Long Term Update: 2005 Saturn VUE 4 AWD

[TaHoE]

GMI Long Term Review UPDATE!: 2005 Saturn VUE AWD 4
The Economical Theta SUV
June 26th, 2005
www.GMInsidenews.com

After 6 Months and 2,000 miles of driving the VUE has held up extremely well. There are no problems to report and gas mileage has been excellent. The VUE has been nothing but dependable and reliable the past 6 months, it even got us through a very rough winter. With 7” of Snow on the ground and even more plowed up and under it, the VUE was still able to climb right out of that mess. Although this may not sound like quite a feat for an SUV, considering the VUE’s car-based roots and low ground clearance are huge parts of the VUE’s overall DNA, this is actually quite impressive.



One thing that left me cold was the VUE’s All Wheel Drive System. In normal driving conditions the VUE sends all it’s power to the front axle, however when it detects slippage the VUE sends power to the rear axle as well as the front giving it added traction. The only problem is that while getting out of the snow, the VUE’s front wheels slipped for thirty seconds, and then the rear wheels finally kicked in and saved the day. This may not sound like a problem initially, but considering the VUE’s All-Wheel-Drive system is tuned for Rain/Snow traction rather than an On-Demand “Rock-Crawling” HUMMER-esque feel, this system is too slow. Thirty seconds to send power to the rear wheels on the highway could mean life or death if the VUE were to hit a wet patch. I hope that this software will be upgraded with the 2006 refresh. Other than that small problem, I found nothing major to complain about. Fuel Mileage has been excellent netting an average of ~21MPG overall, right in line with the EPA’s 21MPG CITY rating, and a $25.00 fill up 'ain't that bad either.



The VUE’s polymer side panels have performed as promised; I would accept the large gaps with both arms on any vehicle if it provided the same dent proofing that the VUE offers. I do think that the wheel package is a tad small and that AWD models should come standard with alloy wheels and not the steel wheel & plastic cover that my tester has.



The VUE’s interior has also held up very well. The cloth and dash are extremely easy to keep clean and tidy and all the little storage wells on the dash and doors are very well placed and space. Materials could stand to be improved (as they are in the ’06) model, but they aren’t out of the ordinary for a compact inexpensive SUV. I had some ergonomic issues with the VUE because the HVAC controls are quite low on the dash and when the vehicle is in park, the shifter blocks the controls. However this quibble is easy to live with and is hardly a deal breaker. I feel the same way about the window-switch placement. I really never understood why window switches were placed on the dash. It’s very annoying to use, but something I can get over.



I really enjoy driving the VUE (numb steering and all), it’s been a stellar vehicle and one I would gladly recommend. Six months down, thirty to go!



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The Ratings:

PROs: Great styling, dent proof side panels, $25.00 fill ups
CONs: Low-grade interior materials, annoying VTi transmission, slow-to-react AWD system

Overall Rating:

8.0 Out of 10.0

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Specifications
2005 Saturn VUE
Selected Style: AWD 4

Exterior: Chili Pepper Red
Interior: Light Gray Cloth Seating Surfaces

Total MSRP: $22,295.00

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MORE Coming Soon!: Pictures & Interview With Owner

[amaximeya]

6 months and only 2000 miles??? did i read that correctly?


Ha i should be posting more... im still walking... eek!

[ByTheLake]

After 6 Months and 2,000 miles of driving the VUE has held up extremely well.

... it had better have held up "extremely well" after such a short time. 2,000 miles in 6 months ... I do that in 3 weeks.

I spent 3 months with a VUE with the same CVT, and I didn't care much for the performance of the transmission. It wasn't the lack of gears that bothered me ... I adjusted to smooth, step-less power delivery after a few days. It just seemed to be slow to adjust its behavior, such as when passing another vehicle, you almost had to schedule it on your calendar.

The CVT also seemed to work really hard at keeping the engine well out of its higher RPMs and peak HP range ... always keeping the engine at relatively low RPMs.

[72lemanscvbl]

Originally Posted by amaximeya

6 months and only 2000 miles??? did i read that correctly?


Ha i should be posting more... im still walking... eek!

Sorry, this is not a serious road test if you really only did 2k miles. Not even worth posting. I could understand if you had the car for a weekend and only put 100 miles on it...

[atomicshark]

I have to agree that 2,000 miles in six months is equivalent to a slightly driven demo car. Good detailed review though, I just would not over emphasize the reliability.

I have owned my GTO for six month as well and I have put 13,000+ miles on my Goat. She has been reliable and completely trustworthy in Rain, Sleet and Snow.
We both drove through the same snowy LI winter. Surprisingly my Goat made it through all of that including that horrible icy snow storm a few months back that started while I was at work.

[IAMCANADIAN]

We had a Vue FWD with the VTi, the transmission was so bad, we had 2 new transmissions in it and it still had problems, GM should just dump the transmission, most CVT's I hear aren't that good anyway

[TaHoE]

I wouldn't necessarily associate "reliablity" with "mileage". Of course 2,000 miles isn't alot, but here on Long Island, we have short trips. This isn't exactly a Full Review, simply an Update, as I stated in the title.

