2006 Saab 9-7X

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2006 Saab 9-7X
Saab finds a different Road: The SUV bandwagon marches on
CARRIE ROCA
Published Date: 7/11/05
Saab drivers are powerfully drawn to their own road. That they instinctively reach to the console to fire up the engine is an important ritual in their travels, an affirmation the road is right. And while for many, winding along that road is the whole point, for Saab itself the picture is a more linear one.

Saab says around 40 percent of its loyal customers own an SUV. Moreover, over the last few years 30 percent of those customers leaving Saab veered off in search of a sport/utility vehicle. In a move meant to stem attrition and meet demand, Saab built the 9-7X, a truck-based SUV riding on parent GM?s TrailBlazer/Envoy/Rainier platform.

Part of the most ambitious product expansion in the company?s history, the 9-7X is a signature Saab right down to its three-port grille and ignition placement. The 2005 model debuted the end of May. Saab says it is selling every one it makes, and is on pace to sell 2000 9-7Xs in this abbreviated model year. When the 2006 models go on sale late this summer, Saab is looking to move 7000 to 10,000 9-7Xs a year.


Built in Moraine, Ohio, along with its midsize SUV siblings, the 9-7X is clearly a GM product. But Saab AB chassis integra?tion engineer Per Jansson says technical specifications and design work were done in Trollhattan. The stamp of the Swedes shows. Driving the 2006 9-7X in Quebec?in both I6 and V8 versions?we were impressed with its overall performance.

Acceleration is what it should be for an SUV: strong enough, but not Viggen-esque in either version. Unlike many truck-based sport/utes, the 9-7X displays little body roll. The brakes stop the vehicle well and offer good feel and less travel than what you find on the 9-7X?s platform mates. Unless we had heavy equipment to pull, we would go with the proven six-cylinder version, which gets another 15 hp for 2006.

Though perhaps not as coddling as a 9-5?s seats, the 9-7X?s are comfortable and supportive enough that we could have driven farther than the 150 or so miles we logged in an afternoon behind the wheel. Saab put heated seats in its rally cars 50 years ago to save the weight of a heater, and it puts them on all 9-7Xs now. Other features contributing to the inviting ergo?nomic environment Saab drivers know and love are the use of high-quality materials throughout the cabin, sliding-plate vents, contrast stitching on the seats, wood-look trim and laminated glass.


The five-seat 9-7X comes with a lot of standard equipment including leather, memory driver?s seat, moonroof, Bose audio, satellite radio prep, OnStar, head curtain side airbags, rear air suspension, tow package, 22-foot air hose, 18-inch Dunlops, integrated roof rails and a limited-slip differential. A navigation system and rear DVD player are available.

The 9-7X V8, which Saab expects will make up 40 percent of the mix, adds xenon headlamps and adjustable pedals; base price is around $42,000. The 5.3-liter V8, with Displacement on Demand to aid fuel economy, makes 300 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque.

With the seven-seat 9-6 in the pipeline (the crossover could have a different name when it comes to market), the long-term future of the 9-7X is unclear. But for many people, dedicated Saab fans among them, truck-based SUVs are just the tool for keeping on their own road.

[Raghavan]

seems like it's a pretty good review.