Tow vehicle

[Steven F]

I looked at a 2006 Saturn Vue yesterday and wondered if anyone has used one as a tow vehicle. It has a 250-hp Honda V-6, 242-ft.lbs. torque. EPA mileage (not towing) 20mpg city, 28 mpg highway. Looks like with those specs it might make a good tow vehicle for a 16' Scamp. And as a benefit get reasonable gas mileage when not using it to tow.

Steve

[Steve L.]

I looked at a 2006 Saturn Vue yesterday and wondered if anyone has used one as a tow vehicle. It has a 250-hp Honda V-6, 242-ft.lbs. torque. EPA mileage (not towing) 20mpg city, 28 mpg highway. Looks like with those specs it might make a good tow vehicle for a 16' Scamp. And as a benefit get reasonable gas mileage when not using it to tow.

Steve

I don't want to in any way promote the neverending, unanswerable "can I tow X with Y" question, but your question did catch my eye. They're putting Honda motors into a GM product??

[Steven F]

I don't want to in any way promote the neverending, unanswerable "can I tow X with Y" question, but your question did catch my eye. They're putting Honda motors into a GM product??

Yep, apparently it is a share arrangement with Honda. GM is supplying a diesel engine to Honda for something, according to the salesman at the Saturn dealer.

The maximum tow rating for the Saturn Vue is 1500lbs , so I think it would not be ideal for towing a 16' Scamp. There is no doubt that the engine is powerful enough, but the rest of the drivetrain and chassis may be the limiting factor.
Steve.

I beleive the 4 cyclinder Vue has a 1500 lb tow rating and the V6 Honda engine has a 3500 lb tow rating.

Ken

[Steven F]

I beleive the 4 cyclinder Vue has a 1500 lb tow rating and the V6 Honda engine has a 3500 lb tow rating.

Ken

Ken,
You are correct on the tow rating at 3,500 lb for the Honda V-6. Also the Honda V-6 EPA highway mileage is 28 as compared to 27 for the 4 cylinder with automatic transmission.
What I really wanted to know, is there anyone out there that has one, and how do they like it for towing, and all around driving? The 2005 also has the Honda V-6.
With those ratings it looks almost too good to be true. And the old saying goes, "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is". Maybe not in this case.

[Tom Trostel]

Consumers Reports gives the Saturn Vue its lowest reliability rating. I guess they should have borrowed more than the engine from Honda. Tom Trostel

[Pete Dumbleton]

We are shooting in the dark by looking at the engine -- Need to look in the owner's manual and see what Saturn says about the capability of the entire package == For example, they might have a small differential in there with a high set of gears designed for highway mpg, a marginal cooling system and brakes that suck -- Or not.

Looks like "or not"! According to

http://auto.consumerguide.com/Auto/New/rev...38793/Act/Specs

the V6 is rated for 3,500 lbs towing. Indeed, this looks like a good rig.

Hi,
We tow a 1978 Trillium 4500 (1500 lbs give or take) with a 2004 Vue V6 FWD (yes, it is a Honda engine) and could not be happier. We have made several trips through the mountains and this vehicle has power to spare and handles very well with only a ball hitch (no anti-sway/load distribution hitch) and without trailer brakes.

As for mileage, we got about 21 MPG going through the mountains vs 26 MPG without the trailer (13.5 litres/100km towing vs 11 litres/100km without) The vehicle has a 5 speed automatic tranny and downshifts frequently if towing in overdrive. Have had the vehicle for 1 1/2 years with absolutely no problems. One of the big reasons we went with the Vue was for the engine and towing capacity in what I would consider a mid sized SUV.

Dave