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by Ann Job
Saturn's Vue gas-electric hybrid takes a different approach in operation and pricing.
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The Vue Green Line will be the first hybrid SUV to offer only front-wheel drive.
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Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak estimates the fuel economy of the Vue Green Line will be 27 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway.
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The Vue Green Line lags behind the Ford Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Lexus RX 400h and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid in fuel economy.
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Unlike Ford and Toyota's hybrids, the Vue Green Line cannot run beyond a few seconds solely on electric power because its hybrid system is designed primarily to supplement the gas engine.
As if there isn't enough debate about gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles already, Saturn adds a new twist this summer when its first hybrid debuts.
The 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line sport-utility vehicle will offer improved fuel economy over gas-only Vues, via a less complicated hybrid system used by Toyota and Ford.
The Vue Green Line also is expected to arrive in showrooms with a hybrid price premium of only $1,500 or so over the price of a comparable four-cylinder, gas-only Vue.
This could put the starting manufacturer's suggested retail price under $23,000, which is some $4,000 less than the current lowest-priced hybrid SUV, the 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid. Toyota's lowest-priced hybrid SUV is the 2006 Highlander Hybrid, whose MSRP is just over $33,000.
"The Vue Green Line is expected to be the lowest-cost hybrid-powered SUV in the market," said Mark LaNeve, vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing for Saturn's parent company, General Motors Corp. "Its lower price allows us to offer the fuel-saving benefits of hybrids to a wider group of customers."
Due in Late Summer
With production planned to start in July 2006, Saturn officials won't announce final pricing until the summer.
But they are already talking up the benefits of the Vue's hybrid system, estimating fuel savings at some 20 percent over a gas-only Vue.
Specifically, Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak estimated fuel economy of the Vue Green Line, which supplements a four-cylinder engine with electric power, at 27 miles a gallon in city driving and 32 mpg on the highway. This compares with 22/27 mpg in a comparable, gas-only, four-cylinder two-wheel-drive Vue with automatic transmission.
The Vue also is offered with a gasoline V6 that is rated at 20/28 mpg.
(See rankings of Hybrid SUVs by fuel economy.)
Won't Top Other Hybrid SUVs in Gas Mileage
Note that the Vue Green Line will lag behind the current hybrid SUVs in fuel economy.
Saturn's estimate of 27/32 mpg for the new Vue compares with 36/31 mpg for the best-mileage SUV, which is the 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid with front-wheel drive and 33/29 mpg with all-wheel drive.
The 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, which is a sibling of the Escape Hybrid with all-wheel drive, also is rated at 33/29 mpg. It's followed by the Lexus RX 400h and Toyota Highlander Hybrid, both of which are built by Toyota and have a rating of 33/28 mpg for two-wheel-drive models and 31/27 mpg for RX 400h and Highlander Hybrid four-wheel-drive models.
But the Vue Green Line can surpass the mileage of non-hybrid SUVs, including the 2006 Honda CR-V, which is rated at 23/29 mpg for a two-wheel drive.
On the outside, the Green Line mostly retains the styling and most components of the regular Vue compact SUV. There is a subtle change to the grille, and tires are different to provide less rolling resistance.
(For more on gas mileage, read articles on Fuel Economy and Surprising Facts for Drivers About Gas Mileage by Consumer Reports.)
No All-Wheel Drive
There are several ways that the Vue Green Line is simpler than other hybrids already on sale.
For one thing, the Vue Green Line will be the first hybrid SUV available in front-wheel-drive only. Officials said there will be no all- or four-wheel-drive offering, as there are for the current hybrid SUVs on the market. These are the 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX 400h.
The front-wheel-drive-only drivetrain may limit the appeal of the Vue hybrid to people who aren't interested in four-wheel traction on their SUVs.
Less Complex System
While the Vue Green Line uses an electric motor and nickel-metal hydride battery pack to supplement a 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine with 170 horsepower, this Vue cannot run beyond a few short seconds solely on electric power.
Typically, this short electric-only operation comes when the Vue is just starting up from a stop and the gasoline engine is just getting started.
This electric-only time is limited because the Vue's hybrid system is designed primarily to supplement the gas engineâfor example, in acceleration maneuvers when the driver wants to pass another vehicle on the highway.The electric power is not meant to provide propulsion on its own.
This means that Saturn didn't have to re-engineer the Vue's powertrain. Instead, the Vue's electric-drive motor is combined with the vehicle's alternator, which is simpler and less complicated than Toyota's use of two electric motors as well as a planetary gear.
