2005 Saab 9-7x Review

An Unexpected, Very Un-Swedish All-American SUV

The current U.S. new vehicle sales market is more competitive than ever before. While consumers are the obvious winners, with incentives gone wild, longer and more comprehensive warranties than ever before and a plethora of new models, it still comes down to an automaker developing saleable products when the final bell tolls if sales success is the prime objective.

Product is something Saab has been doing very well in recent years. The Swedish automaker has managed to benefit from General Motors, its parent company, by borrowing chassis architecture and engine technology from European division Opel, while still maintaining its distinctive brand character and staying true to its core values of sport-oriented driving dynamics.

Validation of the relationship was most recently verified by the superb new 9-3, easily capable of being compared directly with the top compact luxury rivals from Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. In some ways the new 9-3 even bests its competitors - and Im sure its been a long time since Saab received such adoration from the automotive press.

But as good as the 9-3 is, and as capable as its larger 9-5 sibling is with its wonderfully functional sport wagon derivative, todays luxury buyer has at least one sport utility planned for the family garage and Saab has nothing to tempt them.

What to do? Whether it was Saab looking for a sport utility to increase sales and appease its struggling dealers or GM making a unilateral decision to force Saab into taking the medicine it so desperately needs is anyones guess, but either way the Scandinavian automaker now has an SUV, like it or not.

And why shouldnt they like it? Well, its not that most Saab enthusiasts (those who work for the company as well as those loyal to its products) are unhappy to have a sport utility in the family, but more that theyre a little disgruntled with the SUV chosen for the donor architecture (just check an internet bulletin board on the subject and see for yourself). After all, with the exceptionally adept Sigma platform as part of the GM portfolio, the basis for the extremely agile Cadillac SRX, just why it was necessary to opt for the GMT360 body-on-frame setup is difficult to surmise.

Sure a GM spokesman answering questions during the New York auto show launch responded, “Youll be impressed with how well we made it handle the curves,” to one journalists query about how a body-on-frame design could corner with the competence expected of something wearing the Saab nameplate, but I remain skeptical. After all, the Chevy SSR “sport-truck” that uses the same GM underpinnings doesnt exactly feel athletic, mostly due to its 4,760 pound curb weight. Neither do any of the other GM clones, an ever increasing number that currently includes the Buick Rainier, Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Oldsmobile Bravada (reportedly being discontinued), and Isuzu Ascender. Who knows, maybe Saabs chassis technicians will work miracles and turn the big truck into a slalom star. That will remain a mystery until Ive experienced it first hand.

I was impressed, however, with how much the 9-7x looks like a Saab, at least from the front. The familiar triple-vent grille is identical to the brands car lineup, as are the swooping front fenders and the nicely tapered headlamp clusters. It looked all Saab… that is until taking in the view from the side. Theres no way to hide its TrailBlazer/Envoy greenhouse. From the A-pillar back, its all GMT360. GM didnt even try to mask the stock sideview mirrors, complete with their integrated turn signals.

I was one of the first on stage after GMs Gary Cowger and company finished with the unveiling ceremonies, and after taking a few quick close-up photos, jumped inside for a closer look. “Hey, this looks like a Saab,” I thought to myself. The vents, center stack and steering-wheel… hold on a minute. This steering wheel is pulled right out of a GM SUV, nice badge but it doesnt feel anything like the nice 3-spoke Saab wheel.

The plastics quality is much better than any of the GM SUVs, at least on the dash and center stack. Drop the glovebox, however, and the TrailBlazer roots show through too much for my liking. A little more poking around and it was easy to see the high-grade touches were merely skin deep, with the center console armrest/bin, for instance, pulled right out of the domestic sport ute.

