The Saturn Vue Red Line Is A Totally Strange Performance SUV Everyone Forgot About – SlashGear

Interestingly, the 3.5-liter V6 was an available option in any Vue from 2004 to 2007, not just the Red Line. However, for $1,995 extra, the Red Line delivered sport suspension that lowered the vehicle by a full inch, performance-tuned steering, and a set of handsome 18-inch diameter alloy wheels. In the appearance department, the Red Line was differentiated from the standard Vue with a monochromatic paint scheme, a ground effects package, and bespoke front and rear fascias. Arguably, the Vue still looked like a piece of rolling Tupperware, but the Red Line package was a big step in the right direction.

For 2008, a second-generation Vue was introduced — actually just rebadged Opel Antara — and the Honda engine was dropped in favor of a GM-sourced 3.6 liter V6. The new V6 produced a little more horsepower than the previous Honda engine but was actually slower because the second-gen Vue gained approximately 400 pounds versus the outgoing car. 

In 2010, the Saturn brand was officially discontinued in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis and GM’s subsequent bankruptcy, but for a while, the “different kind of car company” was way ahead of its time with its high-performance crossover SUV, a segment that’s uber-popular today.

[Featured image by LouieRBLX via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY-SA 4.0]