Just for the record, I will not refer to this vehicle as a Saturn "View". "Vue" is pronounced veew. "View" has an "i" an "e" and a "w" in it.
As my new company car, the Vue replaced an 01 Voyager with over 200k on it. I'm happy to have the voyager and it's terrible trans leak out of my driveway. As a much newer vehicle (04 with only 170k miles!), the Vue drives like a much newer vehicle.
Things I like:
- 250hp honda V6.
- 5 speed automatic
- It drives way better than a worn out minivan
- The gauge cluster looks nice. Doesn't fit with the super cheap feel of the rest of the interior at all.
- Punching the fenders and doors and not leaving dents.
Things that suck:
- No way to turn off the headlights. Options are "on" or "auto". If it's dark the lights are on.
- No way to get the motor even close to redline. There's power up there but getting past 5k even at WOT is tricky.
- PRNDIL. As far as I can tell, "i" means "not overdrive"
- At around 25 mph the trans will shift between 4th and 5th dropping below idle speed.
- The interior SUCKS. Cheap plastics everywhere. Switchgear appears to have been laid out at random.
- No lateral support from the seats at all. Like most GM vehicles I've been in you sit on top of the seat instead of in it.
- I hate having the window switches around the shifter because I can't hit all the buttons at the same time with one hand.
- Fog lights must be switched on every time the lights turn on.
- It's ugly. It'd look better if GM had remembered to paint the whole thing.
- The only way to turn off the traction control is to put the trans in reverse or low. Not really a big deal but it bugs me.
Things that needed or still need to be fixed:
- All the tires loose air
- Drivers seat needs replaced, armrest is broken
- Battery terminals were so corroded the electric power steering was spotty and the check engine light was on.
- Any time the drivers door is open the chime goes off. I think the ignition lock is broken in some manner.
- Fog lights were unplugged(?)
The verdict:
As a free car I really can't complain. I certainly wouldn't buy one, but it's better than the van and is the most powerful vehicle I've ever owned lol sad.
edit: thanks for fixing the layout
http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/basics
I kinda like the new Saturn Vues. They look good, aren't as chinsey as the out-going vue, and drive quite nicely. Still, some things feel like they aren't quite fastened in all the way.
I did like the old Vue though. It was a nice driving vehicle and I felt that it was quite comfortable. I spend 90% of my time in the back seat though as my brother was driving it (a rental) and my sister seemed to jump in the front seat before I could approach the car.
What does that "I" mean, exactly. You say it just means "Not Overdrive" but why an I?
I means "In between".. kinda like the 'R' on older German cars' gas guages stood for "rempty"
It actually stands for "intermediate" per the owners manual (I ran out to the parking lot and looked lolz)
It means Intermediate. As in NOT LOW gear but not the FINAL DRIVE gear... like the Intermediate gears...
I have wondered what makes a person try to take a top heavy automatic MSUV to the redline. It seems to me that the engine in the Vue is pretty nice and linear, and the transmission has enough gears to snap through the gears without needing the stratosphere.
Is there a push button near the headlamp switch, or a "i" button near the cluster? Many USA GM vehicles can turn the headlamps off "per drive" but not permanently. Most Canadian models can not though. If there is a buton near the switch try cycling it 3 times over 2 seconds. If there is an "i" switch try menuing through to see if there is a "lights off" option.
Is the "i" switch for intermediate, too? 
stoopid long posts stop me from sounding smart.
It is for "Invinsibility" it makes the Vue plain looking when driving. Most of them are stuck on all the time.
Invinc-hillbill-ity
Invincibility, or invisibility? Either might be appropriate -- the first in the minds of the SUV owners, the second in reality.
skruffy wrote: Just for the record, I will not refer to this vehicle as a Saturn "View". "Vue" is pronounced veew. "View" has an "i" an "e" and a "w" in it.
While this is "true", many words, such as "true" end in "ue" and are still pronounced like "view".
Other than that, I pretty much completely agree with your assessment.
By the way, Tim, the new font size looks great!
Didn't change the font size, but I did figure out that IE6 wasn't following the rules (big surprise there) and that regular Arial doesn't play nice with UTF encoding (Thanks to Bruce for that one!). When I got it to follow the rules, it finally started asking for Verdana (like it should), then Arial Unicode (which DOES play nice with UTF encoding), then plain Arial if it can't find either of those. Glad it's working for you.
16vCorey wrote: skruffy wrote: Just for the record, I will not refer to this vehicle as a Saturn "View". "Vue" is pronounced veew. "View" has an "i" an "e" and a "w" in it.
While this is "true", many words, such as "true" end in "ue" and are still pronounced like "view".
Other than that, I pretty much completely agree with your assessment.
By that logic perhaps it should be more like "Voo" ...
John Brown wrote:
I have wondered what makes a person try to take a top heavy automatic MSUV to the redline.
Because there's power up there. It starts to pull pretty hard past 4k and seems to be happy up there. The shift feels like it comes way to soon.
However, there is plenty of oomph from idle to 4k to get moving very quickly without pushing it. This drivetrain would be awesome in something like a fiero.
jrw1621 wrote: skruffy wrote:
As my new company car... a much newer vehicle (04 with only 170k miles!)
Is it a good job.
I work for my father. Since I have a vested interest in the profitability of the company I tend to take the "leftover" company cars to save him some coin. The voyager had actually sat behind the office for 2 years with a busted radiator before I fixed it and started driving it.
skruffy wrote:
- All the tires loose air
Common problem with big flabby tires...
skruffy wrote:
- Drivers seat needs replaced, armrest is broken
Your armrest broke off and you want to REPLACE IT!? And armrest has no place in a driver's seat.
The lights will turn off if the car thinks the emergency brake is pulled. THINKS, being the operative word.
Intermediate should allow redline shifts. There could be a problem with the truck, but I know I've done them. The thing scoots, imagine a Honda Pilot after a diet.
skruffy wrote: John Brown wrote:
I have wondered what makes a person try to take a top heavy automatic MSUV to the redline.
. . . This drivetrain would be awesome in something like a fiero.
How about a Pontiac Ferrari Enzo Fiero?!?!?
Hmm, I tried the e-brake trick when I first got the truck. I guess the micro switch for the brake lever is probably stuck. The DRLs don't always work either.
I did some gear lever position testing during lunch. "L" will pretty much hold the lowest gear it can but will still shift where it would've normally at WOT. "i" seems to function as the "O/D off" switch does in most cars, but doesn't have any effect on the shift patterns. Driving around town in "i" is nice since it keeps the trans from going crazy at 25-35 mph and dropping the engine to 800 rpm (I'm sure this vehicle has some sort of problem and they aren't supposed to do that).
Sucks that there's no way to manushift like in many new automatic cars.
Your armrest broke off and you want to REPLACE IT!? And armrest has no place in a driver's seat.
You have never driven for a living. After a while you appreciate being comfortable.
John Brown wrote: I have wondered what makes a person try to take a top heavy automatic MSUV to the redline. It seems to me that the engine in the Vue is pretty nice and linear, and the transmission has enough gears to snap through the gears without needing the stratosphere.
Why offer a 250hp engine, but not allow the user to use over 200? If thats the case, may as well use that POS GM V6 that used to be in them.