Theres more anti-import sentiment running under the hood, in the form of a powerful (300 horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque for a 7.9 second sprint to 60 mph) but somewhat archaic overhead-valve V8. A what? Thats right. I never thought Id see the day when Cadillac would boast state of the art mechanicals, including multivalve, dual-overhead cam V6 and V8 engines, and Saab would come to market with nothing better than yesterdays pushrod technology. Its like GM is systematically dismantling one of Cadillacs core competitors. The 9-7x sports a 6-cylinder too, an impressively smooth powerplant as tested in the rest of GMs sport utilities. At 275 horsepower it delivers all the goods, including a reasonably decent 8.9 second run from 0 to 60 mph, but once again its SOHC cam two-valve architecture is not quite at the high-tech level expected in the premium import league. The SUVs top speed with either engine is a not so blistering albeit adequate 191 km/h (119 mph) - move over VW Toureg!

Neither is the Hydra-Matic L460-E four-speed automatic, an old-tech transmission not up to the sophistication of the 5, 6 and soon, 7-speed automatic gearboxes in competitive luxury SUVs, featuring state-of-the-art shift-logic control and manual-mode shift capability. The “on demand” all-wheel drive system with limited-slip differential is pretty impressive though.

So is the trucks suspension. Despite its body-on-frame architecture and solid rear axle, the 9-7x boasts double wishbones up front, and a multi-link setup with electronically controlled air springs in the rear. GM didnt go all out developing something special for Saab mind you, as its the same configuration thats in its other GMT360 sport utilities. Stabilizer bars and a quicker steering ratio should enhance turn-in. The only major difference, and what could prove to be essential to the Saabs more sporting dynamics, is a fairly significant drop in ride height. The 9-7x also features sizeable 18-inch alloy wheels covering 225/55R18 performance tires.

Braking is decent when you look at the hardware, which includes power assisted vented discs front and back and dual front calipers, plus ABS at all for corners. The result of pressing the pedal is less sporting however, being that the 9-7x needs a full 54.3 meters (178 feet) to stop from 113 km/h (70 mph). For some strange reason GMs press material only has the inline-6 stopping from 100 km/h (62 mph), in 44 meters (144 feet).

On the safety front, the new Saab will feature dual-stage front airbags, side curtain airbags, and seatbelt pretensioners, as well as standard ABS.

Its cargo capacity of 41.0 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 80.1 cubic feet with the seatbacks folded is excellent, making the new Saab as practical as any the brand has ever produced. That will ring a chord with disenfranchised 9-3 owners longing for a rear liftback.

And with that in mind, just who is going buy this new Saab SUV? Will the brands extremely loyal and very sophisticated current owner take the bait? I dont think so. I hate to say it, but as loyal as they are theyll sooner go over to the other side and buy a Volvo XC90. It offers that premium feel and top drawer refinement the 9-7x struggles to deliver. More likely 9-7x buyers, and there will be some for sure, will migrate up from Saturn or Isuzu, the other two brands often sold within Saab showrooms. And maybe thats GMs short-term objective.

Short-term objective? Fortunately GM says that the 9-7x is merely a stopgap measure, a “necessary” bridge to span having no SUV and the development of a car-based Saab-specific sport utility. Again, I dont buy this. GM put a great deal of money into the 9-7x, why not put a little more into a Sigma, or even Lambda based crossover?

At the end of the day the 9-7x is up against some formidable competition. Depending on its base price point, expected to be in the high $30K range, its up against the aforementioned Volvo XC90, Acuras MDX (sure to be revised to the TLs impeccably high standards soon), VWs already stellar Touareg, BMWs slick little X3, a redesigned Mercedes-Benz ML, the superb Lexus RX 330, extremely competent Chrysler Pacifica, all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee, sports car-like Infiniti FX35/45, upcoming Lincoln Aviator (see concept reviews), the all-new, overwhelmingly improved Land Rover LR3 (Discovery), and more, not to mention all of the GMT360 sport utilities.

So the 9-7x is going to have its work cut out for it, and hopefully the Saab engineers have managed to work magic with GMs truck-like suspension. Finding out just how talented the Swedish brands team is will have to wait until I have a chance to test drive it, something the Saab spokesman said will be worth the wait. I look forward to the opportunity, but rather look even farther forward to a time when GM gives this revered brand a sport utility with the sophistication the brands diehard supporters deserve. This will no doubt be a slap in the face to many of them, with negative results that could in-turn harm the brands continued progress just when it seems to be on the rise. Time will only tell.