the tuning of the strut-front and multilink-rear suspension was done by a student of German cars—in fact, chassis engineers at Opel. Saturn claims that all Vues, from the four-cylinder base model to our top-dog XR test vehicle seen here, will have the Opel-dictated chassis feel. The ride is supple without being soft. Wheel motions are quickly damped without any hint of abruptness, and the whole chassis works silently and without the cymbal-like crashes that accompany lesser suspensions—the Aura wishes it had this ride. Steering feel, a theoretical concept in the previous Vue, is, after a long wait, now a reality.

That sense of solidity comes courtesy of a modified version of the old Vue’s Theta platform. According to chief engineer Steve Valentine, only a few floor stampings carry over from the previous generation. The quiet solidity is no illusion as the ’08 Vue comes in at a staggering 4146 pounds, nearly 400 more pounds than the last Vue V-6 AWD we tested and about 500 pounds heavier than a principal competitor, the Toyota RAV4 V-6 with all-wheel drive. Making the weight gain even more startling is the fact that the new Vue is nearly the exact size as the outgoing Vue and rides on the same 106.6-inch wheelbase. That extra mass makes the Vue the fat kid of the small-SUV class, a class occupied and dominated by the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, and RAV4—all of which are hundreds of pounds lighter than the Vue.

The Vue might not have place settings for seven, but the rear-most seats in the RAV4 and Outlander are something you’d find at the kids’ table. Since it’s not any bigger on the outside than the previous Vue, it should come as no surprise that the ’08 Vue has about the same amount of space inside for five passengers.

More impressive than interior space are the design and the materials used. Aside from the center stack and the cheap-looking gauge faces, the Vue’s insides are identical to the Antara’s. Marked improvements include tightly grained low-gloss plastics and metallic and chrome trim; these clearly put the Vue ahead of the competition. Our test vehicle’s optional leather interior wouldn’t look out of place in a Saab, and come to think of it, the tilt steering wheel may be from Saab’s shelves. We wish that wheel could telescope—it sits too far away for many drivers—but the rest of the driving position, from the six-way power driver’s seat to the expansive view out the front windshield, is excellent.

Running a close second to the all-important purse storage is safety equipment. Standard on all Vues, from the $21,395 base model on up, is a full complement of front, side, and curtain airbags, as well as stability control with a trailer-controlling algorithm, traction control, and anti-lock brakes.