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The Saturn Vue Red line is a powerful SUV. Loaded to the max with ground effects, a large front grille, and modified wheels it certainly looks great from the outside. A classier instrument cluster and automatic headlamps are now standard on the V6 model. Our Red Line model also features a tighter performance tuned suspension and larger 18 inch wheels.

By the end of our week with the Red Line VUE, its capabilities and style had pretty much won us over.

Women are the majority of buyers of Saturn's sport utility vehicle, the Vue. For 2004, they're getting a surprising and improved package, a spirited ride that comes, interestingly enough, from a Honda V6 under the hood.

Saturn boasts a couple of firsts for the 2004 model year. First year for a high-performance sport-utility vehicle, a hopped up version of the Vue called the Red Line. And first year for that performance in a quieter 24-valve V-6 engine, a 3.5-liter compliments of Honda.

The "different kind of company" from Spring Hill, Tennessee, known for its no-haggle pricing and dent-resistant body panels, now builds a different kind of SUV. Saturn teamed with General Motors Performance Division to engineer the Vue Red Line, an SUV that offers more sport while maintaining the 'ute.

Of the many upgrades, one of the most significant is the all-new V6 engine. The old 3-liter V6 that created a measly 181 hp. has been tossed - a new 3.5-liter V6 yields a healthy 250 hp. Variable valve timing appears within the new mill, and while upping high-end power and low-end torque, this new system also improves fuel economy. A 5-speed automatic transmission, with grade logic control, backs the V6.

At first, I didn't recognize it. It was jet-black, with big 18" wheels wrapped in high performance tires. It was slammed low and treated to an aero kit. It was hot. It was the all-new Saturn Vue Red Line and this time, Saturn got it right. It's about time.

Our Saturn Vue Red Line was painted "Electric Lime," fer cryin' out loud. I was afraid I was going to have to plug it in at night to prevent the paint job from draining the battery.

Its impressive 3.5-liter 24-valve, DOHC, Honda-derived V6 is powerful and responsive, putting 250 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 242 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm down to the road via all of its wheels.

With its jazzed-up looks and excellent engine, the VUE Red Line V-6 is a good addition to the Saturn portfolio.

In seeking a name for its new higher-performance models, Saturn looked no further than the gauges on its dashboards.

Tricked-out small cars and trucks are all the rage with young buyers. So to try and grab a slice of that market, always unconventional Saturn has tuned-up its youngest offerings to produce the Red Line series. So let's put the VUE Red Line and this Ion Red Line to the test, and see if high performance with high style are enough to drive Saturn sales to the red line.

From the beginning, Saturn vehicles have been about pricing and economy with little regard for enthusiast-oriented performance. That changes, however, with the 2004 Saturn Vue, a stylish sport utility that can be powered by a Honda-sourced 250-horsepower V-6 engine. "Wow" is the likely reaction to driving the new Vue from anyone acquainted with previous Saturns. It's got real go-power, with respectable EPA ratings of 19 mpg regular unleaded in the city and 25 on the highway.

Saturn has dared to be different from the start and its interpretation of the ubiquitous sport utility vehicle shows no deviation from that admirable philosophy.

Small SUVs are growing in popularity, perhaps because of their roomy interiors and lighter footprint on the environment.