Saturn's Terrific Vue

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That puts the Vue well behind the fuel efficiency of its main rivals. An '07 Honda Pilot, which only comes with a four-cylinder engine, would have been rated at 19 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway under the government's new system, and an all-wheel-drive '07 Toyota RAV4 with a six-cylinder engine at 19 mpg city and 26 highway.

You can improve your mileage by going with an '08 Vue XE with front-wheel drive and the four-cylinder engine, but you may not end up saving as much at the gas pump as you might expect. That version of the new Vue is rated to get 19 mpg in the city and 26 on the highway, or an average of 22 mpg.

The catch is the Vue's owner's manual recommends using premium gasoline (which on average costs around 7% more than regular) with the four-cylinder engine. You can use regular gas if you want, but the manual warns that if you do, the four-cylinder engine may knock and acceleration will be more sluggish.

By contrast, the front-wheel-drive Vue XR is rated to get 16 mpg in the city and 23 on the highway, or an average of 19 mpg, but it uses regular gasoline. So, if you're buying a Vue, you have little incentive to go with the four-cylinder engine other than that the list price is lower. (The same is true of the RAV4 with a four-cylinder engine, by the way. It uses regular gas, but its mileage is rated at 20 city/25 highway under the new government system, no better than the RAV4 with a powerful six-cylinder engine.)

GM has a lot riding on the success of the Vue, which is Saturn's top-selling model through the end of August. This is a transition year, so it's too early to tell how well the new Vue will do, but sales have been a bit disappointing so far. Total Saturn Vue sales fell 10.1% in the first eight months of the year, to 58,538 units. By contrast, Saturn's overall sales were up 12.9%, to 167,106, for the period—a strong performance in a tough market.

Behind the Wheel

With the larger of the two V6 engines, the new Vue is very quick for a family vehicle. Some reviewers have timed it at around 7 seconds in accelerating from 0 to 60 mph, matching the raw speed of a Toyota RAV4 with a 269-hp V6. My times weren't that low: I consistently clocked my all-wheel-drive Vue XR test vehicle at 7.9 seconds in 0-to-60 runs. But that's speedy enough for most SUV buyers.

The Vue has progressively sportier suspension settings as you move up the line, so you have to pay extra for the Red Line to get the sportiest available driving experience. But I found the Vue XR surprisingly fun to drive when I put the automatic transmission in manual mode, via a toggle button on the side of the shift lever, and did the shifting myself. This system seemed a bit cumbersome when I tried it in Buick's nifty new Enclave. Maybe I'm just getting used to it, but the system seemed more user-friendly in the Vue.

When you do the shifting yourself, the new Vue feels a lot like a European sedan. You can run the engine out and downshift from, say, fourth to second gear when you're heading into a sharp curve. There's less body roll than in most SUV-style vehicles, and there's lots of available power when you punch the gas on the fly. After a while, I found myself pulling out into oncoming traffic with far more confidence than in most family vehicles. I knew in a pinch I could always punch the gas and accelerate faster than most other vehicles on the road.

The Vue is by no means an off-road vehicle, but ground clearance is a decent 7.8 inches, so it should do well in snow and over moderately rough terrain.

If you go with the V6 engine, the new Vue has good towing capabilities. Maximum towing capacity is a substantial 3,500 lb. (vs. just 1,500 with the four-cylinder engine), and the standard stability control system includes an innovative trailer-stabilization system that uses active braking to reduce swaying and keep a trailer under control on hills. The Vue is also designed to be easily towed behind a recreational vehicle without damaging its drivetrain.

The '08 Vue's cabin, which reminds me of the interior of the new Saturn Aura, is one of the model's strong points. It isn't luxurious, but it's clean and tasteful, with design elements that make it distinctive—such as a parking brake lever shaped like the handle of a saber. Headroom is ample, and there's plenty of legroom for most people in both rows of seats: nearly 41 in. up front and 37 in. in back.

The '08 Vue has a substantial 29.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second-row seats, which expands to 56.4 cu. ft. with the rear seats folded down. The seats fold down flat in a 60/40 pattern, and are extremely easy to get up and down. Another nice touch in the back storage area is a nifty cargo management system. There are rails along the sides of the cargo area with moveable clamps and netting that allow you to anchor different sizes of cargo.

I do have a few nitpicks about the new Vue. Left to shift on its own, for instance, the XR's six-speed automatic transmission is a bit clunky. It hunts around for the right gear quite a bit on hilly roads and powers down excessively harshly when you floor the gas pedal all of a sudden.

The instrument lights in my test vehicle illuminated in a shade of yellow that, for propriety's sake, I'll compare to Mountain Dew. Why such an unattractive color? Also, only the driver's seat can be had with power adjustments. The passenger's seat adjusts manually and the bench-style rear seats can't be adjusted back and forth.

Finally, my test vehicle developed a very annoying rattle in the center console when I drove over rough roads. The rattle wasn't there during normal driving, but given how tight and well-made everything else in the Vue seemed to be, that was a disappointment.

Buy It Or Bag It?

A major consideration in buying a compact SUV is whether you need a third row of seats. Neither the Vue nor the Honda CR-V has one, while the Toyota RAV4 does. The RAV's optional third-row seats are very cramped, but they're better than nothing. So, if you do a lot of carpooling, the RAV4 may be your best bet among the three models.

Also, keep in mind the CR-V, with only a four-banger available under its hood, isn't in the same league as a V6-powered RAV4 or Vue when it comes to performance. (The obvious upside is the CRV's greater fuel efficiency. Our reviewer averaged 26 mpg in an '07 Honda CR-V.)

Setting aside its relatively poor fuel efficiency, the Vue offers good value, especially if you buy one now. Though Saturn is known for no-haggle pricing, GM is offering $750 cash rebates on the new Vue through Oct. 1. By contrast, there are no rebates on the CR-V and RAV4.

As a result, the '08 Vue's recent average selling price is just $23,309, according to the Power Information Network (PIN). That's nearly a grand less than the average price of the '07 CR-V ($24,137) and '07 RAV4 ($24,251), and nearly three grand under the price of the '08 Mazda CX-7 ($25,981), PIN says. (Like BusinessWeek, PIN is owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP).)

At a recent average selling price of $22,844, the '08 Ford (F) Escape (a more traditional compact SUV) is cheaper than the Vue—but only slightly.

The bottom line is the new Saturn Vue rivals the RAV4 as one of the sportiest, most versatile and inexpensive small SUVs on the market. Just expect to pay a bit more at the pump when you gas it up.

Click here to see more of the 2008 Saturn Vue.

Thane Peterson reviews cars for BusinessWeek.com.