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The Saturn Vue Green Line hybrid is a very pleasant car, unless you are the Chevrolet Division of General Motors, in which case you must wonder why the parent corporation has elected to siphon off large amounts of money from your budgets to create such an effective in-house competitor.

Pitting Saturn against Chevrolet—when it was originally conceived as an import fighter—seems to be a flawed battle plan, but as we used to say in the Sixties, GM must know what it’s doing.

We would unhesitatingly recommend the new Vue for anyone who is feeling trapped in a larger SUV as used-SUV values tumble and fuel costs rise. The benefits of the relatively simple “mild” GM hybrid system are several. Its main functions seem to be keeping the battery charged and restarting the engine after every automatic shutdown (and the automatic shutdown feature is where most of the fuel savings occur.) This is essentially the same (equally satisfactory) hybrid system used in the Chevrolet Malibu.

The Vue Green Line delivers 6 miles per gallon more than its gas-only sibling, and manages to best four-cylinder competitors like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V by roughly similar amounts, while undercutting them on retail price with the help of the Federal tax credit. At $25,995, the vehicle is almost $650 cheaper than the Ford Escape Hybrid, and its advertised fuel economy is 25 mpg city and 32 mpg highway. Thoughtful drivers should see at least a 550-mile range on a seventy-five-dollar tank of regular.
“The Chevy small-block of the future,” the 2.4-liter, four-cylinder Ecotec demonstrates its great flexibility and all-round usefulness in the Green Line, and its performance is what pulls the whole package together. Passing and merging into fast freeway traffic hold no fears. Standing-start acceleration will do no damage to one’s vital organs, but is better than adequate.

The Vue Green Line shares its appearance and its architecture with GM’s Opel. Opels have never set American hearts alight, but they are very good cars, and very popular on their home turf. This marriage of Opel and Ecotec works awfully well. The engine is sometimes intrusive, and on a couple of forays over Southeastern Michigan’s abominable roads we were aware of some protest from the tires and front suspension, but generally speaking the Vue Green Line is a very successful hybrid. Handling, roadholding, and braking all reflect the platform’s European lineage.

The interior is not as roomy as it might be when compared to its natural competitors. The boxlike SUV shape makes all of the interior space useful and accessible, but careful packing and stowing will be a must. Front seats are comfortable but skimpy. The rear seat folds flat to increase luggage space, and when it is upright, legroom is okay. The Vue Green Line is more about economical commuting than sybaritic transcontinental adventures. Nonetheless, we think that it accomplishes that basic mission very well, and we recommend it for that sort of use.

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Magazine Issue: Winding Road Issue 35