Saab 9-3x on the road soon

November 23rd, 2008 · 14 Comments

Just in case you missed it in the interviews earlier this week, it’s worth noting that something great will be happening around Trollhattan in the coming weeks.

Back in June 2007, Saab unveiled the 2008 Saab 9-3 range, which featured a significant cosmetic facelift as well as a bunch of mechanical and structural upgrades. We started seeing that car well before June, however, courtesy of a number of spy photographers in northern Sweden and a few camera-carrying types in Trollhattan itself. In fact, but the time I got to Trollhattan - a week before the unveiling - the 2008 models were quite commonplace on the roads there.

So it will be again in the next few weeks with Saab’s own Eric Geers confirming that the 9-3x would be out and about on the streets of Trollhattan soon.

If you’re not familiar with this 9-3x vehicle but you’ve heard the name before, then you should note that this is NOT the 9-3x concept vehicle that Saab produced earlier this decade.

This 9-3x is a basically a Saab 9-3 SportCombi wearing some heavy boots. Most notably, it features Saab’s Cross-Wheel Drive (XWD) system to help you through some of the slightly rougher roads and tougher conditions. It’ll also feature some tougher exterior trim, with some body cladding most notable on the front and rear, some scuff plating, twin exhausts, Turbo X alloy wheels in silver, and a lift that’ll add around 30mm of ground clearance.

It’s the Saab for the faithful who previously left to buy a Subaru, a smaller Volvo Cross Country or an Audi Allroad. Come on back people, and get into a decent looking car with some good seats once again, eh?

Here are the images that were swiped from a dealer conference in Germany earlier this year. All you Trollhattan locals, this is what you’re looking for. Start snappin!

Saab have already done a photo shoot for this car and I expect some lo-res shots from the session to make their way to my inbox in the next week or so. The next big motor show is in Detroit early next year. I’d expect this car to feature either there or in Geneva in March.

It’s not a major addition to the Saab range, but it’s a good one nonetheless and at very little cost to Saab.

Saab were always a really popular brand in the ski towns of North America, a position of favour that’s eroded in recent years most likely due to the loss of the Saab hatch. This vehicle, combining SportCombi practicality and good looks with Saab’s brilliant XWD traction should be a good addition for those markets.

I’m looking forward to seeing it in action!

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Tags: Saab 9-3x · Saab News

14 responses so far ↓

1 Dippen // Nov 23, 2008 at 10:24 pm

phoned my brother about this and told him to have his camera with him all the time due to the possibility of 9-3x will show up on the road:)
2 eggsngrits // Nov 23, 2008 at 11:40 pm

Volvo has sold thousands upon thousands of those “cross-country” wagons here in the US. Saab will do well with this if it is marketed correctly.
3 MarkoA // Nov 24, 2008 at 3:28 am

Great!! Take your cameras with you, you Trollhattan people!!

And now Saab should really, REALLY put some effort marketing this great car. Several tv and newspaper ads for a starter.

It’s the Saab for the faithful who previously left to buy a Subaru, a smaller Volvo Cross Country or an Audi Allroad. Come on back people, and get into a decent looking car with some good seats once again, eh?

Yeah. I feel your finger pointing at me.. I´ve driven Saabs all my life and now I´ve got Subaru. I really feel like a betrayer . But a happy one, Yes, I really do like Outback a lot.

But as long as there´s no diesel version, I´m not considering to get one. And I´m afraid that the price in Finland will go quite high anyway.

A cool car. Trash your SUVs and get Saab 9-3X!!!

This is the car that should´ve been available right from the start when Sport Combi came in 2005.
4 tiPanda // Nov 24, 2008 at 5:03 am

If the 9-3x tries to compete with the Outback it shouldn’t be too expensive. Here in the Netherlands Subaru is a niche brand (as is Saab, but I think Saab is bigger), but the base 9-3 is a lot more expensive than the Outback. So if the 9-3x is even more expensive then it will be very hard to compete.
5 tiPanda // Nov 24, 2008 at 5:18 am

Oops, sorry, I just checked: the 9-3 is not a lot more expensive, but in Norden trim it’s about the same price as a 2.5i Outback.
6 zippy // Nov 24, 2008 at 5:21 am

Hate to throw a ’stink bomb’ into the conversation but whats the big deal here? Its a XWD 9-3 Sportcombi with cladding that is hardly ground breaking. Saab needs the 9-5 before it needs anything else IMO!
7 Bill P // Nov 24, 2008 at 8:11 am

This is the car that SAAB should have instead of the 9-4.Like Swade I hate SUV’s,this is by far more practicial vehicle .Saab should have made the 9-5 sports wagon cross wheel drive too. Lets hope they do this with the new 9-5 wagon. Bring it on.
8 Markac // Nov 24, 2008 at 9:35 am

Bill P: You are right. If Saab could have released this car when it originally intended, there wouldn’t have been any reason for the 9-2x, the 9-7x probably wouldn’t have happened and we wouldn’t be eventually looking at a 9-4x. Crossover versions of the 9-3 and the 9-5 make far more sense for Saab. SUVs definitely aren’t ‘very Saab’. Hopefully the 9-3 crossover is a success and then maybe a 9-5 crossover will happen? As long as it dosn’t arrive five years into the new 9-5s model life.
9 SaabKen // Nov 24, 2008 at 4:41 pm

Markac,

I recall reading in a few places that there was a 9-5 “All-Road” AWD concept in Saab’s past. It was supposed to have a raised roofline towards the rear half of the car. It prolly didn’t get too far into development. I believe this was in the late 90s/early 00s when GM cancelled several of Saab’s projects.
10 Rogan // Nov 24, 2008 at 4:43 pm

The best thing about this vehicle for the US market is that it isn’t something that’s going out of demand. People who were driving the big SUVs will be looking for something like this… The 9-4x on the other hand… honestly I think they should just scrap it and use the cash to get the vehicles that matter out.

-Rogan
11 SaabKen // Nov 24, 2008 at 4:48 pm

I for one would definitely be a potential customer for the 9-3X
12 eston21 // Nov 24, 2008 at 10:09 pm

great news. after having my 9-5 stuck in snow for the last day or so ive been thinking about a 4wd saab but as the only one is turbo x its a no-no with its low(ish) ground clearance. and as my 9-5 will be quite old by the time 9-3x arrives it will be a perfect time to get a new saab.
13 max // Nov 24, 2008 at 11:55 pm

Knowing Saab-USA aka GM it will be priced at $50,000+ in the US and be D.O.A. as is usual in their ultimate wisdom…or lack thereof
14 triple // Nov 25, 2008 at 1:29 am

Just sold my Pathfinder and am now a 2 car family— a 05 and and an 02 9-3. Looking for a Sportcombi, that’s 9-3x can’t come soon enough, but sadly probably not soon enough for us. If it was out now, it’d be on top of my list.