Drove the Mother in Law's 04 Saturn Vue last weekend

[gmcbob]

Yeah, super exciting topic, right?

We all went out to brunch last Sunday and she wanted me to drive so I didn't want to pass up the chance (I had not driven it yet). It's an 04 Vue, with about 20k miles on it, that she purchased back in 06 upon our suggestion (yes, she only drives about 2 miles to work each day). I have to say I didn't think it drove that well. It felt slow, the CVT tranny was slightly annoying and anemic and the brakes felt really bad. I actually liked my 98 Jimmy better - which I wasn't expecting at all. I haven't driven a new 2008 or 09 Vue yet, but I hope for GM's sake that it drives better than her 2004.

It's interesting, because the old Vue and the new Vue seem to be pretty popular. I wonder if she just needs to have the dealer give it a good once over?

[gm4life]

A Torrent or Equinox on the Theta with the 3.4 and 5spd. auto drive much better trust me. (After all I own one) I have driven the old Vue and didn't like that much. There is a huge difference between the old and new I did drive the new Vue that drove well too.

Edited August 29, 2008 by gm4life

[Oracle of Delphi]

A Torrent or Equinox on the Theta with the 3.4 and 5spd. auto drive much better trust me. (After all I own one) I have driven the old Vue and didn't like that much. There is a huge difference between the old and new I did drive the new Vue that drove well too.

I agree, we had a 2002 Vue, couldn't wait to get rid of it. The 2005 Nox is a 100% better than that Vue ever was.

[daves87rs]

I agree, we had a 2002 Vue, couldn't wait to get rid of it. The 2005 Nox is a 100% better than that Vue ever was.

4 or 6?

[Oracle of Delphi]

4 or 6?

6

[daves87rs]

6

Ah, I drove the 4..didn't like it. How bad is the 6?

[2005 EquinoxLS]

I like my 2005 Equinox well enough. It has done a lot of things you wouldnt do with a car. Wish it got the fuel mileage promised by the window sticker but I guess its a small price to pay for what it can do. It think it accelerates very well. But I think new time I want better fuel mileage so I may look at a HHR or Impala. That may come in March when I give it back or I may drive the 2 old ones until late fall 2009 then look for something.

[loki]

2005 Equinox ...or maybe wait for the 2.3L equinox '10?

people across my street have a old v6 one , i think. looks pretty good.

[enzl]

I've had extensive seat time in both a nox and Vue.

The Vue was a rattletrap--a sub-40k mi. unit that sounded like sh!t and had a fisher-price interior. The 'nox was marginally better--but still not close to good. The electric steering for the first few years was video game bad, IMO.

[saturnd00d]

Go test-drive the new vue - night and day difference. The slight decrease in mileage was more than worth it for me.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Go test-drive the new vue - night and day difference. The slight decrease in mileage was more than worth it for me.

No thanks, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

[saturnd00d]

If, by that remark, you're implying the new vue rides the same or worse than the old one, you've just proved that you don't know anything about the two vehicles. Since I've been a saturn enthusiast almost from introduction, I know quite a bit about all of its products, and I frequently go to the dealerships for test-drives just to calm my peaking curiosity. First gen vues 02-07 are nothing like the new ones, they ride harsher, they are prone to alot of road noise, interior squeeks and rattles, frontend noises of all kinds, and had a generally unrefined feel. The Equinox and Torrent didn't improve much on that either.

The new vues are above and beyond the old ones in all categories but two...total interior volume, and fuel economy. To be honest, I don't quite believe the total interior volume as I can fit just about anything in my new vue as my uncle fits in his '05. Fuel economy does suffer slightly. By slightly, I am talking 2-3 MPG (comparing the old 2.2L ecotec in the old vs. the 2.4L ecotec in mine, both with 4 speed autos, and excluding the earlier vues with CVTs.

The new vue, in my eyes, blows the old one (and 'Nox/Torrent) out of the water. It handles better, it's quieter, it has a more refined feel to it, materials are top notch, fit and finish is excellent...

The Theta 1 siblings are great values for those on a budget these days, that need basic compact SUV's, but for those looking for refinement, the new vue is hands down quite the car for the money.

I could go on, but why bother?

Edited August 30, 2008 by saturnd00d

[Oracle of Delphi]

I don't buy Mexican products. Canadian yes, Mexican no.

Edited August 30, 2008 by Pontiac Custom-S

[saturnd00d]

I didn't ask you to buy mexican, I said to test-drive one to see the night-and-day difference.

If you don't like your vehicles being built in Mexico, you might become and Toyota or Honda fanboy soon enough, seems like GM wants to move alot of it's assembly down there.

