2002 Saturn VUE versus 2002 Honda CR-V

The new Saturn VUE is a nifty mini SUV that Saturn hopes will compete well with the Honda CR-Vs for buyers’ attention. My wife and I recently compared the VUE and the newly redesigned Honda CR-V. We discovered that the choice between the two would be a very difficult one. Here are the results of our test drives:

The Exterior:

Saturn won this battle very easily. Their dent resistant "plastic" side panels have been a very successful part of the Saturn sedans, and it’s great to have them included on the VUE. The Honda panels look a little slicker, but they won’t be as beautiful after a few months of harsh winters, hot summers, or those inevitable parking lot dings.

Spare inside, or outside? Honda continues to hang it’s spare tire on the rear door of the vehicle, whereas Saturn put its emergency-type spare in an interior well. We don’t like giving up interior space to the spare, but hanging the spare on the rear has resulted in more expensive repair bills after minor rear end accidents. We wish Honda would put the spare inside.

Saturn’s rear door opens up to the sky, and Honda’s door opens to the side. If you’re less than five feet tall, you better try to open and close the Saturn door before you buy the VUE. You might have difficulty reaching the door. My wife could just about reach it when it was open. The Honda rear door has a window that rolls up and down, so you don’t always have to open the door to get or put small items in the back of the CR-V. Honda's rear door approach is more appealing to us.

The Interior:

Both vehicles seat 4 adults comfortably, 5 in a pinch. There is a reasonable amount of head and leg room in each. I did feel a little more cramped in the rear seat of the Honda though. With fold-down rear seats, both can be reconfigured for carrying bulky loads. We liked how the rear seats in the Honda folded out of the way, but we liked even more the way the front passenger seat in the VUE also folded down and had a vinyl covering on the back. This allows for items like eight foot pieces of lumber to be completely enclosed in the VUE. Neat!

The interiors seemed more alike than different, lots of cloth and plastic in both vehicles, but your color choices are limited to black or tan in the CR-V, and grey or tan in the Saturn.

There are a lot of little nooks and crannies in both vehicles for items to be stowed. The Saturn even has a nice collapsible cargo organizer. The Honda has the infamous folding picnic table built into the well cover of the rear storage area. I’d rather have the often used cargo organizer over the "How often are you going to use it?" picnic table.

The panels and controls in the two vehicles are fairly sensible. They are different though. I always have an adjustment period when I switch between my Saturn and my wife’s Honda Accord. I wish automobile manufacturers would agree on a standard. It would certainly make driving a rental car a lot easier.

The placement of the gearshift and the parking brake in the Honda is interesting. The gearshift is on the dash next to the gauges. The parking brake lever is on the wall of the center console instead of on the floor between the driver and passenger seats.

Power:

The Saturn VUE comes with either a 4 cylinder or V-6 engine. Either are peppy, but the V-6 is definitely quieter. The Honda comes only with a 4 cylinder, but Honda engineers do a terrific job of getting a lot from a small engine. Both cars have a choice of manual or advanced automatic transmissions.

Honda has configured their transmission so that it has a lot of power when you first take off from a standing start. The Saturn, on the other hand, has a more even distribution of power throughout the whole shifting range. Different approaches, but both are very eager power plants.

Ride:

We found the ride to be comfortable in both vehicles. They are more like cars than trucks in this regard.

Our final decision:

This is the vehicle my wife will most often be driving so she had the final say. We went with the Honda. When I asked her why she chose it over the VUE, she mentioned two things.

The first concerned when she test drove the VUE. She said she had difficulty centering the steering wheel as we rode down a highway. The dealer said the VUE has electric power steering that takes some getting used to. My wife and I thought the wheel should find the center point without "getting used to."

The second reason had to do with the local dealers where we will service our vehicle. My wife is more comfortable with the Honda dealer she has been going to for 15 years - although we were impressed by how professional both Honda and Saturn dealers were.

The cost:

Saturn has a straightforward "No Haggle" policy. Our local dealership was selling VUEs at the price set by Saturn.

Our local Honda dealer doesn’t have a "No Haggling" policy, but was firm on the price of the CR-V. Because of the very limited supply of CR-Vs, the suggested price was non-negotiable.

When we looked at the various features of the cars, and priced them out, we found the prices were very close. Although you can get a "plain vanilla" VUE for a rather low price, we believe most people are going to want options that will make the price very similar to the CR-V.












Amount Paid (US$): 22700
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: EX Automatic