Saab unveils new 4x4s and hatchbacks

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The Saab family is set to grow faster than at any time in its history with the introduction of new off-roaders and small hatchbacks.

Under the stewardship of General Motors, the Swedish marque kicks off its expansion plans with the launch of its Subaru Impreza-based 9-2 hatchback – Saab’s first all-wheel-drive model – in the US next May.

A year later, Saab will make its off-road debut in the US with the huge Chevrolet Trailblazer-based 9-7X. Saab has no plans to release the petrol-only seven-seater 4x4 in the UK, saying that it is too big for this country’s roads. However, a smaller sports utility vehicle (SUV), about the same size as the Land Rover Freelander, is in the pipeline.

Speaking at the launch of the revised 9-5, Saab chairman and chief executive Peter Augustsson said: ‘In the long term we will have a 9-2 and an SUV for all markets.’

Jonathan Nash, managing director of Saab Great Britain, said right-hand-drive versions of the 9-2 could make it into UK showrooms in the near future, but it is more likely to appear in second-generation guise in a few years’ time. That will give Saab the opportunity to stamp its own identity on the Impreza-based car more clearly and develop more engines for it.

Currently, the 9-2 is powered only by petrol engines, and although hot 220bhp versions will top the range, Nash wants to see diesels and cheaper entry-level cars, perhaps 1.6-litre models developing around 120bhp, available.

The first all-new model for the UK remains the 9-3 estate, which should be on sale towards the end of next year or early in 2005.