Hello All! I'm new hear and thinking about buying either the Patriot or the Saturn Vue. I'm looking at the limited 4WD patriot and the vue with leather/heated seats, auto, AWD. Any input?

First - welcome to the site!

Second - there might be a good comparison (visual) floating around somewhere on this site. It's possibly in the knoweledge base section or in the general section but it will have a picture of the two vehicles that are on top of each other to give you an idea of the size differences.

Now for my personal portion of the post:

The Saturn Vue is a V6 car based SUV that'll probably offer a little more room inside but lessor quality overall. And I'm not trying to say that Saturn is a bad company but I've just never been a fan. I always thought that Jeep brand vehicles were built more solidly and durable.

If it were me - I'd go the Patriot route because of my mindset regarding Saturn and also expecting the better MPG of the 4 cylinder powered Patriot...

It really boils down to what suits you best. I think a comparably equipped Saturn Vue will be a bit more expensive, probably not have the trail capabilities of the Jeep, but give you a bit more interior room as well as increased towing capacity. I think GM has made great strides in their build quality over the past few years, as has Jeep. Take a close look at both and drive them. I don't think you will see a large mpg difference between the two.
Happy shopping!

For a comparison, click below. I compared 4 cyl/5 speed manuals, but you can click around and modify as desired. Mileage (4 cyl/5 spd VUE), interior measurements, cargo capacity are all very close. To get a Saturn AWD, it requires the v6, which has more power and better acceleration, but also drops the mileage significantly (Jeep 5 spd 25/29, CVT 23/26, VUE 19/25). Jeep has a turning radius advantage, for better manueverability on trails and also in town.

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/nvc/edmunds/VehicleComparison?styleid=100838076&styleid=100715917&maxvehicles=5&refid=&op=3&tab=specs

Since these are very close in nearly every aspect, your decision may come down to intangibles: Which has a better emotional pull on your heart? Does Onstar comfort you, or bother you with its penultimate nannyism? Are you likely to lock your keys in your vehicle, and need the great eye in the sky to beam down and help you? Do you plan or hope to someday do a little offroad trail running? Do you like Sirius or XM? Do you desire to join the Jeep fraternity, or Saturn Owners Club?:)

I recommend driving them both, and seeing which feels better to you. I am very pleased with ride quality with my Patriot.

Since your userid is tinkwantsajeep, and not tinkwantsasaturn, then the Saturn will really have to have significant advantages to pull you to the dark side.

I'm driving a VUE now... V6.. its gets about 23 mpg.
I like it, but its not really love. ya know...
Last summer I was up in the mountains camping with the fam. Traveling to the site, up a dirt path of a road... we dropped down a shelf or pot hole. I heard a loud smacking noise near the right rear wheel. From the sound of it I thought the Vue snapped in half. No damage, but I swore to myself right then my next vehicle would be a 4X4. Shortly after I learned about the Patriot and the DC's plot to seduce me into submission. I'm so there... demographic... I know there watching me... listening... waiting. LOL.

The kids do have more room in the back seat of the vue... than they would in the Patriot... sucks for them. Hey at least they still get a seat for the three of them. I not look'n at the wrangler.

Well,I've been looking around the net,I've visited an international Toronto car show last month and I have thought a lot about the new car I should purchase and there is absolutely no match to the Patriot.Yes,the VUE looks fine too but.
1. IT'S NOT A JEPP
2. IT'S ABOUT 10 000 more
3. PATRIOT HAS BETTER OFF ROAD CAPABILITIES
4. I LIKE THE LOOK OF A PATRIOT BETTER
5. I LIKE BUYING DOMESTIC AND I'm PROUND TO DRIVE AN AMERICAN PRODUCT
6. and finally YOU WILL BE PROUD TO DRIVE A JEEP,you won't have to explain to your friends or to your grandma what a JEEP is.
What did you say VUE??? What is that some car made in red China???

"6. and finally YOU WILL BE PROUD TO DRIVE A JEEP,you won't have to explain to your friends or to your grandma what a JEEP is.
What did you say VUE??? What is that some car made in red China???"

Ha! too funny and too true. although everyone has been saying to me, "what's the Patriot? I never heard of that?" and then I just explain its Jeep's coolest new model. :)

Greetings!

This is the very question I have been wrestling with for the last few months. I have a 2004 Saturn Vue 5 speed manual. I have been very pleased with it. It has good layout and interior size, it is easy on the gas, and it was made in America by UAW workers. Union wages are making my car payments, so I want a car made by union labor.

I became aware of the Patriot late last year, and have been lurking on this forum for some time. The lease on my Vue is up next month, so I went to my Saturn dealership to look at what they had on the lot. I was not able to replace my 5 speed Vue with another with the same features. Mine had a sunroof, alloy wheels, and side curtain airbags. The three they had on the lot were all basic stripped versions. I wanted a car with side curtain airbags. My next choice on that was a 4 cylinder Vue with an automatic transmission. Even if I found one with side curtain airbags, it would still have rear drum brakes, and a modest sound system. It was late on Sunday and they could not free up a leasing agent to talk to me, so I made an appointment at Saturn for the next Saturday morning and took a drive over to my Jeep dealership. Jeep has been offering radical rebates on Libertys, and I thought I might check it out.

As soon as I got to the Jeep dealership I saw a Patriot Sport in Khaki Metallic. They are still scarce in Los Angleles. My dealer has only had three of them. I took a look at the window sticker. A Patriot Sport FWD, automatic transmission, 17 inch alloy wheels, side curtain airbags, 6 disc CD/mp3 player, and a host of other cool things like traction control and electronic stability control that are not even available on the Vue. More powerful engine, better gas mileage. It is a little shorter than the Vue, a little smaller inside. Nothing serious.

I took it for a test drive. It has modest acceleration, I had no problem adjusting to the variable transmission. You step on the gas pedal. It goes. On the freeway you look down and you are doing 65 without ever noticing any shift - just a smooth transition. I did not notice the high revving that some reports have mentioned,. I did see the tach showing lower rpms at certain speeds than I woud get with my manual transmission, so I figure it is doing its job to keep the MPG down.

The visibility from the inside is just fine. I am not bothered by the view out the back window, and the large side mirrors help. From the reports on this forum and other places, I was concerned about the interior quality. I had rented a Caliber for a weekend and was underimpressed. I am happy to say that the Patriot is just fine inside. I wasn't expecting rich Corinthian leather. I plan to use this car and get muddy gear in it. The rear load floor is easy to clean, and the YES fabric may come in handy. The sound insulation from the engine is very good. I did not get that four-banger buzz. It was very nice over the speed bumps. I go camping sometimes. I don't go rock crawling. I don't need a Trail Rated Patriot to manage the rough graded roads in the National Forest. I could tell that the suspension height and wheel travel would be just fine for bounding along the roads up in Big Bear. I look forward to getting some mud on my Patriot!

Yes, of course I got it. It has a better feature set for the money than the Vue, and you can't overlook the fact that the 2007 Vue is at the end of its model run. The 2008 Vue will be completely new (and made in Mexico!), so by August your new Vue would be Last Year's Style.

The Vue has a more refined "car like" interior, but if you are planning to do any real off road activity the Patriot has a serious edge. All Wheel Drive is not really the same as Four Wheel Drive. The AWD Vue is great for added security and traction in sloppy weather, but it is not intended for rock crawling. A Trail Rated Patriot will take you places a Vue will never go - and get you back home again.