Saab 9-4x concept - first pics
They’re out - and well within my 36 hour prediction….
Small pics only, and the story in Dutch here.
——
Ok, so thoughts on these images.
I’ve never been a fan of SUVs but I’ve been looking forward to this one for some time. Various GM people saw it in Sweden in mid-2007 and commented to me that it looked great in the metal.
And that’s a good thing, because these CGI’s aren’t doing a whole lot for me.
I’m trying to remember several things here, however.
1) These are just CGI’s and history has told me, through the 9-5 facelift, the Aero-X and the 2008 9-3 - that the CGI’s never look anywhere as good as the real thing.
2) This is a concept vehicle, and it’s relationship to the final product will be somewhat like the 9-3 Sport Hatch Concept’s relationship with the 9-3 SportCombi. Considering that I really love the Combi, maybe there’s some scope for changes they make for production being good changes.
3) I’m not a huge fan of SUV’s anyway, as previously noted.
So yeah, it’s fair to say I’m feeling quite flat on seeing these, overall. I like the two angled images. I can definitely live with those, but the front-on shot isn’t doing anything for me (I agree with Kaz and ctm in comments about the grille - the central part just doesn’t mesh well being a little higher up), and especially the side-on shot, which just keeps drawing my eye to that rear window.
But there’s definitely positives here.
I like it much more than the Caddy offering. I think it looks a lot cleaner in these images. Those 3/4 profiles doe show off a pretty good stance - one that I could definitely get used to.
The very best part is the interior. I have heard from people who’ve seen the 9-5 images and mock-ups and they’ve mentioned that the glass interior of the Aero-X - or the concept of it at least - is on it’s way. We can see further evidence of that here.
It is by far the absolute best interior vision I’ve seen from anyone, bar none, and if they can pull it off in a functional and durable fashion then it’s going to be one heck of a great selling point.
This alone, the promise it shows for the 9-5, makes this worthwhile.
——
But in terms of the 9-4x as a model on it’s own, I’ve got to say that at this point, not even a Saab has got me interested in the thought of putting an SUV in the driveway.
——
The accompanying Dutch story appears to indicate that this is a BioPower concept only, and the only engine mentioned that I can see is a BioPower 2-litre four cylinder engine.
This appears to be a showcase for BioPower as it produces 300hp and 400Nm when running on E85. The significance being 150hp per litre and 200Nm per litre.
More from this category
- Saab 9-4x concept VS Saab 9-4x
- Friday Snippets
- AMS forecast Saab 9-3x in Paris, 2008
- Saab 9-4x interior comparo
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Awful!!
The interior is great, but the exterior is like a typical american car…
First impressions:
Odd looking front (cant put my finger on it?)
Nice back end (bit 2007 X5ish)
Interior looks good (Audi style but less clutter)
6.5/10 - but things have been known to grow on me!
It looks like “Saab slapstick”, not Saab. IMHO
I’m hugely disappointed. They don’t know what they are doing… IMHO
Did they ever study the bonnet-shut-line/headlights relationship on Saabs? Just one of those many little things… It’s a sad day. GM…
I think it looks fabulous!
The interior is awesome! I like the rear light cluster, and hope they keep the strip at the rear for the on road vehicle.
I think the nose could have been a little tighter, more similar to the tennikan renders perhaps, but apart from that, I think it is nice.
I think it will look much better in the flesh too.
I think better pictures will do the car more justice, a lot of the detail is missing. The indentation of the hockey stick, the bulging wheel arches, they do not come across well in these pics. The pics also look a little photoshopped, so perhaps they are ‘artists impressions’ based on the released photos?
Another thing to make me think is, where are the signature lighting light pipes above the headlights? They do not appear to be in these pics, unless they have been moved to beneath the light cluster in that hockey stick shape?
I’m not 100% loving the side profile mind. And I’m not sure about that little notch in the bonnet above the central part of the grille.
Some odd small lines that are to “square” to be Saab to me, but remember it’s a concept so bits and pieces can/will get adjusted. Some small cleaning up and it’s Saab to me.
Interior look fine. I know some people (like myself) want to keep the old button dash forever, but time goes on and Saab has to as well if they want to attract new buyers. I like that it has more of a “cockpit feel” than Audi, BMW and others. Can’t wait to see more detaild pics of it!
Kaz: “And I’m not sure about that little notch in the bonnet above the central part of the grille”
Agree, one small thing I want to remove.
