Just my 2 cents:, while I do have every other saturn in my family other than a VUE, I do know many others who have had greeat experience with them. IMHO however, your best best is to avoid the older ('04 and back 4 cyl. ) CVT tranny altogether. Saturn realized thier mistake and since 2005 has decided to go to the old tried and true Hydramatic transmission in thier automatics. This makes the 4 much more responsive, reliable and quieter.
Saturn has made alot of nice changes to the new '05 VUE 4 and 6 cyl, making it smoother and quieter, especially the 4 cyl with the new tranny. The '05 ecotec engine has been going thru some subtle tranformations and IMHO '05 is the best I have seen for the 4cyl.
In '04, the VUE engine, a variation of the older L300 V6 was replaced with a more powerful V6 upping the power to 250hp. This engine is greener and packs a big punch while maintaining great gas mileage, better than many cars.
One more note, in '05 the NTSHA came out with new SUV rollover testing techniques, which the '05 VUEs were recalled then redesigned to pass these specific tests. Just FYI, Saturn then issued a large campaign to call back all prior models to re-equip them with the same type of reinforcement to the rear wheels as the '05 for free. If you do buy a VUE prior to '05 make sure that this campaign was already done.
Cost of ownership is quite low on the 4 a bit higher on the 6 as it is a Honda engine. Gas is between 24-31 mpg (as ppl have actually told me). Insurance is lower as the VUE has a 5 star safety rating all round.
marx404