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SAAB’S FIRST SUV DOESN’T MISS A (DESIGN) CUE

Smooth surfaces and clean execution convey a premium, contemporary look
Familiar Saab features and instrument panel create a driver-oriented interior
Unmistakable Saab styling cues inside and out support Saab brand character

As the first SUV of the Swedish premium brand, the new Saab 9-7X has the expected dimensions and capabilities of a sport utility vehicle – but its exterior and interior styling give it a much more car-like appearance than most competitors in the segment.

“The exterior and interior design of the Saab 9-7X are in line with its dynamic road behavior and convey the sporty refinement of a Saab rather than the ruggedness of a traditional SUV,” said Simon Padian, senior designer in charge of the 9-7X.

Saab styling cues are apparent even from a distance. Key features include Saab’s signature three-port grille, rear quarter windows that visually appear to wrap around the
D-pillars and brand-specific wheels. The Saab 9-7X’s profile is clean and uninterrupted, without large bumper offsets or protruding shapes and forms.

Inside, Saab drivers will instantly feel at home. The instrument panel’s cockpit-inspired center stack and controls are angled toward the driver. Like the exterior, the 9-7X’s interior features Saab-traditional strong, brand-distinctive design elements and cues. They encompass such Saab icons as the air vents with their characteristic sliding-plate design, a cupholder like that of the Saab 9-5, and the center console ignition switch location.

The exterior: clean, harmonious and powerful
The new 9-7X retains Saab’s familiar curvaceous front. The rounded hood ends at a horizontal cutline, with flush surfaces supporting the aerodynamics. The one-piece front fascia harmoniously integrates the typical three-hole-grille and the low, horizontal headlamps that wrap around into the sides of the vehicle. The grille textures, which share a precise, geometric mesh pattern, create a strong identity.

The headlamps are detailed to provide a rich, multi-tone effect, reflecting the latest in European design trends. The unique tail lamps have a clear acrylic lens and reflector optics. Their bezels have a stainless (smoke gray) color, which contrasts with the chrome to heighten the effect of the lights.

The headlamps use three independent lighting units, with separate lamps for the high and low beam, as well as the park/turn signals, including daytime running lamp functions. 9-7X six-cylinder models use projector beams for low-beam lighting. The high-intensity discharge lamps for the low beams provide even greater nighttime visibility. The headlamp washers extend outward like those on the Saab 9-5 and are mounted on the front fascia, just below the headlamps. Their location eliminates gaps and provides flush surfacing, enhancing the “functional beauty” characteristic of the vehicle’s design. Projector beam fog lamps are standard. Small, round and laser-like, they contribute to the precision look and overall balance of the front-end design.

As part of the contemporary simplicity of the overall bodyside theme, the vehicle also has no bodyside moldings, which is in keeping with Saab’s traditional clean, uncluttered look.

Styled, brightly finished roof rails are standard. The roof rails visually integrate with the vehicle’s upper contours, accentuating and extending the profile. The roof rails taper down and forward in front, picking up the trajectory of the windshield profile, accelerating higher as they go rearward to create visual forward thrust before tapering down at the back. They have chrome accent bars and a brightly painted silver base. The roof rails were designed to accept all the same support hardware as the 9-5 Sport Wagon, making it easy to add Saab-common accessories.

The standard 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with Dunlop P255/55R18 tires, combined with the vehicle’s low stance, emphasize its stability and fun-to-drive performance characteristics. Wheels are painted bright silver with exposed lug nuts that reinforce Saab’s philosophy of functional beauty. The 9-7X with the 4.2L engine has 12-spoke wheels, with the slender spokes radiating to the tip of the outer rim for a flangeless appearance and contemporary, large-wheel look. The 9-7X V-8 features a bolder, six-spoke wheel design that underscores its enhanced performance capabilities.

The rear: familiar wrap-around window
The rear quarter windows feature the same wrap-around, Saab-distinctive design as the Saab 9-5 Sport Wagon. Visually, they appear to wrap over the D-pillars and into the rear window. The upper header portion of the tailgate extends the flow of this design by allowing a line to extend from the rear quarter window to its lower edge.

