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Both Vues — old and new — are about the same size (compact SUVs as classified by the government) and share a couple of GM engines, but they are distant cousins otherwise. The '08 Vue has the styling and horsepower to run with the top Japanese compact SUVs, which have defined and dominated the small sport utility market.

Battery issues slowed down Saturn's hybrid rollout earlier this year, including a recall, and both the Vue and the Saturn Aura hybrid sedan just got back on track in May. Roughly 300 hybrid Vues were sold in May, and that's as many as they're shipping. According to Saturn spokesman Mike Morrissey, allocations are tight, with roughly one hybrid Vue going to each dealer in the country. We called two local dealers in Chicago, and both said they got one each and that they may call people who want to...

General Motors says its revamped Saturn Vue Green Line mild hybrid-electric vehicle will maintain its 32 mpg highway mileage rating, despite changes in federal procedures for '08 that are knocking down ratings on many vehicles. The new Vue Green Line, which is expected to hit U.S. showrooms in late November, will base for $24,795, making it the only SUV under $25,000, GM says.

Sometimes it takes just one or two specs to characterize a vehicle, and in the Vue Green Line's case, its width and weight are all the genetic code you need to know about it. The Vue is wide inside, its seats are wide, everything about it is wide. The Vue glides over road seams and potholes with a sort of gravitational imperturbability. In corners, it doesn't fidget around. It can't. This prodigious weight is all the more reason to admire a combined EPA mileage of 27.7 mpg delivered from its bel...

Here's another good alternative to the large sport utilities that can cost a small fortune to refuel: It's the redesigned Saturn Vue compact crossover for 2008. General Motors introduced gasoline-only versions of the second-generation Vue last summer, and the next-generation Green Line gasoline-electric hybrid model arrived a few months later. The Vue's redesign incorporates some elements of the PreVue concept that Saturn showed off at the 2006 New York auto show. This new design, with a sloped ...

The redesigned 2008 Saturn Vue compact SUV has become a European-style vehicle, greatly improved from the old Vue. The new Vue is similar to the European Opel Antara from General Motors' European operation. It's built in Mexico, a long way from Saturn's traditional assembly plant in down home Spring Hill, Tennessee. Overall, the new Vue is far more refined and more fun to drive than its predecessor, without sacrificing practicality.

From the Orlando Sentinel: Let's get this out of the way first: Yes, the sensible, comparatively simple Saturn Vue Green Line is a hybrid, but it does not get the astronomical fuel economy that Toyota Prius drivers crow about. But those of us who don't much care for the Prius' driving characteristics might be willing to sacrifice mileage for some of the Vue Green Line's other attributes, such as interior room and luggage capacity. And the fact that the Green Line saves some gas - well, that's gr...

A 2.4-liter inline-4 cylinder engine develops 172 horsepower at 6500 rpm and 167 pounds-feet of torque at 4500 rpm. It is mated to an electric motor/generator, which provides electric power assist to save fuel. The regenerative braking captures energy as the vehicle slows or stops. The energy is sent to the battery and used later for acceleration assist. An electric power-assisted, rack-and-pinion steering system guides the SUV, equipped with a four-speed automatic transmission. The front gets a...

The redesigned Vue is sophisticated machine with flair at an affordable price - something even a German would consider buying. Bring the same design across the ocean, offer people more car for less than they think they should pay, and you've got a Vue anyone can enjoy.

The XR handles short or long hauls with comfort. Seats are supportive, bottom cushions are long enough to prop the thighs, and the leather is the no-slide type. The suspension controls wiggle or wobble over uneven pavement. Controls are all easy to see and use - no searching or stretching.

Today's test car, the 2008 Saturn Vue XR AWD, is a crossover, both in terms of design and its heritage. It combines the form and function of a SUV with some of the interior space of a minivan, along with the low-slung ride of a sedan. It also crosses over to the United States from Germany, where the GM builder Opel sells it as an Opel Antara.

There's lots of power, keen and accurate steering, solid brakes and a superbly balanced chassis that treats the compromise between ride quality and road holding as if it were no compromise at all. This is where the Vue's European provenance really makes itself felt. Five years ago, GM's chassis wonks would have dumbed-down the suspension to the point of incontinence.