Any info on the engine?
My few cents worth:
1. is that a lighting pipe running UNDER the headlights a la Audi?
2. that side profile is heavy and slabby
3. the hockey stick is very crude - clearly photoshop at this stage
4. that grille bulge above the headlight line is grotesque - very Isuzu Trooper or something agricultural
5. rear obviously not resolved, not even a round badge - just a SAAB grill badge so far
6. not sure about the green plastic (I’m sure it won’t be glass) dashboard - will need to be very convincing quality else will just look cheap and will creak like a crate
7. at this stage, I’d take the Caddy over this, but prepared to wait, as Swade says the final version will surely look better
Here’s hoping
Nice SAAB dash. But the exterior, hmmmmmm dont know what to say about that.
First whats with the “dent” in the bonnet going around the grill?
Second it doesnt look like a SAAB unless you look at the front of the car. A hockey stick design on the side window line does not make a SAAB.
But I gues that its what you get when SAAB has to use the hole structure of other GM cars to make a new modell.
Its a rounded cadillac desing with a Aero X front and a nice SAAB dash. I had hoped for something better when SAAB first should make a tracktor.
I’m dissapointed, but then again this is my own opinion. Im still waitng for the 9-1. Lets hope that will be more of a SAAB than the 9-4x turned out
My first impression was huge disappointment but like many other commenters I hope that the real concept and especially the production version will differ from these pictures. It isn’t the whole concept not looking well, only some details which may look differently on the concept.
I’m from Germany so I understand most of the dutch article and I try to sum it up shortly:
It has a 2.0 litre 4-cylindre engine which runs on E85. It develops 245 hp and 353 nm of torque running on gasoline and 300 hp and 400 nm on E85. Transmission is a 6-speed automatic gearbox and it seems to have the new XWD with the Limited Slip Differential LSD. The chassis can be adjusted electronically.
The article says that the production version will appear later this year.
8. you know, after an hour or so, the design looks even more disappointing - this car is not going to attract any conquest sales from Audi, VW, Ovlov or anyone else for that matter - it is just plain dull. That is no aero-x nose - pray that ‘hump’ is an error and will not make it to production. Needs to look much sharper and more like the 9-3 refresh which, considering it was compromised by a 5 year-old design, actually achieved a much better outcome than this ‘blank sheet’ opportunity which seems to have been squandered. Sad.
Belfastcarlsson here, btw
I thought so - SW -
Well, at least the Saab engine…
Yeah, I think that notch in the bonnet doesn’t work, the central grille is to high, needs to be more level. The actual official shots can’t come soon enough.
My first thought is it looks like a MPV.
Second thought is it’s a bit bland. I like the C pillar but the front doesn’t grab my attention.
You know what, I’m REALLY beginning to dislike that front. I think the fabulous comment I made earlier is already waning. I still like the rear three quarter view and I’m positively absolutely loving the interior, but that face is really putting me off!
I never seen a production car look better than the concept that antecipated it…
This is vulgar -CHEAP- design… I miss you Mauer: you knew what you were doing.
Please sell Saab to Renault… (OK, I’m a desperate man).
I’m looking at Alfa and Audi, right now, and their “Junior” and A1, because if the 9-1 will go the 9-4X way, I don’t wanna know about anything: I’ll just close my eyes shut. And ears.
Saab is loosing it’s core customers.
I really hope I’m overreacting (I am), but it’s really a sad sad day. It was the first chance in years for Saab to make a Saab, and they made a… chevy crappy thing.
I can’t say I’m glad to see these pics, although I have looked forward to seeing the 9-4X for a long time. The rear doesn’t look anything like a Saab should IMO, the rear light cluster looks more Subaru than Saab…
Also, I think the front looks too boring, and with that little bulge over the grill, it looks kind of hideous. Give it a little more agressive front lights, like the 08 9-3! The exterior isn’t much of an improvement over the 9-7X, which is a shame. This car has to have killer looks!
But on the bright side, the interior looks very promising.
Tiago, the Alfa Junior’s going to be turbocharged, too, IIRC.
Boy, is that ever tempting….
Ouch!
Please don’t release this one, please!
9. just a thought - do I remember the 9-5 refresh spypics (a white model) showing a similar-ish grill hump which never actually happended - scratching around here for some hope.
