2010 Saab 9-4X CUV spied
February 9, 2009 by George Skentzos
While most cold-weather testing is merely used to see if a car’s equipment survives in sub-zero temperatures, Saab has taken its testing one step further by pitting its new 9-4X CUV against the winter elements off-road style.
This latest prototype has shed much of its heavy camouflage in favour of a snow leopard-inspired print, revealing for the first time much of the final production model’s design.
It draws a significant resemblance to the Saab BioPower concept which debuted late last year at the 2008 Detroit NAIAS.
This Saab will start production at the Ramos Arizpe plant in the United States in the latter half of 2009, based on GM’s new TE-chassis which it shares with the upcoming 2010 Cadillac SRX.
In addition to a series of petrol engines, the 9-4X range will also boast a new 186kW diesel unit developed by GM and VM Motori.
To inject some off-road credentials, many models in the 9-4X range will feature Saab’s cross-wheel-drive (XWD) all-wheel-drive system.
Print it: 
Is it just me, or is that a really boring design for a brand new model?
This is no more a Saab than I am a giraffe.
Putting the Saab badge on an overweight American SUV merely confirms that the brand is dead.
CM,
I don’t think this is an overweight American SUV with a Saab badge, it is built on the same platform as a Cadillac SRX, but only the underpinnings are common with both. This SUV would be AudiQ5/Volvo XC60 size.
Myke,
Try XC90/almost Q7 size. A shrinking species to which the Saab brand should never have been attached to. But when you’re desperate for some heat you’ll put the floorboards in the fireplace.
Wow, no love for the Saabsuv… I think it’s quite good looking for an SUV. The Saab front translates well to a large fronted vehicle, unlike some other premium brands I can think of…
GM,
Myke is right. This is not XC90/Q7 sized.
Anyways I think this looks great. Saab is about to launch a lot of new models (at last) that could turn around their fortunes.