Saturn has a solid hit with Outlook

— -- Saturn's 2007 Outlook full-size crossover SUV is terrific.

Just like the very similar GMC Acadia.

The combination of space, handling, comfort and utility is hard, maybe impossible, to find in any other SUV. Mazda's exciting CX-9 is a bit more fun to drive, feels slightly more upscale inside and does a better job seating second-row riders. But it tows less, and it's a little smaller, mainly narrower. The extra 2 inches of width in the Saturn and GMC vehicles is the difference between a little tight and just right, especially if you're a big person or take long trips.

The test vehicle was a regular production '07 Outlook, very well furnished and priced $37,859. Noteworthy:

•Transmission update. New programming in the six-speed automatic transmission is a big improvement. The vehicle no longer loses power and stumbles when you jump the throttle while underway, as when passing. Upshifts are especially crisp. But the transmission is quick to unlock the fuel-saving lock-up clutch and downshift on modest grades. Too fussy. And while there's no stumble on the downshift, there's still a delay, as if the gearbox is mulling it.

The change was installed in new vehicles beginning in February, and dealers are supposed do the recalibration free, usually when you come in for service, says Pete Nico, who is what Saturn's parent, General Motors, calls the vehicle line director. He's the guy where the buck stops for the Outlook and Acadia, as well as the mechanically similar Buick Enclave, just going on sale.

The fix applies to Acadia and Saturn Aura XR sedan, which use the same six-speed automatic.

The transmission was jointly developed with Ford Motor. Though the companies manufacture the transmissions separately and tune them independently, the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX SUVs using the gearbox have a similar stumble.

Ford spokesman Nicholas Twork says Ford is "looking at ways to reduce that" stumble. But Ford plans no full-bore correction like GM's, he says, because it believes its version shifts "quite a bit better" than GM's.

•Seating. Choose a bench in the middle for eight, buckets for seven. You pay more to get less. Middle buckets are a $495 option, if you already have leather. If not, stand back. You need to upgrade to leather and heated seats, adding $1,275 to the $495 you thought you were spending.

Front seats are uncommonly comfortable. Middle row is good, but too close to the floor for adult comfort. Third row is surprisingly good.

The second row is clumsy to shove forward for access to the third row. The cushion pops up with a jerk as you push the seat forward. The idea is to open more room for the seat to move forward, but the cushion releases so roughly that it always feels as if you broke something. When you slide the second row back, you have to push down the cushion separately. The Mazda CX-9 slide system is elegant by contrast.