I have eyed the Saturn Vue for quite some time, always thinking the sleek styling and large cargo room was ideal if I ever needed a "family" type car. So, when the time came to purchase a larger vehicle, my husband and I hightailed it to our nearest Saturn dealership to try it out.

THE PURCHASE
First off, everything that Saturn claims about "no-hassle" car buying is absolutely true. This was the most relaxing, no-pressure car purchase I have ever made. Our salesman Joe never once pressured us, they offered us the best possible price up front, and really listened to what we needed. My husband and I actually went to three seperate Saturn dealerships before finding the Vue we wanted and all three were very friendly and easy to work with. I think this is a major strong point for Saturn, given how annoying car buying can be.

NOW ON TO THE CAR
We first test drove a V6 Saturn Vue, a 4 wheel drive model with all the bells and whistles in a vibrant red color. However, discovering this was far too much car for us, we actually purchased a 4 cylinder FWD model.
The V6 had noticably more power on the road, but that seemed to be the only real difference. I'm sure once winter hits the 4 wheel drive would have been nice, but nothing I can't work around.

The Vue we purchased was a 2006 model with 4000 miles on it for 18,999. We got $2000 off for their 2006 Incentive as well as $1000 off for it being a demo car. So, we ended up paying 15,999 for a nearly brand new car. Pretty good deal, and there was no haggling over this great price. They gave us full value for our trade.

Our Vue is a pretty Laser Blue, which is a discontinued and rare color, which was only available for 1/2 the year in 2006. The side panels are Saturn's famous no-dent, no-corrosion panels. The inside is a pretty grey with very comfy seats. There are some attractive chrome accents on the roof rack and inside dash. The CD player is MP3 ready, which was very important for my husband.

Our Vue model gets 22 MPG in the city and 27 on the highway, which for a non-hybrid SUV is pretty impressive. Especially considering the size of the VUE. Even though they market this as a "small" SUV, the cargo room the VUE offers is AMAZING. The middle row folds flat for optimum storage, but the front passenger seat ALSO folds flat in order to allow up to 8 feet of storage. The back of the front passenger seat also is protected with a plastic panel.

As far as the drive, the VUE is whisper quiet. Coming from driving a small commuter car, the safety and protection I felt in the VUE was considerable. The steering is like butter, and I found I barely had to touch the steering wheel. I was very impressed with the drive on this large vehicle. I expected it to be more clunky, but it drove like a smaller car without the road noise.

My husband made sure to try out the MP3 stereo and being a complete audiophile, I was nervous he would poo-poo a stereo that I had heard was less than stellar. However, Saturn must have upgraded for 2006. The stereo sounded great. They even display the name of the artist and the song when the radio is on, which while insignificant I thought was kind of neat!

All in all, the 2006 Saturn Vue is a new car for us so any cons may remain to be seen, but so far this car is everything I could as for in an SUV. Saturn has really improved the styling of this car. All the controls are easily accessible for a shorter person (my husband and I are both 5'5"). The blind spots are also minimal for being a larger car for a smaller person.

I will be sure to update if I find anything wrong with this vehicle during my ownership, but thus far color me impressed.