Saab planning XWD-equipped 9-5X wagon?
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/spyphotos/" rel="tag">Spy Photos</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/sports/" rel="tag">Performance</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/wagons/" rel="tag">Wagon</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/euro/" rel="tag">Europe</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/saab/" rel="tag">Saab</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/luxury/" rel="tag">Luxury</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/04/saab95x.jpg" />As you may have guessed by now, we're <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/02/report-next-saab-9-3-still-based-on-gms-epsilon-i-plus-more-d/">very excited</a> over the prospect of a <strike>reinViggenated</strike> <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/30/saabs-hiring-500-workers-reportedly-needed-to-boost-production/"><em>reinvigorated</em> Saab</a>. Our thinking is, now that Trollhattan is free of General Motors, it will get back to the business of making niche three- and five-door hatches coveted by post-grad Ivy League types with mega-potent turbos blowing into longitudinal, slanty I-4s spinning the front wheels. Even if our entire Saabian wish list isn't fulfilled, a fully independent Saab can only result in better focused cars. For instance, the 9-7X SUV will stay dead and buried. <br />
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Of course, even if the 9-7X was something of an abomination, that doesn't mean that there aren't Saabophiles out there that seek the all-weatherness of all-wheel drive combined with a lot of cargo hauling capability. While we suggest those people first seek out a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_C303">Volvo C303</a>, Saab's thinking different. Badly translated reports are fluttering that not only is Saab building a 9-5X (Saab chose to brand their AWD vehicles with XWD, or "Cross-Wheel Drive" - a fancy way of saying <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/30/saab-xwd-haldex-4-0-all-wheel-drive-system-up-close/">Haldex version 4.0</a>) that will presumably be a performance variant, but they're also apparently set to build a XWD-equipped 9-5X SportCombi (station wagon) that will do battle with up-armored station wagons like the Audi Allroad and Volvo XC70.<br />
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The 9-5X SportCombi will be separate from the apparently still forthcoming <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/13/spy-shots-saab-9-4/">Saab 9-4X</a>, an actual SUV-looking CUV built on the same platform as the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/model/srx">Cadillac SRX</a>. It looks as if the 9-4X will be the only new Saab product not built in Sweden. One more little tidbit: As Saab wrestles itself back to its former glory, they might just be dropping the hyphenated names. Meaning that the next 9-3 might actually be billed as the Saab 93, and that this whole time we've been talking about the new 95X. Time will tell. <br />
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[Source: <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl =en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http% 3A%2F%2Fwww.autoweek.nl%2 Fautonieuws%2F13935%2FOok-een-X-variant-van-Saab-9-5&sl=nl&tl=en">Autoweek.n l</a>]<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/05/saab-planning-xwd-equipped-9-5x-wagon/">Saab planning XWD-equipped 9-5X wagon?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/05/saab-planning-xwd-equipped-9-5x-wagon/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19425484/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/05/saab-planning-xwd-equipped-9-5x-wagon/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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