Our family bought this car brand new in late 2005 and it ran for nearly 20 years with no major mechanical issues whatsoever. It has a Honda J35 engine instead of a typical GM 3.5 liter, making it run much smoother than other Saturns. Occasional maintenance and attention was of course necessary along the way but no mechanical issues ever made the car unsafe to drive. HOWEVER, after about 235k miles, the front engine mount had almost entirely rusted away beyond repair and could not hold the engine in place, deeming it unsafe to drive, a shame because the car never had any major mechanical issues and was extremely dependable besides this fact. Otherwise, the car looks great with a nice interior and is fairly comfortable Overall, it is a great car and very reliable, just be sure to check that the engine mount is intact.

I purchased my 2006 Vue, 3.5L V6 automatic, front wheel drive in 2011 with 79,000 miles on it. I still own it at 189,000 and I have put tires, brakes, an alternator that wasn't needed from a "mechanic" that needed to learn mechanicing a little better, a couple of batteries and a valve cover gasket that I did myself because there was a tiny little leak and i just didnt want it to get worse as there was never a drop on the driveway, thats how minor it was. Not a drop since and that's it. It runs like a top, still has the power it was born with and is probably the best, most reliable car I've ever owned. I have used it as a moving van on multiple occasions, I own 3 businesses and have used it to some capacity for all of them. 1) I flip houses and I do all of the work on the houses myself so there's a lot of materials and tools to be hauled. 2) I have a handyman service and that should speak for itself as far as equipment and materials mobilized and, 3) I restore antique furniture, fix all furniture and build custom furniture all of which I normally pick up, fix and deliver back to the customer and that dadgum Saturn has hauled more than I see some dump trucks haul at one time. Lol. I've had it loaded with bedframes and dressers hanging out the rear with the hatch tied down as far as I could while having a full sized sofa and love seat strapped to the roof on top of a mattress and box spring and nightstands in the passenger seat and boxes, bags, suitcases, couch pillows and cushions and clothes packed into any crevice possible and my driver seat as far forward as it would go with me practically riding on top of the steering wheel to drive when moving more than once. I'd have gone to jail if they'd have seen me. But that little Saturn has pulled me through every bit of that kind of abuse without a hicup and it still looks great too. I finally broke down and bought a pickup as soon as I could because I just couldn't see abusing my little vue that way anymore. But what a great little car. I highly recommend this vehicle to anyone looking for a dependable kids car or a family grocery getter. You wont be disappointed. And I just wanted to mention that I read a review on here about the 3rd one listed, I think, and the guy says the company should be ashamed for selling something as dangerous to drive as this car and they should have ussued a recall on them because his front frame rusted out.... ummm, pal, it's metal, you probably live up north where there's salt on the roads, I live in Florida 15 miles South of Daytona Beach right on the beach that has a lot of salt. Try a little preventative maintenence and you'll be fine. A bit late for that car but mine doesn't have a spec of rust on it anywhere. It is not the companies responsibility to activate a recall on a line of vehicles because one guy who bought one never washes his car,(at least not the undercarriage). It's also not the companies responsibility to come to your house and clean your vehicle properly or to show you how to do so... Man, I'm sorry, I literally laughed out loud when I read that one. Wow! Anyway, sorry for the novel, just cant say enough about this little SUV. If you find one that's been taken care of, even if its been used hard like mine, but taken care of, buy it.

Owning this car for 40,000 of it's 65,000 miles I can say that the avg 24MPG out of the 250hp HONDA 3.5L V6 is all you need for an SUV. It has plenty of interior room for cargo (even has a grocery bag holder built-in!) which only gets larger when you fold down the back seats. Moved to college and back 3 years with it and this drivetrain gave me ZERO issues. It's engine is from Honda, so that's what you expect :) The transmission shifted smoothly as well. I never got stuck in the snow with it, it has good ground clearance and being FWD just pulls you along in the snow no problem. It's not the quietest car on the road, but softer tires helped that. I made a couple of upgrades to bring it to 2020 standards such as a new Bluetooth touchscreen radio (with backup camera) as well as installed a Viper 2-way remote start system. This helped tremendously with the cold Minnesota winters it endured. Would definitely recommend this vehicle if you can purchase one that has been well taken care of!