The Astra is another example. It will soon be built in Mexico as well, to shave importing costs from Europe.

Edited August 30, 2008 by saturnd00d

[Oracle of Delphi]

If you don't like your vehicles being built in Mexico, you might become and Toyota or Honda fanboy soon enough, seems like GM wants to move alot of it's assembly down there.

Highly doubtful I will ever become a Toyota or Honda Fanboy, since I am a very Loyal GME employee. Also it's been many years since I was ever considered any type of boy.

[daves87rs]

If, by that remark, you're implying the new vue rides the same or worse than the old one, you've just proved that you don't know anything about the two vehicles. Since I've been a saturn enthusiast almost from introduction, I know quite a bit about all of its products, and I frequently go to the dealerships for test-drives just to calm my peaking curiosity. First gen vues 02-07 are nothing like the new ones, they ride harsher, they are prone to alot of road noise, interior squeeks and rattles, frontend noises of all kinds, and had a generally unrefined feel. The Equinox and Torrent didn't improve much on that either.

The new vues are above and beyond the old ones in all categories but two...total interior volume, and fuel economy. To be honest, I don't quite believe the total interior volume as I can fit just about anything in my new vue as my uncle fits in his '05. Fuel economy does suffer slightly. By slightly, I am talking 2-3 MPG (comparing the old 2.2L ecotec in the old vs. the 2.4L ecotec in mine, both with 4 speed autos, and excluding the earlier vues with CVTs.

The new vue, in my eyes, blows the old one (and 'Nox/Torrent) out of the water. It handles better, it's quieter, it has a more refined feel to it, materials are top notch, fit and finish is excellent...

The Theta 1 siblings are great values for those on a budget these days, that need basic compact SUV's, but for those looking for refinement, the new vue is hands down quite the car for the money.

I could go on, but why bother?

You might want to take a Nox and a Vue on a abusive test drive ( I did)

Old school or not, The Nox makes the new Vue wimpy in conparison....

We were considing a Vue for the wife, but after driving both the 4 and the 6 Vue, I'm not impressed...The 6sp toll so long to shfit on the freeway I almost was rear ended by a Neon.....

I need a car with balls on the freeway...So I choose NOX.

[regfootball]

that taurus x in my garage sure looks like a nice alternative to a nox or a vue as well. effing thing handles close to a sedan, 263hp 6 speed prob gets better mpg than the vue also.

i like the equinox and the vue, the eq badly needs an update and it seems like GM screwed the pooch on what they had going with the Vue. If i were Gm i would dump this captiva or at least trim 500 pounds off it.

Edited August 30, 2008 by regfootball

[ocnblu]

Every time I've had the opportunity to drive a VUE, it's been the same... one big, rolling, creaky plastic crapmobile. I haven't driven the new one yet, but the old ones were annoyingly rattly.

[GMTruckGuy74]

I've had extensive seat time in both a nox and Vue.

The Vue was a rattletrap--a sub-40k mi. unit that sounded like sh!t and had a fisher-price interior. The 'nox was marginally better--but still not close to good. The electric steering for the first few years was video game bad, IMO.

I had the opportunity to drive my mom's 2005 VUE AWD V6 last week - 56k on the odo and too many squeeks and rattles for my tastes. I tried to convince her at the time to go for the Equinox, but the deal on the VUE was hard to beat (she had a coupon from QVC for a $1,000 cash rebate PLUS a free 5 year/60k bumper-to-bumper warranty, plus the Saturn dealer gave more for her trade and lowered the price of the VUE). It's beenpaid off since February, and my dad's G6 has two more years left until it's paid off, so she'll continue to drive it regardless as they don't want car payments. As much as a rattletrap it is, she hasn't complained once about it to me.

[saturnd00d]

Old school or not, The Nox makes the new Vue wimpy in conparison....

We were considing a Vue for the wife, but after driving both the 4 and the 6 Vue, I'm not impressed...The 6sp toll so long to shfit on the freeway I almost was rear ended by a Neon.....

I need a car with balls on the freeway...So I choose NOX.

I agree about the comment regarding the 4. I own the 4 in my Vue and it's by no means going to win any drag racing contest. Obviously not what I bought it for anyway. As for the 6, you must have some pretty high standards there. Unless you're talking about getting a 'nox sport model, the 185hp 3.4 is not ballsy to say the least. Quick I guess, but not ballsy. I doubt highly it would overtake the 3.6 in the Vue.

Exxagerate much? The new vue took so long to shift, that you almost got rear-ended by a neon? Funny, didn't think they made cars pass QC off the line with those kind of tranny defects, or, more realistically, you're lying.

