2008 Saturn VUE

midsize SUV / 4-door SUV

2008 Saturn VUE 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Head restraints & seats

Other available safety features

  • Standard daytime running lights

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2008-09 models

Tested vehicle: 2008 Saturn VUE XE 4-door 4wd

The Saturn VUE was redesigned and enlarged for the 2008 model year. Its size and weight have increased sufficiently to reclassify it as a midsize SUV (2002-07 models were classified as small SUVs.) Frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by General Motors as part of frontal crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF0713
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 7
Left (cm) 11
Center (cm) 10
Right (cm) 13
Brake pedal (cm) 5
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 4
Right (cm) 2
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -2
Rearward (cm) -1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 2

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF0713
Head
HIC-15 226
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm) 6
Maximum Nij 0.29
Chest maximum compression (mm) 41
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 4.9
Femur force - right (kN) 6.5
Knee displacement - left (mm) 0
Knee displacement - right (mm) 1
Maximum tibia index - left 0.56
Maximum tibia index - right 1.12
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.0
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.9
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 82
Right 144

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2008-09 models built after December 2007

Tested vehicle: 2008 Saturn VUE XE 4-door 4wd with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Saturn VUE was redesigned and enlarged for the 2008 model year. Its size and weight have increased sufficiently to reclassify it as a midsize SUV (2002-07 models were classified as small SUVs).

Two tests of the VUE were conducted. In the first test, the side curtain airbag did not deploy properly, and the rear passenger dummy's head was hit by the window sill of the rear door. This impact did not produce high head injury measures, but the head protection was inadequate. In response, General Motors redesigned the side curtain airbags to ensure more rapid inflation and greater extension of the airbag next to the rear dummy's head. In the second test, the fix was successful, and the head protection rating improved to Good. The side airbag modifications apply to all 2008 and later models manufactured after December 2007. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.)

The two vehicles are rated separately, except that the structural ratings for both vehicles are based on both tests.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the second of two crash tests.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag (second test shown).

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag in the second test.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES0733 CES0741
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -9.5 -9.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES0741
Head HIC-15 389
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.7
Compression (kN) 0.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 35
Lateral force (kN) 1.7
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 38
Average deflection (mm) 34
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.70
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.61
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 3.1
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.7
Combined force (kN) 4.7
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.3
L-M moment (Nm) 50
A-P moment (Nm) 12

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES0741
Head HIC-15 152
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.1
Compression (kN) 0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 27
Lateral force (kN) 1.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 33
Average deflection (mm) 25
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.27
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.38
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.1
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.8
Combined force (kN) 3.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.2
L-M moment (Nm) 81
A-P moment (Nm) -25

Rating applies to 2008 models built before January 2008

Tested vehicle: 2008 Saturn VUE XE 4-door 4wd with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Saturn VUE was redesigned and enlarged for the 2008 model year. Its size and weight have increased sufficiently to reclassify it as a midsize SUV (2002-07 models were classified as small SUVs).

Two tests of the VUE were conducted. In the first test, the side curtain airbag did not deploy properly, and the rear passenger dummy's head was hit by the window sill of the rear door. This impact did not produce high head injury measures, but the head protection was inadequate. In response, General Motors redesigned the side curtain airbags to ensure more rapid inflation and greater extension of the airbag next to the rear dummy's head. In the second test, the fix was successful, and the head protection rating improved to Good. The side airbag modifications apply to all 2008 and later models manufactured after December 2007. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.)

The two vehicles are rated separately, except that the structural ratings for both vehicles are based on both tests.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection
The side curtain airbag did not deploy properly, and the dummy's head was hit by the window sill of the rear passenger door. This impact did not produce high head injury measures, but the head protection is inadequate.

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the first of two crash tests.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side airbags (first test shown).

In the first test, the side curtain airbag failed to cover the entire window opening, and smeared yellow and red greasepaint shows that the dummy's head was hit by the window sill (photo taken before rear door removed).

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES0733 CES0741
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -9.5 -9.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES0733
Head HIC-15 251
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.6
Compression (kN) 0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 34
Lateral force (kN) 1.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 44
Average deflection (mm) 37
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 4.06
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.80
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 2.6
Acetabulum force (kN) 2.0
Combined force (kN) 4.6
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.3
L-M moment (Nm) 67
A-P moment (Nm) 17

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES0733
Head HIC-15 334
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.6
Compression (kN) 0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 26
Lateral force (kN) 1.4
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 32
Average deflection (mm) 24
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.05
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.29
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.3
Acetabulum force (kN) 3.0
Combined force (kN) 4.0
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.3
L-M moment (Nm) 78
A-P moment (Nm) -31

How the side crash test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats AHR

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seats AHR
Geometry
Backset (mm) 56
Distance below top of head (mm) 49
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 10.8
Head contact time (ms) 70
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 26
Max neck tension (N) 332

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.