9-3X was Evoque avant la lettre
Two decades ago, Saab was still a lively car brand that rapidly launched the most amazing concept cars on the world. The 9-3X (not to be confused with the later refurbished 9-3 Sport Estate which was also called that) not only promised a compact body, but also four-wheel drive and a brand new V6 turbo engine. Too bad it wasn’t meant to be.
Especially the car brands from a country where it snows quite often, waited a long time to release models with four-wheel drive. They were not necessary either, it was judged at Volvo and Saab. After all, in Sweden, cars with winter tires and snow chains remain very mobile. The capitulation eventually came under pressure from German competitors, who stuck desirable nameplates such as quattro and 4Matic on the back of their cars. Volvo contrasted this with its XC models from 1997, while Saab only presented its first fully powered car five years later. And that was just a concept at the time, where the four-wheel drive had to share the attention with a new, compact body.
9-3X described as a crossover coupe
The 2002 9-3X was a pleasantly fresh and innovative model, which Saab itself described as a unique crossover coupe, intended to fill a market gap undiscovered by other brands. The 9-3X got the characteristic Saab lines, with the curved windshield and the side windows sloping up from there, exactly the recipe with which the classic 900 made friends for years. The rear design found its way to the 9-3 Estate in 2005, which would eventually even be marketed as a 9-3X. However, Saab designer Michael Mauer developed the 9-3X as the contradictory middle ground between a sporty coupe and a compact SUV. He gave his design a low roof and large wheels.
Announcement V6 turbo and 4×4
Under the hood was an all-new 2.8-liter V6 Ecopower turbo engine with 280 hp. That was more than enough to turn the 9-3X into a car like a swift boxer: stocky in stature, extremely fast and agile and with a corresponding drive for action. We now know that the four-wheel drive and the V6 engine have reached the production stage, but also that the long-awaited smaller Saab will forever remain a utopia. Too bad, because such a car would not have been out of place even among today’s many compact premium models. There is therefore still little to be said about Michael Mauer’s visionary concept.
Qashqai, Evoque, Paceman, C-HR
New cars appeared in the 1900s and early 1900s that may have long targeted the 9-3X. Models that combine compact dimensions with an explicit off-road character and/or four-wheel drive. The Nissan Qashqai, for example, about five years later, even though it was not a coupe, but a hatchback. But what about the Range Rover Evoque that came in 2011, also as a three-door? Or perhaps the most striking spiritual successor to the Saab 9-3X: the Mini Paceman. Later, manufacturers realized that the three-door crossover coupe might be better off with two extra doors. Since the Toyota C-HR, crossover with SUVs has really gone wild. This body type is also advancing in the more affordable segments.
.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl