As the world is only too well aware, GM has huge problems. In the real world it should have gone out of business, but in the political world that would probably be unacceptable to the American public. So it’s busy grovelling to Congress to acquire sufficient funding to stay alive until it can produce products the buying public might find worth having.
Sadly, one of the casualties is the once proud Saab, which GM owns and which it feels compelled to sell. Much as Ford with Volvo, overseas subsidiaries seem to be a necessary casualty to appease the US government and public, even if they have products which are more suitable to the modern world than its parents’ own.
Saab 9-4X SUV - Getting close to launch
But despite the problems, Saab is pushing on with new products (something it really needs, even if they are derivative) and it looks like one of these, the Saab 9-4X SUV, is getting close to launch if the spy shot here is anything to go by.
Using the same platform as the Cadillac SRX, which launched recently at the Detroit Motor Show, the Saab 9-4X is destined to go head to head with the likes of Volvo’s XC60 and Audi’s Q5 – stiff competition. But Saab has a style of its own, and this looks like a good offering.
Expect the usual ‘Ikea’ interiors, with great seats and clever (and sometimes quirky) design touches. Engines will be a 2.4 and a 3.0 petrol at launch, but expect to see a 2.9 diesel follow soon after. To offer a good headline price there will be both 2 and 4-wheel drive versions, with the 4-wheel drive cars getting a clever electronic diff that can push power to any wheel that has grip.
It’s good to see Saab pushing forward. They deserve to survive (probably more so than parent GM) and new models is the way forward if they are going to have a future.
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