I’m looking for a small to medium SUV, preferably American made. It’s getting pretty confusing. I like the Honda CRV, but think the Saturn Vue has even more to offer. Any comments on these two or any others of this category regarding reliability, performance, etc.?
Many thanks.
Take a look at the reliability of the Vue. It’s NOT very good. If you plan on keeping it 200k miles or more, I’d go with the CRV.
…or the Subaru Forester, or the Toyota RAV-4. These three are the best in that class, and the Saturn is…not anywhere near their quality, reliability, or driving dynamics.
If you insist on buying one that is assembled in the US, then look at the Ford Escape or its clone, the Mercury Mariner. They are both infinitely superior to the Saturn Vue, even if they are not in the same class as the Forester, RAV-4, or CR-v.
Go to youtube.com & do a search for “banned in Australia”
Based on my wifes 02 Sonata I believe the blond babes have a very good reccomendation.
If nothing else you gotta love the commercial.
I know that the Vue has been redesigned (swapped out) by Opel and it may even run but the 17 MPG overall is bad. I have doubts about the American made when the Vue is mentioned.
The 2010 Escape looks nice they’ve made some significant improvements, 6 speed automatics, power is up a bit across the board, better fuel economy, better brakes. If the reliability is there (and the outgoing Escape wasn’t bad) it could be worth considering.
Keep in the vehicles your are considering (I’m also including the escape in this too) are just glorified econoboxes. They will not be good for any off-roading or towing.
What about the Mazda Tribute? It’s an Escape/Mariner, too.
What do you want the SUV to do? Are you planing on towing something with it? Are you gonna do any off-roading? Are you just looking for something a bit easier to get in and out of, maybe with a bit of pep to it?
While it may not be American made(it’s made in Japan and shipped to the US), the Mazda CX-7 is something you may wanna look into, despite it not being "American"
A Ford Sport Trac(explorer) is another good choice in that it gives you a small truck bed instead of a closed in area if you’re looking to haul tall items regularly.
many thanks. likely wouldn’t keep it that long, but good to know.