[Arizona Slim]

Thanks for the update, although more pics would be nice. And FYI, you got a spelling error in the first paragraph... "Although this may not wound like quite a feat for an SUV..."

[SilverZ]

2,000 miles isnt worth even writing the thread.

[atomicshark]

Originally Posted by TaHoE

I wouldn't necessarily associate "reliablity" with "mileage". Of course 2,000 miles isn't alot, but here on Long Island, we have short trips. This isn't exactly a Full Review, simply an Update, as I stated in the title.

Understandable, but you can definitely associate reliability with mileage based on the kind of usage. The more you use the car the more can go wrong, but I realize short trips can do a number on cars too, so you are right.

Being a fellow Long Islander, I drive a ton. I make a bunch of short and very L O N G trips. My last car was 4 years old and I put almost 120,000 miles. My current car has 13,000 miles in six months and my other car has 46,000 in just under 2 years. I think the traffic backups on the LIE, Nothern State, and Southern State everyday can attest to the fact that there is an unfortunately growing number of us that drive many long trips.

I enjoyed your update and the ongoing Long Term format. More of us should do it. Perhaps, I will throw my hat in the ring with my GTO.

Thanks for the inspiration TaHoE!

[IAMCANADIAN]

Originally Posted by ByTheLake

... it had better have held up "extremely well" after such a short time. 2,000 miles in 6 months ... I do that in 3 weeks.

I spent 3 months with a VUE with the same CVT, and I didn't care much for the performance of the transmission. It wasn't the lack of gears that bothered me ... I adjusted to smooth, step-less power delivery after a few days. It just seemed to be slow to adjust its behavior, such as when passing another vehicle, you almost had to schedule it on your calendar.

The CVT also seemed to work really hard at keeping the engine well out of its higher RPMs and peak HP range ... always keeping the engine at relatively low RPMs.

yah I noticed that too with ours, if you floor it, it wouldn't go up to even 6000 RPM, it mainly stayed at about 5000-5500 RPM at the most, no higher, thank god there is a regular proven GM automatic, or a getrag manual which would get the most performance out of it

[TaHoE]

Originally Posted by atomicshark

Understandable, but you can definitely associate reliability with mileage based on the kind of usage. The more you use the car the more can go wrong, but I realize short trips can do a number on cars too, so you are right.

Being a fellow Long Islander, I drive a ton. I make a bunch of short and very L O N G trips. My last car was 4 years old and I put almost 120,000 miles. My current car has 13,000 miles in six months and my other car has 46,000 in just under 2 years. I think the traffic backups on the LIE, Nothern State, and Southern State everyday can attest to the fact that there is an unfortunately growing number of us that drive many long trips.

I enjoyed your update and the ongoing Long Term format. More of us should do it. Perhaps, I will throw my hat in the ring with my GTO.

Thanks for the inspiration TaHoE!

I am glad there is at least one reader here that appreciates the work that we put in to GMI. I am not the owner of this vehicle (trust me if I was, there would be at least 10X as much mileage on it), it belongs to my girlfriend. I thought a long term update would be a good way to prove how good GM's latest vehicles are. I also wanted to keep my Review updated because, even after only 2,000 miles, people have experience failures in their VTi transmissions, so I thought a publisized online review would help calm fears. As much as I really dislike the way the VTi acts, it has been completely reliable, contrary to many others' experiences with their VTis.

Where on LI do ya live?

[atomicshark]

That is good. My mother-in-law owned an Ion Quad coupe with the VTi and it was always going back to Saturn to address issues. Finally they bought it back and gave her a new Quad Coupe with the 4 speed auto. Kudos to Saturn of Smithtown.

I am originally from Melville until I bought my house 3 years ago. Now i live in Selden. I work in Long Island City (right across the East River from Manhattan). Hence my looooong haul every day.

[Buick61]

Originally Posted by TaHoE

I wouldn't necessarily associate "reliablity" with "mileage". Of course 2,000 miles isn't alot, but here on Long Island, we have short trips. This isn't exactly a Full Review, simply an Update, as I stated in the title.

You can't get anywhere on Long Island without driving. And the further east you live, the more driving you have to do to get anywhere. I split the mileage between three cars and the 300 still gets over 1,000 miles a month.

Thanks for the updates. She needs to drive that SUV more, or else the dollar-per-mile cost of ownership will be ridiculous.

[TaHoE]

Originally Posted by Buick61

You can't get anywhere on Long Island without driving. And the further east you live, the more driving you have to do to get anywhere. I split the mileage between three cars and the 300 still gets over 1,000 miles a month.

Thanks for the updates. She needs to drive that SUV more, or else the dollar-per-mile cost of ownership will be ridiculous.

Tell me about it, she is paying 250 per month for the VUE. Fortunately for us all the local venues are within 5 Miles (we live in south-western Nassau), and she goes to Molloy College (Which is about 2 miles away from her house). Other than that, I drive her. I don't mind b/c I enjoy driving (but my Van's mileage shows it).