Just In: Saturn Vue Green Line

We just picked up our Saturn Vue Green Line. This hybrid SUV is GM's first foray into the passenger vehicle hybrid market, save for a very limited number of pickups. This model is only going to be in its present form for just one model year; the Vue gets redesigned for 2008. We try not to test vehicles with such a short shelf life, but we wanted to test the Green Line because GM will be packaging this hybrid powertrain into a range of vehicles in the near future.

Buying the Vue Green Line was more of a hassle than is the norm for us. When we shopped for it, we couldn't find a Connecticut dealer that had one available, or had even received their first allocation. So we cast a wider net. We found one with demo miles, so we passed on that. Then we found two more that we could buy, but the dealer wouldn't sell us their only Green Line until they got another one in stock, translating into a wait of several weeks. Finally, we found one in Massachusetts that the dealer was willing to let go. Like other Saturns, the transaction was no-haggle. For now, Saturn is holding off on incentives on their new "rebirth" models: Sky, Aura, and Vue Green Line.

The Green Line is a mild hybrid; it can't propel itself on the battery and electric motor. Instead it uses the electric motor for a horsepower boost and to allow quick restarting when the engine shuts off when stopped. Impressively, the Green Line restarts extremely smoothly when you power away from a stop, unlike the slight vibration that accompanies the Honda Accord Hybrid in the same circumstance.

Part of the fun of owning a hybrid--for some, at least--is watching all of the various fuel-economy meters and power-flow diagrams that let you see if you're besting the mileage recorded on the last commute. Unfortunately, the Vue lacks a fuel-economy readout. Instead it has an "ECO" light that flashes when you're beating the Vue's EPA estimated fuel economy. Somehow this seems a bit nebulous and unfulfilling compared to a number that you can use to brag around the water cooler.

We'll be publishing the Green Line's test early next year along with a flotilla of other small SUVs.

--Tom Mutchler