FIRST LOOK: 2008 Saturn VUE

[Flybrian]

GM @ LAIAS

2008 Saturn VUE Image Gallery

2008 Saturn VUE Press Release

EXTERIOR

DETAIL

[Flybrian]

INTERIOR

[LutzNutz]

I liked the black plastic trim on the Antara - any idea if there will be a trim level that offers that?

[CSpec]

I'm not too wild about the VUE. The proportions are odd (huge front overhang, tiny rear overhang), the cargo space doesn't look great, and the interior doesn't look very good either. Also, why are all the engines so weak?

[HarleyEarl]

It has more going for it then against it, but the dead-on profile looks awkward. And whats with all those disjointed tailights and sidemarkers..looks too busy and unnecessary. Oh, and it desparately needs a vinyl roof option.

[PurdueGuy]

YES! THEY PAINTED THE BUMPERS!

Overall, I think it looks great. The front looks a bit busy, though. Some nice details in there, like the side marker in the middle of the side vent thing (hope that vent is actually open, not just some stupid piece of plastic...)

[thedriver]

Exterior: looks too. . . foreign? More East than West unfortunately. Like a Hyundai or Kia.

Interior: very nice, retains the versatility while upgrading appearance.

Overall score: 5

[z28luvr01]

It's more substantial and and mature looking than the current Vue, and way more appealing than the Torrenox. ONenitpick - I think they should have went with taillights similar to what's in the Aura and Sky to keep the family resemblence.

[Croc]

And whats with all those disjointed tailights and sidemarkers..looks too busy and unnecessary.

221620[/snapback]

Except for what Harley mentioned above, I like it!! I think it looks better than the Antara, which was way more ho-hum than I would have liked. This looks somewhat sexy, and I don't find the profile odd at all.

[aaaantoine]

This doesn't appear nearly as elegant as the Aura and Sky do.

The interior design is alright, but not that great.

The exterior is also okay, but nothing remarkable.

[sciguy_0504]

I think the interior looks great. It transmits that European vibe without being too Euro and is perfect for what the new Saturn is going to be. The exterior is alright but I'm not feeling the RX-esque headlights and the rear bumper with the side markers/reflectors looks weird. The Hyundai Tuscon-like rear end just adds to it. The headlights are my biggest problem. They're too soft for me. The side vents and painted bumpers are nice touches, though.

[BB_454]

Tisk tisk, the door panel doesn’t line up properly with the dash, guess that signifies questionable build quality? Surprised nobody noticed that. I like it though, its better looking than the current one.

[FAPTurbo]

Yeah, that interior looks pretty good. Overall, it's better than the current Vue, and I think it'll make a good addition to the revamped Saturn.

[big blue]

I guess since the Antara has been out for awhile the wow factor has left me. Actually it was never really there, I think the new Vue looks a little too soft and doesn't really display the toughness that is expected of any SUV. The current refreshed VUE looks pretty decent inside and out still imo compared to the next-gen ver.

Rear end is a little too rounded off for my taste. I prefer a squared off rear end for better cargo carrying capacity and it also looks better. Right now the Vue reminds me of a Kia/Hyundai.

The interior is ok, glad they didn't use the standard GM radio/HVAC unit which we all feared when we saw those spy photos. At least they covered it up this time so it looks different.

Edited November 29, 2006 by big blue

[Intrepidation]

It's ok, don't care for the color choice, and in the interior changes aren't really for the better compared to the Antara. It also looks too Foreign...which it is (it's based on the Daewoo SUV badged as the Captiva right?). That being said, it's a step up over the current view in every way. I wanna see it in Red Line trim.

[siegen]

Exterior: looks too. . . foreign?  More East than West unfortunately. Like a Hyundai or Kia.

Interior: very nice, retains the versatility while upgrading appearance.

Overall score:  5

221648[/snapback]

The exterior does look more Japanese/korean. It looks like it could be a Hyundai. But I think it looks good, and considering the market for these vehicles is mostly women, I think it will do great. It's a very solid design other than the fake brake vents.

Edited November 29, 2006 by siegen

[american_revolution_2005]

This is alright but the colour is absolutely dreadful. If they showed it in black I may think better of it but it doesn't look good in that colour.

[C.H.U.D.]

Can't say I like how this one looks on the outside. The interior is another story, however.

[jbartley]

AWESOME!

thank-god that ugly black plastic trim didn't make it over.

really impressed by the interior, specially the wheel. love it! can't wait to see how the materials feel up and close.

I think the side vents make it look pretty upscale and sporty. like how the turn signal is integrated into them.

sweet wheels!

can't WAIT to see the redline version!

[Bimmer325]

I, for one, am really liking this.

