Overall Pleased with Very Few Exceptions

When it was time to happily get rid of my lemon of a 2002 Jetta, I drove everything out there. To be honest, I wanted a Nissan Murano but wasn't willing to fork over the money required to lease it for 3 years and as a last resort, headed to Saturn.

It still makes me chuckle, but I really didn't want a Saturn. I had liked the Vue's styling, but thought to myself I just got rid of a car I settled for and ended up hating, why would I want to do that again? I dragged myself to the Saturn dealership and ended up quite pleased with the entire experience.

I test drove a V6 model first - and was quite surprised. Great pickup, easily driven, room to spare, decent stereo and a nice compromise between a regular sedan and the too large for me and my dogs larger SUV's on the market. And when I found out the car has a Honda engine and Honda drive train, I was sold. Having previously owned a Honda, I was very happy in leasing an American car with components that made me feel more comfortable.

The extra room is really nice versus my Jetta. I have two dogs - a sheltie mix who commands the front seat and I recently inherited an Akita from a relative who passed. She can't even fit on the front seat, but she loves stretching out in the back. Plenty of room for her. And I enjoy being able to go shopping and never having to worry if it will fit or not. The rear seats are a 60/40 split and lie flat. The passenger seat also lies forward flat for longer items from the local home improvement store. My mom (who drives a Lexus RS340) is envious of the grocery holder in the rear of the car. It pops up from a folded-flat storage position and holds groceries or other items securely.

To make sure I was choosing correctly, I also drove a 4 cylinder model. I'm glad I drove the V6 first as the 4 cylinder model was sluggish, noisy and felt underpowered to me. I would have never leased this vehicle had I driven the 4 cylinder first.

The sales experience was relatively painless as well - my sales person was quick to reply to my needs (I wanted a car with specifications that was only available out of state,) and also upfront and honest with the pricing. I think the entire process of finding the vehicle and signing paperwork took a little under 2 hours.

I leased a 2006 V6 Saturn Vue, White with chrome options, roof rack, upgraded stereo, leather interior, sunroof, 18" tires. I received XM Satellite radio free for a period of time and have since kept up the subscription - I love it! I also received one month free of On-Star service. I really do not use the service, but as a single person it's nice to have the security so I've kept that subscription as well. I do use the hands-free cellular phone quite often.

Since I've had the car, I've had some issues. There have been consistent problems with the front suspension. They have replaced swing arms on both passenger and driver side front twice now. It seems whenever the moisture in the air is just right and the temperature is between 50 and 60, the front suspension rattles and squeaks. It always miraculously cured itself on the way to the dealer, but when it was making noise, they always promptly took care of the situation.

The antenna for the cell phone has also had to be replaced 4 times due to corrosion. This wasn't really a big deal to me as the phone still worked even when On-Star informed me of the issue.

The latest problem was the speed sensors in the two front wheels. Again, taken care of promptly.

I have now developed some squeaks and wind-noise when driving.

My only gripe with the dealership is that they never have a loaner available. I live 20 miles from the dealership and when they had to keep my car for two days (the incorrect part was sent twice - not their mistake) it's inconvenient to be stuck at home and to call around for rides.

My lease is coming up in February 2009 and I'm not quite sure what I'll do next. It will actually cost me more to purchase this car outright than my existing lease payments, so that's not an option I'm willing to take. I've also mixed emotions on the new styling of the VUE. And with GM now talking about selling off the Saturn division, who knows. I do love the look of the Outlook... so we'll see where my test driving takes me.

I think it's unfortunate that GM has not maintained their relationship with Honda as that was the #1 selling point to me - and a lot of people I know as well.