The outside mirrors are large and all-around visibility is good. Backing up with the Vue proved to be fairly easy despite the tall bodywork. On the other hand, the windshield wipers failed to impress me when having to clear snow out of the way. The rear one is actually quite noisy. Improved wiper motor insulation is an easy answer here.

Disappointing grip... in the snow
On dry pavement, the front-wheel drive Saturn Vue XR remains surefooted and confident. The steering is flexible and smooth, although the turning radius is too large.

On dry pavement, the front-wheel drive Saturn Vue XR remains surefooted and confident.

In the snow or on slippery roads, however, the tires completely wrecked the party. The vehicle became so delicate to handle that I chose to leave it at home and drive to the Quebec Auto Show with another colleague. That was a great call, as we had to tackle a severe snowstorm on our way back.

My Vue, by the way, was equipped with BF Goodrich Mud & Snow tires which basically acted like summer tires. They affected braking performance and cornering maneuvers while seemingly never giving a rest to the stability and traction control systems. With four centimeters of snow in my slightly inclined driveway, I had no choice but to disable the system in order to make the wheels spin and park the vehicle out of the way for the plow truck. As a result, fuel consumption was significantly higher than normal: 17.2 L/100 km. With good winter tires, I could have achieved about 14 L/100 km. I've already tried the all-wheel drive Vue and was quite satisfied, so I wouldn't hesitate to pick this model.

The 3.6L V6 of my tester was mated to a 6-speed TAPshift automatic transmission with tow mode. This powertrain is a good fit for this type of vehicle, allowing safe, convincing performances. I accelerated from 0 to 100 kph in 8.5 seconds and from 80 to 120 kph in 6.2 seconds in auto mode (5.7 seconds in manual mode).

Relative merit
Nice quality, nice layout, but the awful tires make it hard to assess the true merit of the 2008 Saturn Vue. Once again, this goes to show you how important it is in Canada to at least have solid winter tires. All-wheel drive, which GM is quite good at offering, is also strongly recommended.

The 3.6L V6 of my tester was mated to a 6-speed TAPshift automatic transmission with tow mode.

Photo Credit : Philippe Champoux