U.S. safety regulators said on Monday they were able to complete rollover tests on the 2004 Saturn VUE after General Motors Corp. strengthened the sport utility's suspension system, which had collapsed in previous road tests.
Together, the revamped two- and four-wheel-drive models posted an average overall score on the government's five-star rating scale even though both tipped up during test-track maneuvers that involved sharp turns.
Both vehicles have roughly a 20 percent chance of rolling in a single-vehicle crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found.
The agency bases its rollover risk analysis on test track results and a mathematical calculation of vehicle measurements.
As a class, SUVs are much more prone to roll than passenger cars.
In June, the left rear wheel on two VUEs collapsed during tests, prompting a voluntary recall of more than 240,000 2002-2004 vehicles. Most of those vehicles are in the United States.
Saturn, a unit of GM, installed stronger suspension components on new VUE models before a second round of rollover tests was completed this month.