10. I agree with Edonis - the lights are very last(!)model Sub estate - maybe they are carry-overs of extra parts from the 9-2x bin?
Not a laughing matter actually, I am really disappointed. Swade, I hope you bring us better news when it is unveiled in Detroit - have a great trip, try to stay positive! Maybe the GM PR guys are playing a political game of….. see how bad it could be……. then see how nice it really is!!!?
Ugh. Compared side-by-side with the new 9-3, you can see that the design is crushed horizontally and extended vertically. This leads to the side openings of the grill being very narrow and having a steeply angled lower line, the fog light openings being massive, and the headlight enclosure being narrow from the front view, particularly at the top.
They’d have given themselves more horizontal room to work if they had made the headlight elements stack vertically, but then it would may have looked more like the Caddy and the Caddy designers probably got to go first and get the exclusive on that design idea.
As noted by others, it looks like GM designed “Generic Car-based SUV #2″ and slapped a few things on the exterior to make it evoke (or Evoq, in Caddy terms) Saab: hockey stick grafted even though the structure doesn’t “demand” it, black trimmed rear lights like the new 9-3 (this is the one thing that I really dislike about the 9-3), and light pipes (although in a different location than on the 9-3).
At least with the 9-7x I could tell friends, “well, they had to do something in a hurry to get an SUV so they gave in to temporary badge engineering.” With this, that excuse is gone.
There doesn’t appear to be room for a key in the center console, but that’s good if they are moving away from having a place for it at all. Push button start is in a lot of cars now and makes room for other things in the dash (of other cars) and center console (for Saabs). Oh, and what’s with that steering wheel?
Yep, Michael Mauer was up there alongside Sixten Sason as the best Saab designers.
Sell it to Porsche - that is where Mauer now resides
Oops, I forgot one more thing above…what about carrying through the Aero-X/9-3 hood design? It looks like these designers tried to have it several ways: using the swooping line because it’s in the 9-3 hood (but using it to evoke a clamshell hood) and having left and right lines extending from the windshield to the grill. It’s like an overlay of the old and new 9-3 hoods.
Thinking about this and my previous comment, one way to possibly fix this aweful front end is by tilting the inside of the headlight assemblies downward 10 or 15 degrees and extending the hood in a swooping line so that the line between the headlight/grill area and the hood became curved. That would make the hood larger and the front smaller vertically to help with the current distorted proportions of an SUV compared to the Aero-X (as the source material for the new grill design).
John:
Porsche
I’d go with that one head-first: they have a proper business model but… they decided they would go with the entire VAG instead :p
Swade:
Alfas age genuine, properly designed cars: they know what they are doing, and they know were they are going. 
They’ve been managing the brand’s amazing charism very well within the Fiat Auto group.
I undestand you: quite tempting!
(Do you hear that, GM? O:))
They have their flaws, but we forgive them for all the “extra” they give us, just like we do with Saab.
Let’s not forget people, these pics are still more or less artist impressions of the vehicle itself. I think we really need to just wait for actual pics of the car to make final judgement, and then see it in the flesh too.
The current Honda CR-V looks really bad in pictures, but somehow, it works better in metal.
While I’m not sure about this (yet) I hope that’ll be the case with Saab, too. To be positive: I expected something much worse.
Let’s wait and see.
Speaking of Alfas, the next 169 looks hubba!!
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/229810/#
That is what it will look like according to Autocar, and they are usually relatively accurate. That is one car the next 9-5 will be up against. If the 169 looks like that, I can see me switching!!
Looks just fine to me, its not sedan car so it doesnt need to look like Miss World. With these cars people buy “heavy” look because its gives false feeling that car is stronger.
What matters is engineering inside.
oops, i love it!
The overall impression is not bad but I don’t like the profile.. The interior is really nice.
However, I expected some more bold design on the front.
Anyway, in the SUV/Crossover category this car looks ok for me.
Not too bad… Given the American market that might compete with the Acura RDX - and that is a really popular segment IMHO.
As people move away from the ‘monster’ SUV’s - that is exactly what they are getting into so…. Got to give the customer what they want.
Not a bad looking SUV.
I sure as hell hope they
offer it in 6spd manual w/240+hp!!!
I like it - alot.
It does in fact feel a bit “American”, rather than “Swedish”, but I still like it.
