New Car Review of the 2005 Saturn Vue Compact Sport Utility Vehicle

Description: Compact Sport Utility Vehicle
Base MSRP Range: $17,055 - $24,315
Invoice Price Range: $15,915 - $22,667
Where built: USA

Saturn's compact-class SUV promotes a smooth ride quality in a shapely package containing two rows of seats for passengers and a rear bed for cargo. The wagon reveals familiar proportions of a sport-ute with the tall stance and boxy cabin but also clean lines of an industrial design with simple shapes.

Crafted with a unit-body structure typically used for cars rather than trucks, Vue blends the best features of a traditional SUV -- the tall stance and a spacious cabin with flexible seating and cargo capacity -- with favored traits of a tightly constructed sedan, like the easy-of-entry to comfortable seats and an easy-to-drive personality.

For locomotion, the wagon offers the Ecotec 4-cylinder engine or a powerful V6 option. The dual-cam four achieves 143-hp, while the advanced 3.5-liter V6 (built by Honda) runs to 250-hp. Entry point occurs with Vue in front-wheel-drive (FWD) format toting the 4-cylinder engine and a manual 5-speed Getrag transmission or optional new 4-speed Hydra-Matic automatic. Next comes Vue with the Honda V6 and a 5-speed automatic with grade logic control for either FWD or all-wheel-drive (AWD) traction.

New paints shades like Dark Dragonfly Teal show up on Vue's 2005 color palette.