They nailed every aspect of the design with the exception of the front-fascia, which appears a bit odd. The rear, on the other hand, is gorgeous. As for the interior, I'm impressed with attention to detail. The steering wheel is undeniably cool, the door-panels look like some of the best out of GM, and the leather-stitched gear selector looks great. Everything just looks extremely high-quality. Look at the grain on that steering wheel leather.

Overall, I'd say this will be the most attractive car in it's class. I'm having a tough time finding a competitor that looks better:

Certainly not these...

[jbartley]

haha this makes the RAV and CR-V look butt-fugly.

after looking at the Antara. I think the nav screen layout/radio controls. are waaay better on the Vue.

Now that they've shown this... who in their right mind would buy the current Vue?

this will sell like crack at a betty ford clinic.

Edited November 29, 2006 by jbartley

[Croc]

Sciguy: I think those are rear foglamps. +1 for Saturn.

[Northstar]

The exterior is color is really weird, look at a real-life pic from the auto show:

The interior plastics look very nicely grained and substantial, good job Saturn. I'm not sold on the front but the rest of the exterior looks ok. The rear looks somewhat foreign but not as much as the Antara because of the painted bumpers. However, looking a little foreign is not necessarily a bad thing, since foreign buyers are Saturn's target audience.

[Robert Hall]

Looks great, IMHO...a big improvement over the current model. I like the unusual blue and the interior.

[Bimmer325]

I'm getting a Laguna Seca Blue vibe from that exterior color. Awesome.

[pow]

It's not bad. There are touches of Koreaness and cheapness to it, but if the pricing doesn't change, I think it'll be very competitive.

[jbartley]

~250hp in a small vue, eeeexcelllent!

i can't wait to see the Red Line.

[regfootball]

one reason the vue is a success now is because its got a ton of usable space in a small footprint.

this redo goes against that. it looks smaller, and they have carved away at the trunk. Will this thing have ANY usable space?

the current view looks tough. this one looks wussy Asian. that may be ok, or its a huge backfire. It just looks to rounded, too soft. Maybe the women will like that.

the dash and stack look good...surprise considering how the corporate radio usually butchers GM's dashes..however, it doesn't look as good as it probably should have been to compete with the new Asian competition.

Price better not go up much.

What it says to me is, go buy a NOX/TORRENT or XL7 if space matters. Buy this if you want to be hip and cute.

new Escape-dud

RAV4 - will still sell like mad

CRV- the new Vue doesn't blow away the CRV

the Outlander comes off very well vs. the vue.

should be interesting.

[AM6_Cutlass]

Not feeling any love for this one. After they styling of the Aura, Sky and Outlook... this one just leaves me dissapointed. Looks like a patchwork of different designs that just don't look right.

[4gm]

Once again GM takes a fantastic concept vehicle, the Antara, and dulls the production version down to a point that few people who saw the concept will be excited over the production version. It's not bad. It's nice in a very inoffensive way but with the Antara I saw something that could be an out of the box, unquestionable homerun. This is not even close to that. Thank God for Saturn's stellar reputation.

[ocnblu]

Oh man. I am going to have to post a traitorous opinion on this after seeing the 2008 Escape in black and green at other sites' galleries. I prefer the 2008 Escape's exterior style, but I like the VUE's powertrains and interior better.

[aaaantoine]

I think for me there are three things that kill this design:

1. Bland grille / fascia. It looks like they pulled the Saturn emblem and chrome strip off an Aura and glued it onto a grille from a 97 Malibu. It's THAT bland to me. The Outlook is far more bold by contrast. I suppose their justification was that they didn't want it to look just like the Outlook.

2. Excessive cutlines. I guess the bumpers are designed so they can put in the grey inserts on base / off-road models. The mini panels under the tail lamps may as well be extensions of the fenders. Unless they're there to cut collision repair costs In that case, make them an extension of the bumper.

3. The center stack turns me off. I think it's a combination of design, materials, and photography. I'm not a fan of the top/bottom half division, or the overall shape. It's awkward to me.

Other than that, I find this vehicle to be quite attractive.

[Corsa]

This is much better than the current (VUE) embarrassment. I agree the design seems somewhat busy, but it's more attractive than the all new and not at all attractive CRV.

[DetroitNut90]

The radio/climate controls are much better on the Vue than the Antara. Glad to see GM didn't import them.

It's not my favorite Saturn (the Sky holds that honor). There are a few things that I find funky with it-mainly the short and round rear. But I like the interior and powertrain choices (HF 3.6L!) a lot.

[ecruben]

Why do the Red Line and XR seem to have the same HP rating? Is this a mistake? Shouldn't the Red Line have DI for something closer to 300hp a 'la 08 CTS base

[avro206]

very conventional looking...ho-hum at best. The curent one dared to be different for looks and I see tons around.