I don’t mean that the American look is bad, specially considering the car will mainly be sold there, but I somehow wish it looked more Swedish. Volvo are able to keep design Swedish looking and still sell well, so why not Saab?
It’s not the design of my dreams, but overall: I like it, and I have no complaints about any specific part of it.
Don’t remind me of Ovlov’s success…
If I wanted an american car, I wouldn’t buy a Saab.
TrakDah, I beg to differ -this vehicle is going to be mainly European focussed - it is Bmw X3 rather x5 sized or Ovlov XC60 rather than XC90 - the yanks like them big, so I don’t think this is going to light many fires. For this car to be a success in Europe, it needs to compete successfully with X3, Freelander and XC60, Q5 when they come. On the basis of these CGIs, I’m not convinced, and I WANT to like it!
I think I’ll just wait for actual pics of the car to make final judgement, but it’s ok for a crossover. I can really see the Saturn Vue/Opel Antara (this rides on a long-wheelbase version of the Theta II platform) in it though. I was hoping for more, sigh………
Apart from the looks, the 4 pot 245-300bhp biopower engine is good news!
Ok, lets take time on what we currently have. An old girl that is homely, comfortable and does all that we want, but the face lift hasn’t been that popular. But what a great car. Another middle age girl that had a far better face lift, handles like a youngster and dosn’t even mind going topless. Without the later we wouldn’t have a franchise called Saab. This can only go one way and that is up. Give the youngster a chance, we have nothing to loose. It is better to have something than nothing
Well I’m one who likes it all bar one thing, the bonnet. My thoughts are that it should be a clam shell and the line across the front should be straight, ie, sit on the lights and grill. I guess the key will be between the seats.
I kinda like it, especially if I can get it with the Caddy sunroof and a turbo diesel engine. It would be a great replacement for our Subby Forester (with 3 dogs, they never see the inside of the convertible…) It is also worlds better looking inside and out than the 9-7X. Now, if the Mexican plant can keep the quality up, I think it could easily double sales of the 9-7X.
Bad news as I see it:
Another picture appeared on the website of Auto, Motor und Sport and the 9-4X on it looks equal to the shown one.
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/news/auto_-_produkte/hxcms_article_509334_13987.hbs
New information in the text is the performance data (0-100 kph in 8.0 seconds and a top speed of 235 kph), the fuel consumption (10.5 litre/100km), the wheel size (245/55 on 21″ rims) and the size of the brake discs (378 mm diameter).
If this is a so called prototype, it’s down right silly! Not even close to the Volvo XC60 in design. Having produced, perhaps, the best looking prototypes recently (9X, 9-3x and AeroX), this one is poor. It looks more like the actual production model. Perhaps too “bulky”, not sleek and sporty, just another SUV. It looks more like an SUV than a Crossover, typical US looks. The interior looks good though, but I don’t believe much of it will be carried over to the production model. First impression is disappointing.
Oh dear - is it me or does this have a passing resemblance to a wallowing Hippopotamus ?
I feel compelled to add my voice to the chorus regarding that grille. Having the middle portion higher than the sides makes it look like a pig. Or perhaps the Aztek II.
I agree with the comment that it looks like an Isuzu, however what the front looks most like to me is the previous Subaru Tribeca with the high, small grille. Maybe this front is a transplant from the 9-6 work.
Either way, my eyes hurt now.
Me again.
New images on carscoop.blogspot.com
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/01/leaked-saab-9-4x-bio-flex-compact-suv.html
And for reasons I don’t know AMS has deleted the original image of the 9-4X driving through the countryside. Maybe it was part of a press package and shouldn’t be revealed yet?
Wow, I’m really surprised to see this much negative reaction to this concept. I think that it’s pretty good — better than a number of other designs that have been floated. I’d like to see a smoother shape and a little cleaner front, but it’s a good start. I like it.
meh … plus what Mark Belfast, Tiago do Vale and progolf said.
