With our last hybrid experience here in The Garage, we were a bit underwhelmed by the on road experience, so what was life with the 08 Saturn Vue like? It was actually a lot more fun than we expected. Just as the new Vue looks playful and stylish, it plays that part well out in the commuter wars as well.

The Green Line model is equipped with a 2.4L inline 4 cylinder, mated to a 4 speed automatic transmission. Working alongside the conventional stuff is an electric motor/generator that provides additional power on acceleration, and regenerates it’s power on deceleration. Along with this, the engine shuts down when the vehicle is stopped and early fuel cut off on decel further aids fuel economy. All this adds up to give the front wheel drive Vue Green Line decent acceleration for a 4 cylinder cuv of this size.
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When Saturn came on the scene, back in 1990 everything they were different from just about everything else on the road. They wore plastic body panels that didn’t dent and they looked quite unlike anything consumers had seen before. The 2008 Saturn Vue is different too. Gone are the plastic panels, but it looks unlike any Hybrid consumers have seen before. Shapely and stylish, the all new 2008 Saturn Vue makes the concept of green just a little bit sexier. In fact, following the annual AJAC test fest, the 2008 Vue was crowned best new SUV/CUV from $35,000 to $60,000.

Don’t let those numbers fool you, as the Vue is a much better value than those numbers might suggest. The base model begins at $26,990 while a fully loaded Red Line rings in at $38,605. Our very well equipped tester retailed for $32,345 which seems like a pretty good deal for a hybrid cuv with real world room for a family of 5.
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It has been a very long time since I’ve driven a new GM product and I’m almost embarrassed to say that I’ve never driven a Saturn. That makes it sort of fitting then that my first dip into the GM media fleet comes at the wheel of the 2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid. As the winner of the 2008 AJAC award for Best New SUV/CUV from $35,000 to $60,000 I expected to be impressed. So far, the Vue has not disappointed. It looks great inside and out and has enough pep on the road that it doesn’t really feel like a hybrid.

I’m going to have to do a bit of research on the pricing side of things. Notice the category that the Vue won in AJAC’s annual tests is 35 to 60 grand. That seems a bit out of whack when you consider the Vue is a much better value than that. In fact, you can put your own Vue on the Canadian roads for as little as $26,990 and even a loaded up AWD Red Line version only tallies in at $38,605. Our Hybrid tester with premium package still rings in at just a tick over $32,345 which seems like a pretty good value considering the amount of tech stuff beneath the skin.