2010 Saab 9-4X – Spied

Among the GM brands, Saab stands out for the richness of its Swedish heritage, the immutable character of its cars (the older ones, anyway), and the voracity of its loyalists. But about four years ago, GM cast it all aside when, in an effort to satisfy SUV-starved U.S. dealers, it slapped a Saab aerospace-inspired grille onto its big midsized GMT360 SUV body, relocated the ignition switch to the center console, and then tried to pass the result—the 9-7X off as a true Saab. To Saab-o-philes, this was akin to bleaching Rosanne Barr’s hair blond and passing her off as supermodel Victoria Silvstedt.

In Saab’s defense, the 9-7X, aka the “Troll-blazer,” was only meant to fill the void until Saab could bring out a crossover ute more in line with Saab’s decidedly Euro sensibilities than the body-on-frame, petrol-swilling, non-turbocharged, and soooo-not-born-from-jets 9-7X.

Since then, the 9-7X has been killed. But the good news is the brand will get back into the crossover game with an all-new, smaller, car-based ute. And development is well on track, as evidenced by these spy shots of the almost completely exposed 2010 9-4X, caught testing at or near GM’s Milford Proving Grounds outside Detroit.

The 9-4X shares its “TE” midsize crossover platform—so-named because it has elements of the old Epsilon mid-size car and Theta compact crossover Saturn Vue platforms—with the 2010 Cadillac SRX. Both will be built at GM’s Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico.

In the U.S., the Saab is expected to be powered—initially, anyway—by GM’s lovely, 304-hp, direct-injection 3.6-liter V-6, a six-speed automatic, and Saab’s new “XWD” all-wheel-drive system. Other markets will likely be able to specify the new 2.9-liter V-6 diesel that GM engineered with newly acquired Italian diesel-builder, VM Motori SpA.

© Source: caranddriver
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