This isn’t going to help slow sales in the US, but it’s potentially a very positive development for the imminent release of the Saab 9-3x.
One of the bugs with the XWD system in the regular Saab 9-3 is that there wasn’t enough room to have both a diesel engine and Saab’s new cross-wheel-drive system in the same car. With diesels being so big in Europe, this would have made a great alternative to an SUV for the Euro market.
I’ve just heard from one source in Europe that the Saab 9-3x will be offered with a diesel engine, which raises a couple of possible scenarios:
1) With the extra suspension-induced clearance that might be available with the 9-3x (being a raised up and body-cladded version of the 9-3 SportCombi) they’ve now got enough room to fit both the XWD system and a diesel engine.
OR
2) There may be a FWD version of the 9-3x on the menu in addition to the standard XWD model that we’re expecting. This could offer the same drivetrains as the regular 9-3 SportCombi range, but with the body modifications of the 9-3x and no XWD system.
Option 1 is definitely the preferable scenario. When the XWD system first came about I heard from a lot of people who were interested in the combination of XWD with a diesel powerplant.
Although option 2 seems to go against the “x” part of the model’s name, I’d imagine this is the more likely scenario. Call me a pessimist, but I don’t want to get my hopes up for a diesel/XWD combination and then have those hopes dashed. Having both FWD and XWD versions of this body style would make sense, too, offering the vehicle to more potential customers who want the utility that comes with the ground clearance, but not the extra fuel consumption that comes with XWD.
There was no mention as to whether the diesel powerplant in question would be a TiD or a TTiD engine, so we’ll have to wait and see.
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