All of those luxury touches spell C-O-M-F-Y, but the comfort would not have
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| Comfortable seats, comfortable ride. It's even comfortably nimble. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
been complete without a Saabified sport-tuned suspension. You see, despite riding on a steel ladder-frame chassis, the 9-7X has been lowered when compared to the TrailBlazer or Envoy, plus it integrates a fully-independent suspension using retuned double-A arms with coilover shocks in front and a 5-link, electronically controlled air suspension with load levelling in the rear. If nothing else, the entire setup sounds like something off of a European sport sedan. However, it is something else, and it is shockingly nimble for such a heavy vehicle, and easily up to the task of maintaining composure at high speeds and even through turns and twists. But bumps are still bumps and this SUV will bounce you around in your seat if you see a lot of potholes and degraded roads in your area, so be careful with that venti latté if in this Swedish mechanical-wonder's pop-out cupholder, or at least tell your passenger to be careful.
Relative
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| Stabilitrak and good brakes prevented our man Yarkony from becoming 'one' with another motorist. (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
to others in its class, Saab's sport utility handled with the grace of an experienced telemark downhill skier and, combined with its electronic all-wheel drive and GM's Stabilitrak stability control system, probably saved my life when a slow-moving (20-30 km/h slow, in case you're wondering) vehicle tried to merge into my highway lane as I was traveling at posted speeds. A surge of brakes, correctional steering onto the shoulder, then back into the lane before kissing the median and I was thanking Saab for every airbag they had available, and more importantly, at least this time, for the amazing control I was able to exert in order to avoid having any of those airbags deploy. The 9-7X's ability to handle emergency maneuvers did more than merely impress.
Of course, the other two most impressive features of this SUV are its 5.3i V8 engine, a GM powerplant refined to Saab tastes (and I still think it would be cool to turbocharge this thing in Saab tradition) and the 9-7X exterior styling treatment. I don't know where it lost track of its GMT360 roots, but it's the first of its platform mates to ever make me turn my head, pause and say "Expletive! that thing is sweet!" I love the Saab grille, despite the fact that this particular example seemed to have come off its mounting points and wiggled like a springboard, plus did not have the usual Saab logo affixed to the chrome cross bar. I love the clear lens and jet-turbine housing of the front projector headlamps, as well as the silky smooth lines of the quarter panels and fenders. The chrome roof-rack rails and tail lamp clusters, and twin chromed exhaust tips all add a dash of Euro-flair, but the coup de gràce is easily the blacked out D-pillar combined with the dark tinted windows, which finally resolves the rear quarter awkwardness typical of every variation of the GMT360 that I've ever seen. But that's just my opinion--I'm sure Rainier owners would tend to disagree--and I just saw an all-black Trailblazer LT that might buck the trend, too. After all, I can't be all right all the time.
Back to that engine, the aforementioned V8 was GM's 5.3-litre mill with an all-aluminum block
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| Open wide and say "aah". (Photo: Justin Couture, Canadian Auto Press) |
and cyinder heads, making 300-hp and 330 lb-ft of torque; the 9-7X 5.3i definitely has the goods to back up those sleek looks. While a GM 4-speed transmission is no top-secret fighter jet technology, it is smooth and efficient at managing the power delivery, and it was best at not being noticed as opposed to any excitement or difficulties a new-tech tranny might have added. This 'combi' got the job done with ease, and the price paid was at the pumps, where the 5.3i returns 15.4 / 10.2 L/100 km city / highway, according to the EPA. Thanks to enthusiastic acceleration and lively driving I was well over those numbers all week long, hovering around 16 L/100 km during what was mostly city driving, so I probably did not make much use of GM's 'Displacement on Demand' or whatever they're calling the cylinder-deactivation system these days (Active Fuel Management or AFM - Ed.).