The Vue's system includes regenerative brakes that are designed to recapture energy when a driver is braking. This energy is stored in the battery pack, where it can be retrieved for electric motor uses.
But because the Vue's battery pack doesn't need to provide enough power to propel the vehicle all by itself, it's smaller than expected.
As a result, the rectangular pack sits tidily behind the back seat, under the cargo floor, where it does not impinge on storage space.
Ford and Toyota hybrids also pair gas engines to electric motors and battery packs and include regenerative braking. But these SUVs also can travel for somewhat extended periods on electric power, with the gas engine off, thereby offering more opportunities for fuel savings.
For instance, a Highlander Hybrid recently tested traveled down a residential street, all on electric power. And it moved from stop to stop in congested traffic, again, all on electric power. This provides additional opportunities for gas savings.
Like the competitors, the Vue does save gas by turning off the gasoline engine when the vehicle comes to a stop, say, at a stoplight, and the system determines there's no big energy demand, such as high-speed air conditioning, that requires that the engine remain on.
In these circumstances, the engine starts automatically when the driver lets up on the brake pedal.
And in testing, the Vue hybrid's engine on/off and electric power additions came on smoothly, while in some of the more complex hybrids there has been occasional roughness, a feeling as if the vehicle's about to stall, in transitions.
(Read Consumer Reports' article on Hybrid Safety Concerns.)
Manually Measuring Fuel Savings?
Perhaps a more niggling issue for buyers of the Vue Green Line is the fact this SUV doesn't calculate the kind of mileage it's getting.
Because the Vue's electronics are old, they do not gather data that would tell a driver if he or she got 25 mpg or 27 mpg or 30 mpg on a trip, according to Larry Nitz, executive director of GM's global hybrid powertrains.
An aftermarket chip or sensor that could tap the vehicle's "communications bus," as Nitz put it, wouldn't get any mileage info, either.
This leaves a busy driver to trust that she is getting the fuel savings promised.
Note there is a green "Eco" light that comes on in the dashboard to tell a driver if she is, at that moment, getting better than the official fuel economy rating. But this light operates by reacting to such things as when a driver is letting up on the gas pedal or coasting. It is not tied to real-time calculating.
One solution for buyers is to manually calculate their miles-per-gallonâa cumbersome and disappointing development in this day when even many non-hybrid cars have electronics that automatically calculate and report fuel mileage.
Intriguing Pricing
Still, there's no doubt that the Vue's expected lower pricing will be a benefit for buyers who want a hybrid SUV but don't want to spend upwards of $25,000.
Indeed, the knock against early hybrid SUVs has been that their premium pricing vis-a-vis comparable, non-hybrid models means buyers need to own the hybrids for many years before the gas savings can recoup just the price premium for the vehicles.
As an example, if gasoline remains around $2.40 a gallon, an owner of a 2006 Escape Hybrid who drives 15,000 miles a year would save an estimated $266 annually over a gas-only, four-cylinder Escape. At this rate of savings, it could take more than a decade to recover the hybrid's price premium, though the recovery would be quicker if gasoline prices rise.
Other benefits for the Escape Hybrid buyer, of course, would be the savings of 111 gallons of fuel a year and fewer pollutants emitted into the air.
In comparison, the Vue hybrid's estimated fuel savings vis-a-via a gas-only, four-cylinder Vue is only 0.5 mpg less than that of the Escape Hybrid.
But with a price premium of just $1,500 or so, the recovery time is much less. Using the same 15,000-miles-a-year scenario with gas around $2.40 a gallon, a Vue Green Line owner could recoup the smaller price premium in some six years, while still using less gasoline and emitting fewer pollutants.
Hybrid SUVs Ranked by Fuel Economy
1. Ford Escape Hybrid 2WD: 36/32 mpg
2. Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD: 33/29 mpg
2. Mercury Mariner Hybrid 4WD: 33/29 mpg (tie)
3. Lexus RX 400h 2WD: 33/28 mpg
3. Toyota Highlander Hybrid 2WD: 33/28 mpg (tie)
4. Lexus RX 400h 4WD: 31/27 mpg
4. Toyota Highlander Hybrid 4WD: 31/27 mpg (tie)
5. Saturn Vue Green Line 2WD: estimated 27/32 mpg*
*Estimated by General Motors Corp. Final federal government figures not yet available.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Ann Job is a freelance automotive writer.
Source MSN Automotive
http://autos.msn.com/advice/article....tentid=4023741 
GreenLine Vue makes news - Less savings than other Hybrids 
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