I'm one of the few people left in this country that actually wanted a station wagon! I commute ~ 18 mi round-trip and occasionally need a vehicle that can carry things and is fuel efficient. I drove trucks during my early years and owned a Bronco II and Nissan pick-up. I was done with truck-like rides, SUVs and poor gas mileage. My wife's Sebring convertible is actually my favorite car to drive. But, two years ago I bought a 20" TV and couldn't fit the damn box in my SL2! I really liked the Pontiac Vibe and it came with a top review from Consumer Reports. But, I didn't like the local dealer. They were still GM "old school". The Matrix is the same vehicle I didn't care for its looks. When I bought my 97 SL2 new from Saturn, it was a pleasant experience and I continued to service my vehicle at the dealership. I checked out the L series 4cyl. wagon and it was perfect for me except for the price. There were no incentives for the wagon although there was $4000 off the sedans! The sales manager gassed up his 2004 Vue and let me have it for 2 days. I was impressed with the 250 hp ride. It was more minivan-like than truck. It only had 5K miles and he offered it to me for $20K after subtracting $3.5K incentives and installing a $300 roof-rack. He found financing for
3.9% (60 month). The 4cyl. L wagon was just over $19K and gas mileage wasn't that great. I checked out the Rav 4, Santa-Fe, CRV and Liberty. The Santa-Fe ride in the 4 cyl. FWD was barely OK but I loved it's looks. The 4cyl. also had the same fuel efficiency as the V6 AWD Vue. The other SUVs had the spare tire on the rear lift like my Bronco. No thank you. The only negative was the Saturn dealer adding a $185 charge for "paperwork & inspection sticker" after the deal was made. They are slipping back to the GM ways. If you need to charge for this, fine, add it to the line items (dealer prep) up front! I noticed in the consumer reviews that the Vue got downgraded for "cheap plastics" in the interior. Is this from previous years experience? I thought the Vue was just as good if not better than the other models I mentioned.- posted
19 years ago