About the 02-07 Vues, while I do like them, I had to pass on owning one since I couldn't get past the squeaky interior on each one I test-drove. The only ones I would have considered to own were the 06-07 model, but since used car financing rates were ridiculous, it actually worked out in my favor to finance a new Vue instead.

[daves87rs]

I agree about the comment regarding the 4. I own the 4 in my Vue and it's by no means going to win any drag racing contest. Obviously not what I bought it for anyway. As for the 6, you must have some pretty high standards there. Unless you're talking about getting a 'nox sport model, the 185hp 3.4 is not ballsy to say the least. Quick I guess, but not ballsy. I doubt highly it would overtake the 3.6 in the Vue.

Exxagerate much? The new vue took so long to shift, that you almost got rear-ended by a neon? Funny, didn't think they made cars pass QC off the line with those kind of tranny defects, or, more realistically, you're lying.

About the 02-07 Vues, while I do like them, I had to pass on owning one since I couldn't get past the squeaky interior on each one I test-drove. The only ones I would have considered to own were the 06-07 model, but since used car financing rates were ridiculous, it actually worked out in my favor to finance a new Vue instead.

I guess you have never test driven on the freeway at rush hour then...

Try passing on the freeway....the Nox gives more power on demand-right away.

The Vue, on the other hand-even with the 6sp-had a few second lag before the gear kicked in.

That's one of the beautiful things about a old tech engine...Power.

Don't get me wrong-the Vue does just fine the the city (4 or 6), and has a cozy interior.

But there might be a good chance that I might need that power( on a trip maybe-or just around town) with my family in the car.

I test drove both with a load of people in the car...they way one drives a family car...

And yes, when it comes to my baby boy- I do have high standards.....

[saturnd00d]

I guess you have never test driven on the freeway at rush hour then...

Try passing on the freeway....the Nox gives more power on demand-right away.

The Vue, on the other hand-even with the 6sp-had a few second lag before the gear kicked in.

That's one of the beautiful things about a old tech engine...Power.

Don't get me wrong-the Vue does just fine the the city (4 or 6), and has a cozy interior.

But there might be a good chance that I might need that power( on a trip maybe-or just around town) with my family in the car.

I test drove both with a load of people in the car...they way one drives a family car...

And yes, when it comes to my baby boy- I do have high standards.....

Well I don't usually test-drive the same cars in all different conditions, so if it happened to be a time other than rush hour, please accept my apologies.

I have passed with them both on the highway. Found the Vue to have more snap to it. Acceleration was smoother as well. Handling while on the on-ramp was alot better in the Vue. Felt more planted to the ground. The Nox felt like it was going to tip if you pushed it. The Vue didn't.

So I guess if you got the 'Nox sport with the same 3.6 as in the Vue, you wouldn't have as much power on demand since it's "new tech"? Doesn't make much sense to me. Who cares if the new engine is "new tech" vs. the old-tech engine that comes standard in the Nox. By the way, the 3.5L V6 is the mid-grade engine used in the Vue (The XE model with AWD), and it's considered "high-value", known as a more pleasant way of saying "old tech". Not sure where else you want me to go with this.

When I test drove both the 'Nox/Torrent twins and Vue, I had the salesman, my wife and myself in the car. This is actually more weight in the test-vehicles since 9 times out of 10, it's usually my wife, my infant son and myself in the car. So I know a bit about how the car would act and react in real world driving (in terms of my situation).

Bottom line is this...people are too wrapped up with power. If it was dangerous to drive an SUV with a 4 cyl, why would they make them? Now apparantly, it takes a multi-second delay from the time you mash the gas to the time the tranny downshifts and propels you forward. While I interpret that is a gross-overstatement, go ahead and think that for yourself as much as you want. When I was in driving school many moons ago, they taught us never to overtake a vehicle unless it is safe to do so. If you're supposed car takes 3 or 4 seconds to downshift and you run the risk of some car hitting you from behind, have a bit of patience and wait for a better time to pass. On top of that, if you car takes that long to downshift, you should be raising some concerns to the maker of that vehicle, because that's pretty bad.

We don't need massive amounts of power to drive, unless towing something of a large nature. In normal everyday driving situations, most North Americans don't need more than 4 cylinder power to drive safely and effectively. But for some reason, we have this notion in our heads that we need this and need that. We don't need it, we want it for the occasional time we might have to use it. That's not a need, it's a want. Sorry if any of you can't control your wants. Until I became a parent, I was guilty of that too, but it's not just about me anymore. I guess you could say I became more sensible.

