From the side, the nose is conspicuously short and rounded. The styling invites the eye rearward, as the roof sweeps straight back and appears as a thin sliver at its trailing edge. The dark rear glass takes over, wrapping around about 40 percent of the vehicle, finally stopped by a wide sloping C-pillar. The fender flares are fat, and the six-spoke alloy wheels are clean and unpretentious, with six beefy lugs in the hub.

At the rear, the Outlook loses some of its style. The black dam matches the front, making the SUV look like it has super high ground clearance. The taillights are ordinary, and the chrome over the license plate doesn’t add anything. We find the look of the XE with its body-colored trim cleaner than the XR with its chromed door handles and roof rails.

The Saturn Outlook features eight-passenger seating, and third-row seating is relatively generous. Measured against the Tahoe, a full-size SUV of similar length, the Outlook offers 33.2 inches of third-row legroom versus the Tahoe’s skimpy 25.4 inches. The 2008 Honda Pilot has 30.2 inches. We put a 6-foot, 3-inch fellow in the Outlook’s third row, and he said it was fine.

Second-row legroom is less generous: Outlook offers 36.9 inches while Tahoe has 39.0, and the 2008 Honda Pilot has 37.4.

The second-row seat slides rearward, however, providing more legroom when the third row is unoccupied or when kids in back are small enough that you can get away with squishing them a little.

So this legroom thing is a bit complicated. When we add the legroom of the second and third rows together, the Outlook wins with 70.1 inches, compared with Tahoe’s 64.3 and Pilot’s 67.6.

Getting into the Outlook is very easy, especially considering it doesn’t have sliding doors. Access to the third row is much easier than in most vehicles, thanks to a design called Smart Slide. Using a massive lever on the either side of the 60/40 split seat, each side of the second row slides way forward on rails, and then the seatback tilts until it touches the back of the front seat. It’s an easy one-handed operation, opening a wide path to the third row. Smart Slide is also a feature of the optional captain’s chairs.

Cargo capacity with both rows folded is 116.9 cubic feet. With the third row in place it’s 68.9 cubic feet, and behind the third row it’s 19.7 cubic feet. Those are healthy numbers. The third row easily folds flat, from either the second row or through the liftgate.

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