Home » Car Reviews » Saab » 9-2 » 2005 Saab 9-2x Near-Luxury Compact Sport Wagon
2005 Saab 9-2x Near-Luxury Compact Sport Wagon
A Saabaru is what you get when Saab and Subaru design teams collide
Car Review Of The 2005 Saab 9-2x Compact Near Luxury Wagon
Base MSRP Range: $22,990 - $26,950
Base Invoice Range: $21,841 - $25,603
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MSRP As Tested: Not Available
Versions: Linear, Aero
Vehicle Category: Compact Near Luxury Wagon
Engine Location: Front Engine
Drive Wheels: All Wheel Drive
Engine As Tested Aero: 2.0-liter, Overhead Cam, Turbocharged 16-valves, Horizontally Opposed, 4 Cylinder, 165-horsepower at 6,000rpm and 217 lb-ft torque at 4,000 rpm.
Engine As Linear: 2.5-liter, Dual Overhead Cam, 16-valves, Horizontally Opposed,4 Cylinder, 165-horsepower at 5,500rpm and 166 lb-ft torque at 4,000 rpm.
Transmission As Tested: 4-speed automatic, 5-speed manual.
Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 2.5 Liter Manual 21/28, 2.5 Liter Automatic 22/28, 2.0 Liter Turbocharged Manual 20/27, 2.0 Liter Automatic 19/26.
Standard Safety Features: Driver and front passenger airbags, power-assisted disc brakes, Antilock Braking System (ABS).
Competition: Volvo S40, Infiniti I35, Infiniti G35, Acura TSX, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Passat, BMW 325I, Audi A4 1.8T, Lexus IS 300, Lexus GS300.
Review
Hellhole Palms, CA -- Nice, but nutty. That's what we call the GM marketing people who told us the buyer demographic for the 2004 Saab 9-2x is a single guy, 28 years old, urban dweller, making $75,000 a year. WWWWHHHHAAAATTTTT? There can't be more than 5,000 of those kind of people in the entire country! "That's why we're only making 8,000 of them," said our nice, but nutty, marketing person.
The Saab 9-2x was designed to compete in the new "premium compact sport sedan" market started by Volvo, with the launch of their S40, about 5 years ago. While we don't think the 9-2x is quite "premium" enough to compete with the S40, it is nonetheless a very cool car. It's fun to drive, and looks great. But it is not a premium, or near-luxury car by any stretch of the imagination.
In their rush to bring an upscale compact product to market, GM's Saab Division has taken GM's Subaru WRX wagon, reskinned it, and put in Saab seats. Other than the seats, the interior is the same as the WRX, which is definatly not premium.
The base model Saab 9-2x Linear, costs a whopping $5,000 more than the comparable Subaru Impreza wagon. The upmarket Saab 9-2x Aero, with 227-hp, costs $2,500 more than the Subaru WRX wagon. We don't think there are many people willing to pay these premiums just to get a Subaru product with a Saab logo on it. However if you are willing to pay the premium, and you don't mind that the Swedish Saab you bought was made in Japan by Subaru, then you'll get a great car that handles well, brakes hard, and is a blast to drive on twisty roads.
This vehicle launch confirmed our suspicion that Saab is getting GMized -- assimilated into the Borg collective, and thus resistance is futile. Saab is loosing its identity as a Swedish car company. The 9-2x is proof. But the saddest part is that historically Saab has been one of the few automakers willing to take risks and offer truly unique products. GM's influence is eliminating them as one of the benchmark companies in automotive design.