I wonder what happened back in the day of sub-100hp 4 bangers under the hood of deathtraps such as cavaliers and J2000's, or better yet, 140hp V6's powering 4,000 lb. cars (AKA Oldsmobile cutlasses). The peppiness just want there, so there must have been a ton of accidents on the road back then.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Well I don't usually test-drive the same cars in all different conditions, so if it happened to be a time other than rush hour, please accept my apologies.

I have passed with them both on the highway. Found the Vue to have more snap to it. Acceleration was smoother as well. Handling while on the on-ramp was alot better in the Vue. Felt more planted to the ground. The Nox felt like it was going to tip if you pushed it. The Vue didn't.

So I guess if you got the 'Nox sport with the same 3.6 as in the Vue, you wouldn't have as much power on demand since it's "new tech"? Doesn't make much sense to me. Who cares if the new engine is "new tech" vs. the old-tech engine that comes standard in the Nox. By the way, the 3.5L V6 is the mid-grade engine used in the Vue (The XE model with AWD), and it's considered "high-value", known as a more pleasant way of saying "old tech". Not sure where else you want me to go with this.

When I test drove both the 'Nox/Torrent twins and Vue, I had the salesman, my wife and myself in the car. This is actually more weight in the test-vehicles since 9 times out of 10, it's usually my wife, my infant son and myself in the car. So I know a bit about how the car would act and react in real world driving (in terms of my situation).

Bottom line is this...people are too wrapped up with power. If it was dangerous to drive an SUV with a 4 cyl, why would they make them? Now apparantly, it takes a multi-second delay from the time you mash the gas to the time the tranny downshifts and propels you forward. While I interpret that is a gross-overstatement, go ahead and think that for yourself as much as you want. When I was in driving school many moons ago, they taught us never to overtake a vehicle unless it is safe to do so. If you're supposed car takes 3 or 4 seconds to downshift and you run the risk of some car hitting you from behind, have a bit of patience and wait for a better time to pass. On top of that, if you car takes that long to downshift, you should be raising some concerns to the maker of that vehicle, because that's pretty bad.

We don't need massive amounts of power to drive, unless towing something of a large nature. In normal everyday driving situations, most North Americans don't need more than 4 cylinder power to drive safely and effectively. But for some reason, we have this notion in our heads that we need this and need that. We don't need it, we want it for the occasional time we might have to use it. That's not a need, it's a want. Sorry if any of you can't control your wants. Until I became a parent, I was guilty of that too, but it's not just about me anymore. I guess you could say I became more sensible.

I wonder what happened back in the day of sub-100hp 4 bangers under the hood of deathtraps such as cavaliers and J2000's, or better yet, 140hp V6's powering 4,000 lb. cars (AKA Oldsmobile cutlasses). The peppiness just want there, so there must have been a ton of accidents on the road back then.

When your infant becomes a teenager, you'll wish it was just about you again.

[gm4life]

I am just saying I have driven a 4 cylinder Vue (07) and the new (08) both were painfully slow for me although the 2008 drove way better than the old one. I thought the lack of driving excitement was like owning a fridge. Not that there is anything wrong with no extra power but there wasn't any. I know we rip on OHV motors but the meaty torque curve from that 3.4L in the 'Nox and Torrent is hard to beat. Plus the 3.4 went over major revisions back in 2005 when it started to be used in 'Nox/Torrent. It basically is like the 3.5 they put in the G6 but smaller without VVT. The 5spd. automatic in the Torrent made a difference and gave it a slightly sportier personality than I expected... Quick story if you recall back in January my son was begging us to go get a new car. So I found the deal on my Torrent and hadn't even test driven an Equinox or Torrent ever, I still had faith in GM to build a decent car so I drove 200 miles and test drove the one I bought. After a very short drive I was sold. Then I drove both an old and new Vue to compare and they didn't do it for me. The 3.4L is a good little motor and is much improved in the Theta products then it was in my W-Impala. I thought both Equinox/Torrent 2007-2009 with the refreshed interior actually had pretty good fit and finish it was a huge step forward from the 2005-2006 models. The driving pleasure behind a Torrent is pretty good and feels faster than it is, and the 5spd. automatic no doubt helps. I think for a small SUV the driving experince is darn good. I had driven a 4 banger Rav and left that test drive very under-impressed.

[gm4life]

Hell I loaded the Torrent down with my family of now four full grown people (some more grown than other) and tons of stuff (couldn't see out the rear window full) and the Torrent had plenty of guts on mountain roads and when passing this past July. I agree with the comment about getting rear end by a Neon although might be extreme it shows the truth. The Theta 3.4's have guts, no doubt and give you a certain amount of passion some small SUV's lack. And a rather snarling exhaust note that I like.