The Saturn Outlook was discontinued when Saturn ceased manufacturing a few years ago, but they are still available used. I had looked at one almost 4 years ago at the very beginning of my car search and remembered finding the cargo area huge for the vehicle’s size, so when I saw one on the lot at CarMax, I knew I wanted to take a more thorough look at it!
(image from the Winston-Salem Carmax website of the vehicle I looked at – I was unable to get the profile picture myself due to its location in a long line of vehicles)
And I was correct, the Outlook has an impressive cargo area behind the second row for a mid-size SUV!
Width between wheel wells (narrowest part of the vehicle): 48.25″
Tallest point: 34″ in the middle of the cargo area
Lowest point: 33″ for 10″ from the hatch
Cargo depth with all rows up: 19″ on the floor, 10″ deep at the narrowest point (seat back, 21.5″ above floor level)
Cargo depth with the third row down: 48.5″ on the floor, 41″ deep at the narrowest point (seat back, 18″ above floor level)
**Note**: The second row seats appeared to only slide forward vs. folding flat, but I would double check this – the salesperson I had was very unhelpful and couldn’t tell me if this was the case or if there was some other way to fold the second row down!
MPG city: 16 mpg
MPG highway: 22 mpg
The MPGs are a bit low for my taste, but certainly reasonable for the vehicle’s size and 4WD format. There is an extra outlet in the rear cargo area, extra vents for AC/heat in the second row, and lots of dome lights, one over each row and lights on the tailgate itself – great for those late night unloading sessions at hotels or back at home!
The interior seemed nicely done – comfortable, nice looking, and the model I looked at had leather seats which are great for not trapping dog hair. 😉
The tire *is* stored beneath the cargo floor, so inaccessible with crates in place, but again, this is pretty normal for similarly sized SUVs.
As mid-size SUVs go, the Outlook is pretty nice, *unless* you just want it for cargo and not passenger use, then the apparent lack of a fold flat second row becomes problematic, as it reduces your crate capacity to the equivalent of a small SUV or hatchback!
For my needs, human passengers, plus 36″ crates in the rear it would serve admirably, and in a pinch I could fit smaller crates on the second row if I didn’t need room for humans, as I do with my current vehicle. The gas mileage is the main thing keeping the Outlook off of my short list currently.
Four Paw Drive 