Picked up my 9-7x

[matt221]

I just picked up my 9-7x Linear today. I haven’t had a lot of time to drive it yet. Here’s some pictures

[Raven18940]

Yay, someone finally owns one. *thumbs up* The video screen looks neat, does it swing down from the celling or sort of drop down.

A BIG congrats to you! One of the (if not the) first owners of the 9-7x on SaabCentral! Hope you do get a lot of time to drive it and enjoy it!

[matt221]

You manually swing down the DVD from the ceiling. Saab also provides 2 wireless headphones and a remote. There’s also an air compressor in the trunk with an air hose and attachments for blowing up a tire or pool raft.



My vehicle has been at the dealer for about a week. There was some type of invoicing problem at GM and they couldn’t release the invoices to the dealers.

[SaabScott]

That's great news Matt ... please provide as much info on your reviews as you can stand!

[Melovesha]

I am actually in MI on biz and am driving an '05 Trailblazer...

from the looks of all the photos, the Saab is a VAST improvement on the interior... and as another 2 cents, the Trailblazer kicks the Explorer's butt! what a POS the Explorer is... no wonder it's $220 a month!!!

just my opinion.

:L

[wolverinewizard]

Congrats! I personally think it's a great vehicle. Let us know how the owner's experience is!

[GRIPEN]

Congrats and welcome. I hoped you like it. I think GM did an amazing job injecting Saab DNA in it. It looked mean.

[SaabKen]

Woohoo, congrats Matt. Are you the first on SaabCentral ?

[Vector6]

Congrats on getting the 9-7X. Dealers in Denver still don't have them...odd. Anyway, this is my first post. Wife has an 01 9-5, I have an 03 9-3 Vector 6-sp (now Aero). It replaced my old 94 900SE and blew away everything else I test drove (Audi, BMW, etc). So the reason for my post...we need a bigger car, with one toddler and another on the way. We've been looking at wagons and SUVs and I am intrigued by the 9-7, despite some of the things Iwish they had done differently. I'm curious if you bought or leased and what kind of pricing you received. Also, has anyone heard anything about safety tests for this "new" vehicle? I'm hoping SAAB was able to bolster the scores of the Trailblazer.

Thanks for any and all feedback.

[boomerbman]

Nice... The 3 Saab dealers near me (IL - 25 miles west of Chicago) all report heavy call volumes and the 9-7s they get leave quickly and at sticker. The one by me sold 2 on 5/14 and are trying to get more. I took my 9-5 in for a wash 5/21 (looking for a 9-7) and there was a guy and 2 married couples asking about 9-7s also. I was a big skeptic, but after seeing it in person, it grew on me and I hope it does well for Saab's sake. Matt221 - is the handling as buttoned-down as claimed? Does it look/feel lower? More pics please.

Regards,
Boomer

[Cojoroh]

i've never had a thing for trailblazers, but my friend bought one about a year ago and i have to say, it's pretty nice. the interior is subpar in my opinion...huge panel gaps, ugly grain pattern on dash, color is poorly matched between dash and door panels. to me, it doesn't matter whether it's a hyndai or a saab, the color should match reasonably. but the trailblazer's inlike 6 is a gem. quite powerful and buttery smooth. my '04 SS shakes at idle, almost feels like it's missing, but it's not. the '03 i had as well as the loaners i've gotten have done it. to me, that's unacceptable for any make, let alone a $30k saab.

[Lodro]

Originally Posted by Cojoroh

ibut the trailblazer's inlike 6 is a gem. quite powerful and buttery smooth.

Ya, the I-6 and I-5 are supposedly very nice. Now, hook up a turbo to that thing, and you could be eating overweight V8s for lunch.

[ApolloBoy]

Gee, I guess the 9-7x appears to be better than I thought it would be! Let's hope that Saab does something about the interior, it's still very TrailBlazer-ish.

[Mattlach]

Originally Posted by Vector6

I'm hoping SAAB was able to bolster the scores of the Trailblazer.

Thanks for any and all feedback.

They probably improved the rollover safety rating somewhat by lowering it and widening its stance a little.

I think I remember reading that it had more airbags in it than the standard trailblazer as well, but I could be wrong.

Apart from that I don't think there is much they can do.

Since it is based off of a rigid truck frame, its impossible to implement crumple zones which are essential to vehicle safety.

No offense to the poster of this thread, or anyone else, but quite simply, any SUV is an unwise choice, despite what your family size is...

From an ethics standpoint of how much more damage they do to other vehicles in the case of an accident, it's - in my opinion - almost morally indefensible to drive one.

Besides, who needs an SUV for only two kids? I'm one of 4 siblings, and as kids we had a Volvo 740 station wagon (the kind with the folding rearward facing seats in the back.) We travelled all across Europe in it

edit:
If any of you want to read more about my feelings on SUV's (why would you?)here's a little editorial I wrote on the subject a while back...

[Vector6]

I don't disagree with you about SUVs. it's a bit of a pi**ing war, really. We had one in LA strictly to defend ourselves against the mass all around us on the freeway. You cannot argue with mass vs mass. Is it a sad trend? You bet. But I'm not gonna be the pioneer in the Mini who gets squashed by a Ford Explosion or Lincoln Nauseator. Since leaving Hell-A, two Saab sedans. Efficient and safe. I would've replaced the 9-5 sedan with a 9-5 wagon in a heartbeat if not for the very oudated design (yes, a facelift is coming. But it won't add curtain airbags, which are important - and so readily available it seems stupid to buy a new car without them). We've driven the XC70 wagon and may head in that direction - the AWD is nice for skiing, though with good winter tires a SAAB really pulls. Really, clearance matters more. My Vector sits so low I cannot drive in deep snow - no problem with traction after putting on 17" all seasons, but the snow pile in the middle of the street plows up all over the front of the car, blurring visibility and wreaking havoc on the body skirt.

Now I'll read your manifesto.

The way I see it, Saab did everything it could to make the 9-7x safer. There are standard curtain airbags, and they probably forced GM to stick a rollover sensor in there because it is necessary and so they can compete with Volvo. True, there probably aren't any changes to the structure, but with its lower center of gravity, wider tires, and sharper steering and suspension, the chances of you avoiding a serious accident improve greatly.

Of course there's that stupid old myth that if you buy a faster car you can avoid an accident. That's what sold my grandmother a 9000 turbo, and later a 900 turbo.

[SaabKen]

Now you got a cool grandma !

[Mattlach]

Originally Posted by apzer09

Of course there's that stupid old myth that if you buy a faster car you can avoid an accident. That's what sold my grandmother a 9000 turbo, and later a 900 turbo.

Meh.. I wouldn't say that it necessarily is a complete myth...


Truth is most faster cars are also equipped to be better handling, and thus more able to avoid accidents.

I've avoided at least one accident in my 9-5 Aero I know for certain I never would have been able to in my old car, a Mercury Sable. (big cardboard box containing dishwasher on highway)

[Krg05-9-3]

Nice! I like it. I may have my mom look into one of these soon, she's been half-heartedly car shopping for about a year and hasn't found her match. Maybe this will work.