I wonder what exactly all you plp were hoping for. First, we all complain that Saab only has two “real” models (9-3 and 9-5) with the 9-7 considered to be a bastard. They are outdated, they don’t sell that well, and we all cry for new ones. Now they present one, and it’s here because Saab for some reason still exist and that is because GM has poured incredible amount of money into Saab. And of course, plp are disappointed. What do you expect? This IS Saab. There is no point in thinking “oh, what if Saab would have continued without GM, what would it have looked like?” Why? Because there is no other Saab. Sure, Saab can go on making the exact same cars with the exact same look for another decade - and they will never go above those 130.000+ cars sold. That’s it. What we think here is what a very very very small minority of a very small brand think. Obviously, what we like doesn’t sell that well… I don’t say that what we like in old Saab is crap. What I say that if Saab is to expand, there will be new kind of Saab’s targeting new buyers and taking the brand forward with new ideas - there can’t just be the same thing over and over and over again. It’s same thing with BMW. They make SUVs, CUVs, whatever… And they sell although they don’t look like the the M3 and although nobody loving BMW could have though they would exists 10 years ago. It’s called development. And Saab needs it. It may not succeed, but without it there is a guarantee it will not succeed.
Beautiful, but when is it gettting to market. That’s what I want to know…. My lease contract is running out soon
I think it looks a bit like the RangeRover in a good way!!!
Hey Guys - so much disappointement, but
at least something positive for all of us:
THE WRAP AROUND WINDSHIELD IS BACK!
So at least after Suzuki Swift and Skoda Fabia, which use this design only as a cheap but sharp gag, Saab turns back to this elemental windshield-design.
What else is positive: the Wheels look good.
So after all disappointement I feel very neutral and really look to a sharp coupestyle 9-5 Combi…, designed in Scandinavia, or at least Europe.
The bonnet badge is inconsistent between all these images - now you see it, now you don’t! Also can’t believe they are dropping the round badge on the rear? (Not sure if actually I don’t quite like just the name badge as shown though?)
Bottom line - these are not real pictures, so might yet get the bonnet fixed. Still think Saab are playing a game of lowering expectations so we cheer later in the week!
..but I’m not that hopeful… This car was born as old as the 9-7X. This car was born already old…
ctm:
I’m happy for Saab to be alive and building most of the future of the GM group, developing ethanol engines, turbo-charged engines, XWD, plug-in hybrid technology and safety expertise.
I’m just sad because it could be much much more than plain survival. Much much more.
Ovlov has grown and: is making money, is healthy, maintained every bit of it’s character, and shares a lot of the parts bin of the Ford Group taking advantage of all the sinergies GM equally demands from Saab… and they were in the same boat with Saab: they just were properly managed. …and they are as quirky as Saab, so that’s not an excuse.
I don’t feel I have to thank anything to GM: they are taking everything they can out of Saab’s engineering, using the Trollhattan plant as they see suited, feeding Saab’s technology to the entire group, and giving nothing in return, besides half-backed “trucks”, restylings, and poor poor project management (like the future 9-5, which is in it’s third project… that way it’s expensive for sure.)
Try this -if you run the ‘Sith’ video on the Downloads/Goodies section and stop it at 11 seconds, the bonnet and lights conspire to ’snarl’ - surely this is the look you’d want for an SUV, rather than the rabbit toothed grill we see in these CGIs?
Tiago, I hardly know you
hehehehe :p
And… Are they realy Saabs own images? As stated previously, why would they drop the rear Saab badge? This might just be something thats come out of some designers portfolio at a designcenter.. or?
Lets wait and see.. Then I will react to the car. If the design is like this Saab will have floods of complantmails to go through.. And time to change alot of things til the productioncar is due for release.
Cheers/Tompa
Message to Swade!!!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE (multiply those pleases by 1 million), when you meet up with the Saab guys in Detroit, tell them the grille does not work!!
Tell them it ruins the rest of the car, well, it does for me anyway. If the grill was more like the ‘08MY 9-3, and didn’t have that god awful notch above the central grille, then it would be a step in the right direction.
The Tennikanvaars pics were much more like it, the front on those pics was agressive and looked good. This face does not.
I still like the rest of the car though, just fix that face, and don’t make the same mistake as Subaru tend to do with every car they launch and uglify it!!!
I guess, at least it looks better than the 9-7X.
And the side profile looks like Audi Q7,
I’ve got some talent in drawing and I’d like to modify some details to get the 9-4X I’d like to see. If you’ve got any suggestions what could be better, please make them.
I really like to have a sharper grille with the top line on the same level as the headlamps. It looks ridiculous with its rounded corners being surrounded by the two grille slots with sharp edges.
The front should be lowered a little bit to let the profile be more dynamic.
In addition I will modify the rear skirt with the exhaust pipes . They don’t harmonise with the rest of the rear end. If a good idea comes about the tail lights but the longer I look at them the more I think that they are well shaped, just uncommon. Maybe a little bit to turbulent with their different light strips.
