Hey! What happened to TTAC’s invitation to the GM “Night on Bear Mountain” mass test drive? If it’s good enough for Autoblog and Jalopnik, it’s good enough for us. Of course, TTAC’s not in the tank for GM. We might do something impolite, like point out that the Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid is an excellent example of everything that’s wrong with GM. (And that’s without driving it.) For one thing, product overlap. WITHIN SATURN. The Vue 2 [a kill] is the second hybrid system for the SUV, which will now sell alongside (in theory) the existing Saturn “light hybrid,” which was initially introduced as the Vue Green Line. It’s a model/technological distinction that will be completely lost on anyone even remotely resembling a potential customer. So, blissfully married and entirely hetrosexual Alex Nunez, who’s this thing for, then?
“…drivers who desire fuel economy on par with the four-cylinder hybrid, but want more power and/or towing capacity.” Both of them? Or maybe this excerpt offers us a better idea: “…three hybrid badges (one on each fender and one on the tailgate) and four hybrid decals (one on the windshield, one on the rear window, and the gigunda things that span the wheelbase along the lower door panels). Short of getting a full “HYBRID” bus wrap on the thing, you can’t really announce your greenie status any more unless you head to the Toyota store.”
Rhetorical heights well and truly scaled, Alex’ first drive winds down to the inevitable damp squib: “It does all the hybrid stuff you want/expect it to, and it performs well when called upon.” But, again, what’s the friggin’ point? “One thing’s certain: you’ve got some choices now, which is certainly not a bad thing.” Sigh. Sure. I was wondering when GM was going to offer us a choice of two different hybrid systems for the Saturn Vue. Oh, and Alex: Stendhal Syndrome. [Note to John Neff: where’s the disclaimer? And when you start asking the tough questions of the automakers, we’ll stop asking the tough questions about your coverage.]
“The Vue 2 [a kill] is the second hybrid system for the SUV, which will now sell alongside (in theory) the existing Saturn “light hybrid,” which was initially introduced as the Vue Red Line.”
Wasn’t that the “Green” Line?
shaker :
Doh! So many lines, so little septum.
Jalopnik had a review up last week – embargo slipup?
MSRP $33K?!?! even with a $2k-$3k that rates a “Uhoh”.
So, GM actually goes out, does what everyone asks (builds a real hybrid) and you pile on. Please. GM’s problem is not too many brands. It is too many crappy vehicles and too many greedy dealers. Yes, the dealer problem is related to the brand problem, but slicing off the brands isn’t the answer either.
Yes, I think the real problem the boom in hybrids is over (gas at 2.70 a gallon for the next few years) and all this hybrid system does it add more weight with almost no fuel savings. It seems as if the Vue’s entire MPG saving is coming from shutting down the engine at idle and low resistance tires.
The SUV crossover market still isn’t taking off (suburban moms don’t want one) and Vue looks pretty ugly. Sigh. Might be a nice Saab CUV, but I guess that would just confuse the consumers more, no?
I see a bright future for this a fleet vehicle for taxi sales.
Sigh…
I had some hopes for this one. I’d hoped against hope that GM would have paired the two-mode system with the four-cylinder and rectified the “Why bother?” problem that the BAS Vue suffers.
You know, as in “Why bother buying this when it’s barely more efficient than the base four-cylinder?”
The Vue is a nice trucklet, and a decent hybrid powertrain would be a real competitive advantage, what with the Escape being kind of Fisher-Price and the Highlander being really expensive. But GM once again fails to “get” this segment: no one as asking for an overpriced hybrid that can tow a small boat or go fast. The sales of the Lexus and GMT900 hybrids, not to mention the Accord hybrid or Chrysler Hemi-Brids, should be evidence of this “answer to a question no one is asking”.
What they do want is a nicely trimmed vehicle that gets good mileage and is reasonably versatile. The Vue Green Line does most of this, but isn’t really very “green” next to the base model. The two-mode promised to address this by allowing the vehicle to run electric-only in low-load situations. But then GM has to go and hook it to the big six and effectively negate that advantage.
GM just doesn’t get, or refuses to get, the hybrid market. They seem to think that it’s populated either by penny-pinching fuel misers (the base-model-based BAS hybrids) who want a cheap-as-possible car with a hybrid powertrain, or people who want slightly more efficient gas guzzlers (the GMT900s and this Vue). If you look at the Prius or Camry, though, what’s actually selling are mid-level, mildly luxurious cars that aren’t fast, but are economical.
I looked very hard at the Aura and Vue GL a while back. They’re nice, but the mileage was poor and the option of a nice interior isn’t available–you’re instead stuck with the base-level car’s industrial grey fabric and paucity of features. Anyone I’ve talked to has said the same thing: too expensive for the negligible fuel gains and spartan content.
What they could do:
* Drop the base 2.4L entirely and replace it with the BAS model at little or no increase.
* Offer the 2Mode systems with the base four and–this is important–the option of a leather interior and a few more power doodads.
* Forget the idea of selling powerful and/or truck-based high-margin hybrids. Hybrid buyers don’t want pickup trucks, they don’t tow boats and they don’t want to do zero to sixty in seven or less. The market has shown that powerful hybrids sell about as well as, oh, a Saab-badged Trailblazer.
“So, first impression? Nice ride. It does all the hybrid stuff you want/expect it to, and it performs well when called upon. The projected mileage numbers are good, but the FWD Escape Hybrid does better; it’s less muscular, though, and only tows 1,000 pounds. If you’re really set on a Vue and don’t need the towing capacity that the 2 Mode setup affords, the light hybrid Vue costs almost $5,000 less and delivers very similar fuel economy at 25 city/32 highway, according to the EPA. One thing’s certain: you’ve got some choices now, which is certainly not a bad thing. ” autobloggreen
Context is key here. If you click the link and read the review (which is based on 25 minutes of shared driving time) you will get the impression that this is a very nice hybrid CUV. 28 city and 31 hwy are pretty flippin respectable in this segment. Seems like the only problem is the silly “HYBRID” badges….which the dealer can take off for you!! Price….well…considering the 2 Mode is an amazing piece of engineering (do your research if you don’t believe that) unlike the BAS system, I would say $33K isn’t way out of the ball park. A little salty? Yes. Wait for a few of grand off and then it becomes more reasonable.
Raskolnikov :
DOA and you know it.
Is the $33k an official price, or an estimate? I think the latter.
And those EPA estimates?
“[Note to John Neff: where’s the disclaimer? And when you start asking the tough questions of the automakers, we’ll start asking the tough questions about your coverage.]”
Don’t you mean “…we’ll stop asking the though questions about your coverage.”?
Runfromcheney :
Yeah, that too. Text amended.