Drove a Outlook today

[Schultzy]

Saturn dealer got ~4 of them in, I saw at least 2 other driving around on a test drive from the same dealer. The Outlook is very nice, and when you stand next to that thing the wheels look HUGE with the tires. Very nice features, loved the moving middle row seats. Pretty good acceleration but I didnt take it all the way because of courtesy to someone that may buy it. Signs of torque steer though. One thing that I didn't like was that the rear vents couldn't be turned on unless the controls up front were turned on, also no over ride to control back vents like some vans/suvs. I also notice the Onstar/XM antenna is pretty tall, like 8 inches, don't know the reasoning behind that. No price estimate since the window stickers weren't printed yet. Do the outlooks have the 'tap shift' like some other cars? There was a + , - thing on the shifter but I couldn't figure out how it worked. Interior would NICE, and the brush allum. looked good. Seats were comfy, they were cloth , would be nice if they were heated like the Vue.

Overall very nice suv, there may be one in the future for me.

[civilzues]

they are VERY NICE! They make the Aura's look 'bad'
haha- can't wait for the astra's

[mkaresh]

Prices were released a couple of weeks ago. I have them on my site:

Vehicle prices and price comparisons

[MrBiz]

I also drove an XE today in Dallas. Overall, I agree with your comments, especially the one about the middle seats sliding foward so as to give more leg room to the third seat.

Why didn't you ask the dealer about pricing? They have a price sheet. It's also posted officially on Saturn"s website. http://www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicle...ok/pricing.jsp

I'm looking foward to seeing the XR, hopefully this week so that I can order mine.

Biz

Originally Posted by Schultzy

Saturn dealer got ~4 of them in, I saw at least 2 other driving around on a test drive from the same dealer. The Outlook is very nice, and when you stand next to that thing the wheels look HUGE with the tires. Very nice features, loved the moving middle row seats. Pretty good acceleration but I didnt take it all the way because of courtesy to someone that may buy it. Signs of torque steer though. One thing that I didn't like was that the rear vents couldn't be turned on unless the controls up front were turned on, also no over ride to control back vents like some vans/suvs. I also notice the Onstar/XM antenna is pretty tall, like 8 inches, don't know the reasoning behind that. No price estimate since the window stickers weren't printed yet. Do the outlooks have the 'tap shift' like some other cars? There was a + , - thing on the shifter but I couldn't figure out how it worked. Interior would NICE, and the brush allum. looked good. Seats were comfy, they were cloth , would be nice if they were heated like the Vue.

Overall very nice suv, there may be one in the future for me.

[mkaresh]

Originally Posted by Schultzy

Do the outlooks have the 'tap shift' like some other cars? There was a + , - thing on the shifter but I couldn't figure out how it worked.

Technically, I think that as in the Malibu that's an "electronic range selector"--it specifies the highest gear the transmission can shift into. In practice, it functions much like the average tapshift--not terribly quick to react, but much better than having to move the shifter through six detents. You'll see the highest gear allowed readout in the instrument cluster. If you put it in 3, the transmission will select among first, second, and third.

I personally like the idea of having the button on the shift knob better than having them on/near the steering wheel or moving the shifter in a special tapshift slot. The Malibus the only other car I've seen this in.