Overview

In its quest to make Saab into a profitable division and give its dealers and customers more choice, General Motors has added the Saab 9-7X to its lineup. The 9-7X is Saab's first truck-based SUV, and the first-ever Saab available with a V8 engine.

As American as apple pie, the Saab 9-7X is built in Moraine, Ohio, on the same truck platform as the Chevy TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, and Buick Rainier. However, it's been given a Swedish massage inside, outside and underneath.

We think the 9-7X may be the best execution of this solid truck platform to date. The combination of blocky good looks, Saabesque design cues, improved handling and ride quality, with reasonable power and fuel economy make the new Saab 9-7X worth a long look. Inside, it's thoroughly Saab-like, nicely finished and comfortable.

The 9-7X is built on the shorter of the two wheelbases used for the GMT 360 platform, which is the one we prefer. It rides lower and the chassis is a bit stiffer than the other GM models, and comes with a retuned suspension and bigger brakes.

Overall, the Saab 9-7X offers a lot of value for $40,000, which comes in the form of luxury and safety features, both active and passive. Among them: six airbags, all-wheel drive, electronic stability control. Leather upholstery is standard.

A superb inline six-cylinder engine comes standard. A more powerful V8 is optional. Saab says major competitors will include the Volvo XC90 and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, both excellent SUVs. We suspect Saab's new truck will also compete with GM's in-house brands.

Model Lineup

The 2006 Saab 9-7X is available in six-cylinder and V8 versions, delineated and distinguished by displacement badges on the decklids and wheel/tire combinations. That's it. No other trim levels, no other external differentiation, which we count as a blessing. The V8 version adds the power powerful engine, good for towing up to 6500 pounds, and a limited-slip rear differential as standard equipment.

Safety features that come standard on both versions includes six airbags: front, side-impact for torso protection, and side curtain for head protection. Also standard: all-wheel drive, StabiliTrak yaw control, anti-lock disc brakes, rollover sensing, child seats, knee bolsters, canine restraints and other safety features Saab owners have come to expect.

Saab justifies the price of the 9-7X with an impressively complete list of standard equipment including leather-upholstered seats, 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels, the OnStar security and concierge system, and XM Satellite Radio, a list that would pump the Chevrolet version up to a high price if ordered separately.

Walkaround

The exterior makeover from the Chevy/GMC/Buick version features Saab's signature three-port grille, multi-element headlamps, rear quarter windows that wrap around the D-pillars, Saabian taillamps, and a flat hood (it opens from the front, Saab fans).

When you see so much giant-grille, aggressive, I'm-coming-to-get-you, high-riding military styling on the roads, it's refreshing to see an SUV with a borrowed body that looks so good when treated to the understated Saab nose and lamp and fender treatment, with its stylized airplane at the center of the grille opening (Saab built airplanes long before it built cars). We think, as far as exterior Saabness, they have pulled it off beautifully, much more so than with the Buick Rainier. This is a luxury SUV much more in the vein of the understated Acura MDX than a chrome-grille Buick.

The rear end of the GMT 360 has been remade as a Saab with an extended, big-cornered rear bumper and cool Saab taillamps and graphics. Not to mention the tasty wheels, one style for the I6, another for the V8. It really does look like a Saab from the back.

Interior Features

Apparently, the designers and marketers fought hard for this much interior redesign, and they certainly got it. We don't know how much it cost GM to retool the interior in such a thoroughly Saab fashion, even to the extent that the ignition key and wiring have been moved to the customary Saab location on the center console behind the shifter, antitheft interlock and all, but we like it.

The 9-7X interiors we experienced during a driving introduction along the edge of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in Quebec, were understated, nicely stitched, beautifully wood-trimmed, with thin chrome surrounds on the instruments to add a touch of class, white-on-black gauges with sharply defined graphics, and a dashboard architecture lifted directly out of a current Saab 9-3. All of the major items were easy to find and use.

The instrument panel is reshaped, rounded and angled toward the driver on the right-hand side, and it mimics the interior design of the current 9-3 successfully, if simply and quietly. All of the controls were in their customary Saab locations, including the Saabesque air vents and the hidden dual cupholder assembly in the right side of the dashboard.