For auto industry analysts, it’s almost like watching kids grow up.  General Motors’ youngest division has just grown its first sport-utility vehicle.  Isn’t it just adorable?

Saturn needed the diversity, too.  Its unexciting but reliable family sedans and wagons have garnered an extremely loyal following since the brand’s inception a little over ten years ago, but with the subcompact market fragmenting and seeing increased competition from “crossover” vehicles and small SUVs, Saturn needed to offer something more.  The VUE should prove to be a welcome addition to the lineup.  Built on an all-new chassis, the VUE is one of the new breed of car-based sport-utes that should really be called tall station wagons, since there’s not much likelihood that they’ll see much off-road duty.  When it comes to tooling around on pavement, though, the VUE has plenty to offer, including a unique, gas-saving transmission that’s unique to the SUV world.

The design will be instantly familiar to anyone who’s ever seen a Saturn.  The VUE’s grille-less nose and wide headlamps, wraparound hood, and slab-sided flanks are all taken directly from the playbooks of the S- and L-series sedans with which it shares showroom floor space.  It’s a clean and simple look that translates well to the boxy SUV body.  At the rear, the wide, wraparound rear glass with hidden D-pillars is similar to Saturn wagons, as well.  The VUE looks smaller than it is, like an economy car that’s grown up a little bit but not enough to be ungainly.  It’s definitely better looking than the competition from Ford and Suzuki.  Does it have the traditional Saturn plastic body panels bonded to a space frame?  Yup.  The VUE also features optional head-curtain airbags.

Getting in and out is easy, thanks to the VUE’s size.  There’s plenty of head- and legroom, and the seats are chair-height, very comfortable for long drives.  Once again, the design of the interior follows standard Saturn practice, albeit with better materials than past Saturns.  The white-on-black instrument panel could have been lifted directly from an S-series sedan, and the rest of the controls are contained in a center stack.  Sharp-eyed designers will notice that the sculpting on the hood carries through to the console, creating an almost unbroken line from windshield to front seats.  The shifter and window controls live high off the floor, in an elevated pod that places them within easy reach for short drivers or passengers, and there are two cupholders down below.  Rear-seat passengers will find comfort and convenience touches once limited to Japanese mini-SUVs, such as reclining rear seats.  The VUE is a great grocery-getter.  Not only does a folding cargo storage organizer lift out of the floor of the cargo area for holding grocery bags in place, but large side storage bins are sturdy enough to hold large items that traditionally tumble, such as two-liters of soda or gallon jugs of milk.  The front passenger seat also folds flat for carrying long cargo.  With all of the seats up, there are 30.3 cubic feet of space in the back of a VUE.  That expands to 63.5 cubic feet with the seats folded.

The VUE is available in four- and six-cylinder flavors.  We drove a six-cylinder model.  The 3.0 liter V6 cranks out 181 horsepower–and one heck of a lot of noise.  The VUE was one of the loudest cars we’ve ever driven, in fact.  The V6 is a source of constant growling and roaring on the freeway and around town.  Despite the noise, the V6-powered VUE has ample oomph to get itself moving.  The five-speed automatic transmission shifts roughly, especially when the VUE is asked for more-than-leisurely acceleration.  It feels like a modern body wrapped around antiquated machinery, an accusation that has been directed at Saturn many times in the past.  Does this mean that Saturn is incapable of putting modern technology into its cars?  Don’t bet on it.  The VUE is also available with a 143-horsepower 2.2 liter four-cylinder engine, with a gas-saving continuously variable transmission (CVT).  CVTs are currently available from German luxury manufacturer Audi, renowned Japanese technology leader Honda, and Saturn.  The CVT lacks traditional gears, instead relying on a system of flexible belts and pulleys to adjust the transmission’s gear ratios to fit any driving need.  This allows for seamless shifting and increased fuel economy.  The VUE is also available with a five-speed manual transmission.

All V6 VUEs are equipped with all-wheel drive.  The full-time system drives the front wheels only on dry pavement, and allocates power to the rear wheels as needed when the going gets slick.  Anti-lock brakes and traction control are optional on two- and four-wheel drive VUEs.  The suspension is fully independent, with struts at the front and trailing arms at the rear.  The VUE also has eight inches of ground clearance, even though it’s definitely not bred for off-roading.  The suspension is nicely carlike around town, without undue waddling or dive under braking.

Our test vehicle was a fairly loaded V6 model.  The base price of $22,575 was bulked up with the head-curtain airbags, ABS, sunroof and in-dash CD player, as well as GM’s OnStar system.  The final tally was $26,045, which is nudging the prices of some larger SUVs.  The good news is that VUE pricing starts much lower than that, at $16,325 for a four-cylinder, two-wheel drive model.  Standard equipment on the base model includes a roof rack, air conditioning and a rear window defroster, so even the sub-$20,000 VUE is a decent enough deal.  And, of course, Saturn dealers offer a variety of cool SUV-chic accessories, because you’re nuts if you think you can sell a sport-ute without brush bars and bike racks these days.

Do you like Saturns?  Then the VUE is for you.  The Car Guys will scoff and say that it’s noisy and unrefined, but they say that about everything Saturn builds.  It’s a nice little SUV, and no one else will care if the Car Guys respect it or not.

Specifications:
All specs are for the 2002 Saturn VUE V6 AWD, which we tested.
Length:     181.3 in.
Width:        71.5 in.
Height:        66.5 in.
Wheelbase:    106.6 in.
Curb weight:    3491 lb.
Cargo space:    30.3 cu.ft. (seats up)/63.5 (seats folded)
Base price:    $22,575
Price as tested: $26,045
Engine:     3.0 liter DOHC V6
Drivetrain:     five-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Horsepower:     181 @ 6000
Torque:     195 @ 4000
Fuel capacity:    15.5 gal.
Est. mileage:    19/25