First Drive: 2007 Saturn Outlook

Previews

No excuses for Saturn’s largest and most expensive offering ever.

In case you haven’t been paying attention to GM’s once-neglected brand that for the past few years has been forced to rely on superior customer service to motivate sales, Saturn is back, this time with a full product revitalization plan, including five new-for-2007 models (Sky, Sky Red Line, Aura, Vue Green Line, and Outlook) and two more coming for ’08 (Vue and Astra).

Among the new-for-’07s is Saturn’s largest and most expensive vehicle ever, the Outlook: a three-row, seven- or eight-passenger people-hauler that will replace the forgettable Relay minivan in the lineup.

Cheapest in the Family

Underpinning the Outlook is an all-new, front-drive unibody architecture, dubbed Lambda, shared with the GMC Acadia, the upcoming and upscale Buick Enclave, and an as-yet-unnamed Chevy version. The four-wheel-independent suspension consists of a strut-front and multilink-rear arrangement.

On the Saturn’s side is price, however, which, at $27,990, starts $2000 lower than the next-cheapest mechanical-twin, the GMC Acadia. Why the price difference? That’s a good question, one even the Saturn reps on hand during our drive couldn’t explain away with feature disparities. One thing the Acadia gets is a standard dual exhaust and, therefore, five more horsepower than a base Outlook XE. Big deal. Other distinctions are more a matter of taste. The Outlook gets unique front and rear sheetmetal and a slightly different interior. We can’t really complain about these big utes’ clean and elegant exterior or the handsome interiors. In fact, we preferred the Outlook’s interior to that of the last Acadia we drove, as the GMC version seems to have gone a little crazy with chrome, which surrounds each vent. In both vehicles, though, the hard-to-the-touch interior plastics whisper “cheap.”

Powertrain

Powering every Lambda SUV is the “high feature” 24-valve DOHC 3.6-liter V-6 that’s been spreading throughout the General’s ranks of late. In base Outlook XE models, the smooth V-6 makes 270 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque. Uplevel XR trim adds dual exhausts, which increase those numbers to 275 horsepower and 251 pound-feet. The only transmission available is a six-speed automatic with manumatic control.

Interior and Driving Impressions


Together, this pair is good for respectable fuel economy but only moderate haste. Front-drive models get 18 mpg city and 26 mpg highway ratings from the EPA, which drop to 17/24 with all-wheel drive. No complaints there, but with 5000 pounds to haul around, the V-6 is definitely taxed. Expect the trip to 60 mph to take about eight seconds—not painful, but well behind that of the Honda Pilot, which GM sees as a key competitor.

We hope GM has plans to install the 300-hp direct-injection version of its 3.6-liter V-6, as shown in the ’08 Cadillac CTS, but it would be even better if the company could shoehorn the transverse and torquey 303-hp, 5.3-liter small-block from the Pontiac GXP and Chevy Impala SS into these utes.

Big on the Outside, Big on the Inside

The Outlook does interior space more impressively than it chugs to 60 mph, and this is what should attract buyers anyway. All three rows of seats offer near-minivan levels of space, and real-size adults can comfortably fit even in the third row, which is something that cannot be said about the back rows of GM’s truck-based full-size SUVs, the Tahoe and the Yukon, even though the Outlook and the Tahoe/Yukon are similar in size. Access to the Outlook’s third row is granted by pulling a lever on the side of the second-row seat, which pops that seat bottom upward and then slides the whole thing forward and out of the way. This creates a large opening to the rear seat, but the process of folding and sliding isn’t quite as smooth as Saturn officials describe. With all seats in place, there are 20 cubic feet of storage behind the third row—more than in a Tahoe. Folding both rows—no headrest removal required—increases the space to 117 cubes.

So, How’s It Drive?

From behind the wheel, however, we doubt anyone would guess the Outlook is Tahoe-sized. Thanks to well-weighted and readable steering, excellent ride-and-handling balance, and an expansive view out front, the Outlook drives much smaller than it actually is. Okay, there’s not much to get excited about, and its moves are not sporty (check out the Mazda CX-9 if that’s your thing), but hey, it’s not our fault if you have a bunch of kids to haul around. The four-wheel disc brakes are easy to modulate, although the Outlooks we drove had more of an initial dead spot than we remember in the Acadia.

The Outlook never feels clumsy, remaining composed and without excessive body motions over every bump and through every turn we flung it into. And it’s extremely quiet inside at speed. Call it competent—and better than most other 5000-pound vehicles.


Options and Verdict

We would prefer a more responsive transmission, however. For the sake of fuel economy, the six-speed likes to upshift early and then remain in the higher gears. It takes quite a boot to get it to downshift, which is not only annoying but can be jerky as well. Upshifts are smoother but can seem a little lazy at wide-open throttle.

The Saturn Dealer Would Love for You to Add $10,000 in Options

Standard safety equipment is fairly extensive on the Outlook, including anti-lock brakes, stability control, and six airbags (front, side, and curtain). But as one might imagine, there are all sorts of optional goodies—enough to push an Outlook’s price above $40,000—including 19-inch wheels (18s are standard), $2000 on-demand all-wheel drive, a $1295 rear-seat DVD player, stereo upgrades, navigation, XM satellite radio, leather seats, automatic climate control, a $425 trailering package that ups the towing capacity from 2000 to 4500 pounds, a power liftgate, and remote start. Thumbs down for not offering a Bluetooth hands-free phone connection. This wasn’t an oversight, however; GM just wants to encourage the purchase of a pricey OnStar phone plan.

The Verdict

GM’s investment in its products is clearly paying off, demonstrated by these good-looking and spacious new full-size SUVs. They’re extremely competitive in price, interior space, driving dynamics, and feature content. We’ll keep hoping for some more horsepower, while we wait to see how the next-gen Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot stack up.

BY DAVE VANDERWERP (www.caranddriver.com)