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A winter storm in Duck Creek, Utah last December was no challenge for a 2008 Saturn Outlook supplied by Saturn of West Sahara.
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Okay, I admit it. I’m a fan of Saturn considering the company’s incredible rebound in the car business in the past couple of years.
So, when Saturn of West Sahara General Manager Byron Klemaske offered to let me test drive an all-wheel drive crossover ’08 Saturn Outlook SUV, I jumped at the opportunity during the very challenging month of December.
The only issue with the assignment was that the test drive would take place to our favorite hangout at Duck Creek, Utah, which received record snow.
In fact, Highway 14 which reaches from Cedar City, Utah 30 miles to the quaint village in Southwest Utah had been closed for an entire week because of inclement weather.
Even with winter storm warnings and a winding mountain road that this time of year is generally snow-covered, I decided to accept Klemaske’s challenge. State Route 14 was opened, and we took off first thing Saturday morning.
And when we awoke Sunday to see that a winter storm had appeared 10 hours early, we knew we were in for the ultimate challenge. Four inches of newly-arrived snow made conditions treacherous, although as we’d learn, not too treacherous for Saturn’s Outlook. All we knew was that conditions were worsening by the minute.
Even in going home the back way east on State Route 14 to Highway 89, the roads were snow-covered all the way south to Kanab and finally to Hurricane. Vehicles were stranded in ever direction, and 6-8 percent grades in mountainous terrain helped make for the idea challenge. The snow was so intense that plows were even working in Zion National Park.
The ’08 Saturn Outlook SUV is indeed another example of a rally by General Motors to meet the needs of folks seeking a vehicle that will not only work well for the winter but also for moms needing plenty of room to haul kids to and from youth athletic events.
The seven-passenger, 275-horsepower Outlook priced from $29,243 is a perfect package. David Compton, senior director of Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center in East Haddam, Conn., says the Outlook is the best-peforming high-volume GM vehicle in years.
The Outlook placed in two categories of a Consumer Reports edition. The three-seat vehicle has drawn rave reviews for months.
The vehicle we took on a trip of about 600 miles backed away from nothing. It handled the city driving with ease, cruised I-15 like a luxury car and went up and over the mountains of Southern Utah without even breathing hard. With a 3.6 liter V-6, it has a mileage rating of 16 city and 22 highway to create the ideal package
Duck Creek has a perfect test track for all-wheel or four-wheel drive vehicles. In fact, Bonanza Road in Duck Creek is like Bonanza Road in Las Vegas, only with much tougher challenges.
Again, not a problem for the ’08 Saturn Outlook. It went up Bonanza Road with ease, and it came down that same steep grade no problem. It didn’t slip, and it didn’t slide. And when it came to Highway 14, Highway 89 or any other road in Southern Utah, the Outlook glided through anything and everything.
Simply said, the Saturn Outlook is the ideal vehicle no matter what time of year we’re talking about.
Klemaske has told me in the past that the owners of more expensive SUVs are trading them in for the Outlook, and I can now see why.
Saturn of West Sahara is part of the Findlay Automotive Group, which was founded more than 47 years ago by the late Pete Findlay, whose son, Cliff, now spearheads new and used car operations in Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Idaho.
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