The interieur is perfect. I won’t do anything on this.
More pictures over at Motive Magazine.
http://www.motivemagazine.com/gallery/gallery.html?c=show_thumbs;p=Manufacturers/Saab/Concepts/9-4x%20BioPower
I think I like it, but need to see it in real life.
If I remember correctly 9-3 SC concept has also same kind green plastic covered dashboar as 9-4X concept, so I guess that it is not coming for mass production model…
Good that Saab is widening model range. Maybe next we see new 9-5…
Wow.I can’t believe that someone noticed that ‘there was no Saab rear badge’. There’s some real hawks out there!
Anyway the design is really ho hum and doesn’t really grab you.
Maybe Saab leaked these images themselves to start the anticipation for the Detroit show?
Saab USA sent this link out so they don’t seem to mind:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/214737/saab_94x.html
Found on autoweek.com
Editor’s note: Saab distributed information on this vehicle early with an embargo of Sunday, Jan. 13. But several newspapers and Web sites have published pictures and information, so we don’t think you should have to wait.
I wonder what could be the engine in the production model.
US customer will never buy it with a “humble” L4 engine…
i like the high res photos Thad linked to a bit more…..but that front end makes little sense in the current design language.
why doesn’t it look more like the fabulous new 9-3??
….here’s to hoping there’s a chance for improvement.
All I can say is that I hope it sells well for Saab. I’m not excited about it because I just don’t like SUV’s, but I think it’s a decent effort. I just can not get fired up about an SUV and would never want one. The back end window design reminds me of the Lexus RX400 (I think that’s the model) which has been around for quite a while. I’m hanging on to my 9-3 three door in the hope of a worthy replacement. Until then I guess I’m just not going to be too excited. What do we know about this model with regard to safety engineering? Is it a real Saab in that sense? Just curious. On a side note…in my own little world I’ve overheard many of my SUV driving co-workers (out of 60 I’d guess that about a third drive these things) complaining endlessly about rising gas prices. Many speak of ditching their SUV’s in favor of something more economical, and I wonder how prevalent this attitude might be among American SUV drivers? GM pulled the plug on Saab’s 3 and 5 door designs just as the automotive world seemed to embrace the idea (at last), and I can’t help but wonder if the introduction of a “real” Saab SUV is equally ill-timed?
Wow…I’m somewhat underwhelmed.
I know this is heresy, but I think I like the 9-7 better than this…doesn’t flow well at all from front to back. And that nose…
I’ll just wait with my comments until I see the official pictures.
As some have said seeing the vehicle in the metal gives a much different impression than pics. And that is the truth here. Being one of the lucky few to see the vehicle and after 5 months of self imposed silence….for better or worse…what you see is what we WILL be getting. And the interior is stunning which pics cannot truly show. And take it to the bank about the interior as it is right now. And I would agree with some who have commented on the “hockey stick” looks a little tacked on or kind of an afterthought. But taken as a whole versus the 9-7X the 9-4X will be a home run….a good precurser to the 9-5…i.e. interior treatments….
I would say keep the flow on the front…
http://www.omnipresence.be/Saab9-4X.jpg
I’m not sure but It still feels better.
Patric
thanks for that - is the chrome rear door hockey window treatment any better in life - it looks very unfinished here? What about badging front and rear? The grille stays then ?
Joti: That is spot on mate, THAT is how the nose should look. This notch and slightly higher ‘notch’ just doesn’t work. I fear it will go the same way as the Tribeca.
And so say most of us!
Patric: I think the car works, apart from that notch grille. That brings the rest of the design down. What Joti has linked too is infinitely better in my ever so humble opinion.
Joti, I agree….that’s much better!!
Thad: Thanks for those hi res pics, they look MUCH better.
I LOVE the new interior, http://www.motivemagazine.com/gallery/gallery.html?c=show_image;p=Manufacturers/Saab/Concepts/9-4x%20BioPower;i=7;img=009.jpg
That just looks fabulous, and as long as the quality is up there, it will certainly bring things to the now for Saab.
Automotive news has it now (sub req)
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080108/ANA02/597507176/1115
I just looked at the big pictures. Please tell me that is not one of those awful, tacky vents behind the wheel that are so popular now. Saab is supposed to be tasteful not like Buick.
