2008 Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Saturn Vue Green Line 2 Mode Hybrid

• Competes with: Ford Escape Hybrid, Mazda Tribute Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V
• Looks like: The regular Vue and other Vue Green Line, with a few tweaks
• Drivetrain: 3.6-liter direct-injection V-6 with four-speed automatic, two 55-kilowatt electric motors and a 300-volt nickel-metal-hydride battery
• Hits dealerships: Late 2008

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% 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% 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.

Of the 50% combined-mileage increase, Saturn says the greater benefit is in city driving, where it says drivers will see an improvement between 55 and 75%; the highway mileage boost is 15 to 25%. 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). More photos below.