Perhaps it will grow on me

Whats the dimensions on this?

Doesn't look like the 112 wb theta. Is it still on Theta?

Edited November 30, 2006 by avro206

[Intrepidation]

I, for one, am really liking this. 

They nailed every aspect of the design with the exception of the front-fascia, which appears a bit odd.  The rear, on the other hand, is gorgeous.  As for the interior, I'm impressed with attention to detail.  The steering wheel is undeniably cool, the door-panels look like some of the best out of GM, and the leather-stitched gear selector looks great.  Everything just looks extremely high-quality.  Look at the grain on that steering wheel leather. 

Overall, I'd say this will be the most attractive car in it's class.  I'm having a tough time finding a competitor that looks better:

Certainly not these...

221726[/snapback]

I actually like the Rav 4...the CR-V is ugly as sin though.

[I hope GMRULES again]

Looks like a big Vibe especially from the back. Also looks a lot like a Kia or Hyundai.

[turbo200]

I find the CR-V appealing in a refined way, but it's a total chick car, through and through. This Saturn is butch enough to do well in this segment, and not ashame husbands who have to drive it. It's also refined looking, so I think it will do well for class.

The door panels are good for GM, and the attention to detail is all there. I love that the Vue will offer NAV, time to offer Aura with Nav too, and Astra while you're at it.

It's not a great design imo, but it's certainly likeable and a successful design for the segment it competes in which excepting the Torrent/Equinox is dominated by feminine traits.

[thegriffon]

very conventional looking...ho-hum at best. The curent one dared to be different for looks and I see tons around.

Perhaps it will grow on me

Whats the dimensions on this?

Doesn't look like the 112 wb theta. Is it still on Theta?

221974[/snapback]

It's the 106.6 wb Theta, same as the current Vue. Aside from 3 mm less headroom front and rear the dimensions are exactly the same as the Antara, inside and out.

[ketch]

I'm not too wild about the VUE. The proportions are odd (huge front overhang, tiny rear overhang), the cargo space doesn't look great, and the interior doesn't look very good either. Also, why are all the engines so weak?

221611[/snapback]

ya, I am with you. Keeping my 2003 AWD V6 awhile longer!

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I'm a little torn on this one...

It could look bad to me because of the HORRIBLE GM photos or puke-tacular color, but it seems that something else is amiss.

The front is a bit too busy, the rear a bit too disjointed and the proportions are WAY off. I'm also a little pissed about the carry-over wheel design. But, the details are cool and the interior looks good.

It's just too korean looking for me and therefore lacks the substance that the rest of the new Saturn line has... It's just too soft and a little too quirky for me. BUT, given the ugly assed new CR-V and bland-o-la Rav 4, I'm sure it'll do pretty good in this effeminate niche.

Overall, I think it's a very solid vehicle, but I wish it were more to round out the Saturn renaissance. Of course, in person it could be 10 times better.

I'm sure the media will kill it though while crowning the new "overbite queen" CR-V as truck of the year.

[bobo]

My initial impression is of bland Korean box, but on closer inspection, it has some nice detailing. I do not like the gratuitous fake side vents, though. The shape of the taillights remind me somewhat of the gen2 Olds Aurora's given the Korean treatment. The round rear markers/fogs look like an afterthought. The inside sets no new standards for style, but I find it agreeable.

[Dsuupr]

It's very Japanese / Girly like. Not bad, just not my style.

[Cory Wolfe]

Eh... Looks too Korean, too bland, and too outdated. It's not bad, but in comparision to the Aura, Sky, and even Outlook, it seriously lacks.

[Intrepidation]

Eh... Looks too Korean, too bland, and too outdated. It's not bad, but in comparision to the Aura, Sky, and even Outlook, it seriously lacks.

222092[/snapback]

Except in the interior department, where it seems to have a better design than the Aura (thanks Opel)

[jbartley]

Why do the Red Line and XR seem to have the same HP rating?  Is this a mistake? Shouldn't the Red Line have DI for something closer to 300hp a 'la 08 CTS base

221968[/snapback]

give it time. i doubt they'd do that, probably haven't finished rating it or finalizing the info.

[PurdueGuy]

Why do the Red Line and XR seem to have the same HP rating?  Is this a mistake? Shouldn't the Red Line have DI for something closer to 300hp a 'la 08 CTS base

221968[/snapback]

All past Vue Red Line models have just been the top V6 model with a body kit and altered suspension - dunno if they might do the same again. I'm sure the 3.6L+6spd will be very nice, but I'd like to see them make the Red Line model higher performance than the regular top model this time...

[HarleyEarl]

Women need cars too. And this is effeminate enough to appeal to them.

Happy motoring, girls.

[regfootball]

more i look at it, it looks kinda similar to the new fuel sucking RDX in some aspects....