Yes, a little disappointing. No clamshell hood? Instead we get the weird notch/grill intrusion.
I like the wheels and interior looks promising. Have to say I think I like the rear taillamp treatment from what the rear 3/4 angle shows.
I also noticed no griffin badge on the steering wheel…only “SAAB” badge
Sigh! What do you get when a Chevy Equinox sleeps with a Subaru WRX?
Answer: This bastard child is Not a Saab.
That Caddy on the other hand is such a clear demonstration of the “Arts and Science” theme that Cadillac has been pushing since the CTS. It is beautiful. Where did Saab go wrong?
ftp://ftp.ua.pt/incoming/pedrot16/004.jpg
My 5 min photoshop…
the motive.com pics look so much better imo, i wish it would look a little bit more agile, but i still give it a thumbs up.
@79: I think it needs another 5 mins…
regarding pedrot16’s photoshop i like that as the grille more resembles the new 9-3 and not a big block center grille as the cocept photos show.
Pedro, I see what you try to do, longer lower snout, lower that grille - shame it seems GM have decided this car is an American truck rather than a Euro-sports vehicle
Can you do anything with the awkward sharp angled windows trying (and failing) to blend in with the slightly swoopy hockey line? I wonder if a black masking trim to give the effect of lowering the window line and thereby ‘enlarging’ that opera window behind the rear door would help?
IMO, I think it’s promising and it’s quite original. It may not be your typical Saab design but at least it doesn’t mimic other manufacturers.
Some comments/questions I have. Where is the console mounted ignition? Also, why the chrome rims? I hope Saab sticks to the flat rims.
im hoping the center ingnition is a pop out button from the center console, that would be cool.
Hmmm, it’s starting to grow on me now that there are some larger hi res pics to see………………
Designing cars isn’t as easy as it used to be, and not so easy as some here seem to think. Consider all the requirements: tastes in different markets, crash safety, material choice, cost, brand statement and pedestrian safety to name a few. Particularly the pedestrian protection requirements are giving a lot of problems. Hence the bulky front.
However, I am also not overly happy with the final outcome, of this “study”, and more could have been done to give it a cleaner and crispier look. But you have to play the cards you are dealt and I think the design team have done a good job, not great but good.
Perhaps there will be some tweaking and tuning on the design but don’t hold your breath for a radical change to what we have seen above. Great pics at motive mag as suggested by Thad by the way.
And the two badges on the front? What kind of lame decision was that, neither here nor there in true GM fashion.
I like the curved side swage line that runs up from the front wings to the top of the c pillar - very Classic 900.
The rest of it is crapiola - design graphics for the sake of it in a quick-to date, somewhat butch, faux Chevy piece of Swedish -American pie.
In plain English, this thing has been genetically modified and is a freak.
I shall post some of my own Saab designs at this rate.
5min crappy photshop #2
ftp://ftp.ua.pt/incoming/pedrot16/006.jpg
i´m really disapontaided with the car… the rims, the “american truck” looks….
I think it looks just fine.
Pedrot, step away from the photoshop, put the mouse down on the floor and kick it over to the wall. Take a few deep breaths, and relax………..ahhh, much better
I see what you are trying to do mind, and I like the profile.
But please, Saab, as I’ve already said so many times before, no to the notch!
Holy moly, 91 comments already!! Swade will be busy reading this
Just put this concept next to the XC60 concept, and cry…
Pedrot , too far, Citroen Picasso reborn!
Whats the betting he will be up early today, lol.
hi i’m new to all this but……
i think the people who are saying that the front is wrong are right, it should be flat and should look better after that (try puuting your hand over it, it works for me then). I’m not sure about the C-pillar too, i think it should be moved forward abit, so there’s no small window.
However living in the UK i’ve never seen a Saab SUV and I like the concept of the car shown here, having seen what the 9-7x looks like.
IMO I’d buy 1 even if they didn’t change those things but I’d like it more if they did.
I also think the interior is jam hot
Pedrot16, It looks like you put it behind the jet in the Born from Jets ad, and it’s melting.
Tiago, sad but true - this car is dull, dull, dull. Volvo and Audi are going to clean up this sector in Europe - can’t speak for USA or other markets where i sense tastes are more traditional and conservative.
Joti, thats nicer. ( http://www.omnipresence.be/Saab9-4X.jpg )
I really like the simpler front end that Joti came up with.