2009 Saturn Vue Green Line Hybrid

In addition to having one of the longest model names you'll find, Saturn's 2009 Vue Green Line 2 Mode Hybrid also has the second application of GM's two-mode "full" hybrid system, which first appeared on the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon and has since spread to other full-size GM SUVs and pickups. This makes it the first instance of 2 Mode in a front-wheel-drive model, too.

Saturn boasts that this car is the world's most efficient V-6 SUV, which is a fudge, because the only other hybrid V-6 SUVs are larger: the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and its Lexus sister, the RX 400h. More impressive is the claimed 50 percent improvement in mileage over the gas-only Vue. Less impressive, however, is the fact that they're comparing it to the gas-only Vue XR V-6 — which has exhibited disappointing fuel economy to start with — not the four-cylinder Vue or the other Vue Green Line.

Wait? There's another Vue Green Line? Yes, Saturn will continue to sell the existing Green Line, a "mild" hybrid that improves efficiency by roughly 10 percent by turning off the engine at stoplights and some other basic hybrid tricks. The original Green Line uses a four-cylinder gas engine. The new 2 Mode version uses a direct-injection 3.6-liter V-6; it seems an odd choice when you note the results Ford and Toyota have had in hybridizing four-cylinders. Then again, the Tahoe and Yukon hybrids use 6.0-liter V-8s rather than the model line's base 5.3-liter. They must know something we don't. ...

As in the larger trucks, 2 Mode can propel the Vue using electric power, gasoline power or some combination of the two. Unlike Toyota and Ford systems, its two 55-kilowatt electric motors work with a four-speed automatic transmission.

Of the 50 percent combined-mileage increase, Saturn says the greater benefit is in city driving, where it says drivers will see an improvement between 55 and 75 percent; the highway mileage boost is 15 to 25 percent. Certified EPA mileage figures haven't been given yet, but these percentages would turn the Vue XR FWD's 16/23 mpg city/highway and 19 mpg combined ratings to roughly 25 to 28 mpg city and between 26.5 and 28.75 mpg highway, with a combined rating of almost 29 mpg.

For comparison, the four-cylinder Vue rates 19/26 and 22 mpg combined. The current Vue Green Line is rated 25/32 and 28 mpg combined. So why pay what's sure to be a considerable premium for the 2 Mode when the simpler Green Line's combined mileage is so close? Saturn says the point is that the 2 Mode delivers this mileage with no sacrifice in acceleration (0-60 mph in 7.3 seconds) or towing (3,500 pounds).
SOURCE : CARS