9-4x spyshot interior comparison
The one thing I loved-Loved-LOVED about the Saab 9-4x concept vehicle was the interior. The photos look fantastic but they don’t do it justice. This really is fantastic.
Earlier today, Autoblog posted some spyshots of the Saab 9-4x production vehicle undergoing testing. It was full of body cladding etc but it was pretty clear from the grille shot that it was the 9-4x.
The most interesting part for me wasn’t the exterior. It was the interior and thankfully they got a glimpse of that as well. Click here to view the full side shot with interior glimpses. I’m going to risk the wrath of Priddy and post this composite for comparison purposes (they haven’t contacted me back yet so that I can buy a full shot from them).
Click to enlarge.
When I first saw the Autoblog shot I was pretty discouraged. It looks kinda like a sea of black in there. A proper look at the full concept interior photo brings some hope, however.
Firstly, the concept interior was predominantly white, with the seats and lower door trims all finished in white. As is the case with most concepts, that’s not likely to make it to production. There’ll probably be the usual offering of parchment and black options, I’d guess.
As was noted in comments to the initial entry on these spypics, a comparison of the vents and door handles shows that a fair bit of the concept interior was production ready. There’s definitely a lot of the same shapes in there.
The big question is whether or not the acrylic panel that so dominated the 9-4x interior dash panel will be production ready. That really was the high-point of the interior for me. I know it’d be a challenge for Saab to get that ready but I really hope they manage it. It was a real game-changer in my eyes.
Click below for another look at it in full. The switchgear and shifter are most likely to be concept only, but the feel of this cabin was superb and they need to replicate as much as they can from it.
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Another thing that I have to note from seeing these is that all of a sudden, the 9-4x feels a lot more real to me.
They’re actually making this thing and we’ll get to drive it some time in the near future.
That feels good.
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i like how the prototype is riding around with turbine wheels. i was hoping some form of the turbine wheels would make it to production and hoping from the pictures they may.
I dunno, I’ve always been more of a wood panel guy, myself. For Saabs, anyway. The only optional thing my NG had was the wood grain trim, and it really made the car look nicer than it actually was. That said, I liked the acrylic also, and I hope it makes it into production, but I’d prefer it as an option. Saab really needs to get out of the habit of offering zero options for its cars, their system of “lump everything into some astronomically priced packages” really hurts them, especially in the younger market, where a long options list is almost as important as the torque figures.
I prefer the wood too, but the fancy ice acrylic looks sweet. I wish the newer Saabs had the option of adding as much wood as the 9000 had instead of just around the shifter and little bits here and there. Much negative points on that one from me. When I was looking to buy a car a while back (never did, but meh…) wood was an absolute 1000% must have.
A Saab SUV designed for the US market, by GM designers, developed in the US….. exciting?
Ken H: In my opinion, this car is absolutely exciting. Not that I am much of an SUV-guy myself, but it seems to be a proper Saab (in contrast to the 9-7X), which will help Saab sell more cars. I think it looks stunning, anyways, in and out.
I think that if they offer the acrylic it will come on Aero models or something like that. The good thing is that the 9-4x interior would look equally beautiful if they replaced the acrylic part with a nice big wood panel.
Ken H.
its not designed for the u.s. market, and not by general “GM” designers.
It is designed for the WORLD market, and designed by Saab Sweden.
Ken H.
its not designed for the u.s. market, and not by general “GM” designers.
It is designed for the WORLD market, and designed by Saab Sweden.
I cant wait for this thing! The interior is exciting compared to the competition’s:
http://news.windingroad.com/wp-gallery2.php?g2_itemId=36815
YAWN!
Seems like they will drop the cool new design of the vent covers (don’t know the english term, but you know, the “grille” of the vents on the dashboard).
This is just the thing I needed to see this morning! Proves that there is momentum in Saab. If the interior is as practical as it should be this might be the new family wheels in 2010. The Sportcombi will remain as backup.
This is very encouraging that GM is bringing us (in my opinion) the best looking aspect of this vehicle and that the interior elements may not be a watered down version.
I hope the driving dynamics are on par with what made SAAB such a desirable brand in the first place.
What I found curious were the wheels on the test mule. We’ve been seeing the “turbine wheel” look on the concepts and I have been salivating to get them on a production car!
This also gives me hope that the new 9-1 will be coming to the market without too many exterior changes. Though I was not a big fan of the 9X biopower Instrument Panel, I love the rest of the interior.