The Saab 9-7X provides a standard receiver hitch assembly and a bumper step pad, providing convenient roof access. The surface pattern of the step pad matches that of the sill plate in the interior cargo area, providing a harmonious appearance when the liftgate is opened.

The rear lamps, like the headlamps, include three lighting units, with clear acrylic and polycarbonate lenses, reflector optics and precision-detailed bezels combining to create a three-dimensional, precision-crafted effect. The lamps are vertically stacked, with a clear backup light at the top, an amber-colored turn signal in the middle and a red stop light at the bottom.

As part of the 9-7X’s clean design, the badging is discrete. A Saab emblem appears at the top of the license plate box, which is incorporated into a strip of horizontal chrome running across the top of the box, providing a harmonious balance with the bright chrome cues at the front of the vehicle. The rest of the license plate box is body-colored. The chrome-finished oval exhaust pipe tip, like the wheels, signals the vehicle’s performance characteristics.

Driver-oriented interior
Work inside the Saab 9-7X was focused on providing an upscale, sporty, driver-oriented interior that captured the feel and flavor of other Saab models. In doing so, the designers blended the best of heritage cues from models like the 9-5 Sport Wagon with design features from more recent new entries like the 9-3 Sport Sedan and Convertible.

The Saab 9-7X’s instrument panel is shaped to create a driver-oriented space by angling its center stack and controls toward the driver. A four-spoke, leather-wrapped steering wheel, textured with a low-gloss grain, like the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan, provides a European feel. Additionally, like all other Saab models, the Saab 9-7X offers dual stalks with wiper controls on the right stalk.

The instrument cluster features satin-nickel-ringed gauges and the distinctive graphics of Saab 9-3 models. Saab-unique green provides the color and backlighting for LED cluster and HVAC displays, as well as for the radio and driver information center.

Saab aficionados will likely recognize the dash panel’s distinctive, vertical cupholder, like the one used in Saab 9-5 models. The cupholder pops out of the dash when pressed, flipping out sideways with a spring-dampened, twisting motion. A second, large, conventional cupholder is designed into the center console.

Control knobs for the radio, rear wiper, dimmer switch, HVAC system and the directional airflow controls feature the 9-3’s familiar soft, rubber-molded texture. HVAC outlets feature Saab’s distinctive sliding-plate design. The control knob moves a series of plates (rather than conventional vanes and shutters) that slide over each other.

The steering wheel features an easy-to-handle set of redundant audio system controls on the top left- and right-side spokes. Buttons to control the driver information center are located in the instrument panel’s center stack. Also located there is the hazard switch, providing an easy-to-access, five-button row of switches at the very centerline of the instrument panel above the radio.

Another typical Saab feature is the location of the ignition switch behind the gearshift on the center console. The gearshift lever has a symmetrical design, wide shift boot and conveys a substantial feel, reinforcing the Saab 9-7X’s driver-oriented character.

The center console is highly functional and tastefully appointed with dark burl wood effect trim inserts and chrome accents. A matching dark burl wood effect trim insert is found on the gearshift lever. The front of the console houses a large-size drink holder and two 12-volt power outlets.

The front door sills of the Saab 9-7X feature brushed aluminum, with the word “Saab” prominently de-bossed in bright, polished aluminum lettering. The same material is used for rear doorsill plates and inserts in the cargo area, taking the brunt of cargo as it slides into the rear. The sills’ surface pattern matches the top of the rear bumper top.

The standard soft, heated, nuance leather-appointed seats, with eight-way power adjustment including electrical lumbar and recline for both front seats, and leather-appointed rear seats, are among the Saab 9-7X’s many standard features. Seats are available in either a Desert Sand color, with matching door armrests and door inserts, or in a Carbon Black color that matches the carpeting, instrument panel and console that is standard with both interiors.

The center console lid and the door armrests, as well as the shifter boot and parking brake, are tailored with luxury French seam contrast stitching. All sew lines and seat trenches are tight and small. This not only ensures a detailed, high-end upholstered appearance, but one crafted to be durable and eliminate the possibility of a “stretched seam” appearance over time.