Saab 9-3x Archives - Swadeology

Saab 9-3x Griffin

I received the following via email over the weekend:

Would it be possible you to take some photos of new 9-3 Griffins especially 9-3Xs? Interior footage is the most interesting. It is hard to make decisions of ordering a new car if you don’t know how it looks like – dash, steering wheel, seats etc.

Griffins can be a little hard to come by at the moment, but when I was at the Saab Museum yesterday photographing the Saab 9-6 prototype, they happened to have a Saab 9-3x Griffin on display there.

Seeing that the enquiry sought some more details about the Griffin, I think it’s appropriate to share a few things about the Saab 9-3 Griffin range of vehicles. You can also read the full 9-3 Griffin press release from vehicle’s debut at the Geneva Motor Show.

Click the images to enlarge:

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Refreshed exterior styling:

‘Ice block’ headlamp effect introduced on the new 9-5 sedan now on the 9-3.
More prominent, wing-shaped central bar carrying the SAAB wordmark, again like the 9-5 sedan.
The SAAB wordmark replaces badging on the chrome trim at the rear, and all Sport Sedan variants receive a trunk-mounted spoiler.
Re-profiled front bumpers include a deep, trapezoidal air intake finished with black, ribbed bars, or a mesh insert for Aero variants.
Front fog lamps fitted as standard.
16-inch alloy wheels are now fitted as standard, increasing to 17-inch for Aero and Saab XWD variants. New 17- and 18-inch wheel designs are also offered.

Refreshed interior styling:

Titanium metallic-effect trim is introduced around the instrument panel, gearshift molding, doors and glove box, and as an option for the instrument panel fascia.
The Aero interior features a graphite fiber-effect for all these items, including the fascia. A brushed metallic effect is also introduced as an option for both standard and Aero variants.
Shark grey fabric inserts now complement both the black and parchment standard leatherette seats, while irregularly ribbed leather with contrasting stitching is introduced for Aero upholstery.

Engines.

The BIG news about the 9-3 Griffin range for many European markets is that the Saab 9-3 SportCombi now joins the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan in offering a diesel variant with less that 120g of CO2/km. The TTiD engines offer up to 180hp and all three variants of the engine produce just 119g/km, offering significant ownership savings.

There’s good news for those who prefer gasoline engines, too, with the Saab 9-3 Griffin range getting the new direct injection engine as offered in the Saab 9-5. The new 2.0-liter gasoline engines offer 163 and 220 hp variants (market dependent) and include direct injection, variable valve timing and twin scroll turbocharging. Combined cycle fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are reduced on average by 4% across the range.

That’s 10hp more, using 4% less fuel.

E85-compatible Saab BioPower variants of both gasoline engines are also available, and six-speed transmissions become standard across the entire powertrain line-up. Saab’s XWD system is also available with both gasoline engines.

The Saab 9-3 Griffin is the best 9-3 we’ve ever offered for sale and we can’t wait to get them out the door.

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Video: Saab 9-3 Griffin

The Saab 9-3 Griffin is the latest iteration of the Saab 9-3 range and offers fantastic performance and value.

The Griffin range has four models – SportSedan, SportCombi, Convertible and 9-3x – and most body styles are available in both FWD and XWD. There’s also a huge engine range, including BioPower, low-emissions TTiD and Turbo4 models (depending on market).

New to the Saab 9-3 Griffin is the 2.0 Turbo4 from the Saab 9-5, a direct injection turbocharged engine that brings great responsiveness and sparkling performance with up to 220hp. Of course, there is also Saab’s low-emissions TTiD range of engines, offering 130, 160 or 180hp, with all three variants emitting less than 120g of CO2 per km (manual), attracting great tax benefits in certain European markets.

The car has also received a fresher look, inside and out, with new front bumper design, headlamps, new badging all round, as well as new leather and trim options inside.

Check out the Saab 9-3 Griffin at Saab.com or check your local national Saab website for market-specific information.

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Poll follow-up: What’s your favourite color Saab 9-3x?

Our Saab 9-3x poll is over and done, with over 1,100 votes received – thankyou!!

The poll numbers turned out as follows:

Arctic White – 281 votes
Oak Brown Metallic – 196 votes
Laser Red – 179 votes
Jet Black Metallic – 169 votes
Carbon Grey Metallic – 119 votes
Glacier Silver Metallic – 102 votes
Diamond Silver Metallic – 60 votes

One of the reasons that I wanted to conduct the poll was to see how people’s preferences in the poll would match up with actual sales numbers on the ground.

I had a theory that the large number of Arctic White sales, for example, were because Saab themselves promoted Arctic White quite a bit at the vehicle’s launch and many of the test cars would have been produced in that color. That theory turned out to be wrong, however, as you can see from the poll. Arctic White is popular in sales terms simply because it’s popular in general terms.

But there are some interesting outcomes from the poll. It predicts good things, for example, for Oak Brown Metallic, which has previously only been available on the Saab 9-5. A lot of people seem to like its application to the more down-to-earth Saab 9-3x and it’ll be interesting to see how it goes (it’s only just been released as part of the new Griffin range)

In comments to the original post, many people asked what happened to the blue color options. Well, they fell victim to poor sales. When the Saab 9-3x was first launched, it actually had a very wide color palette, which included Titan Grey, Snow Silver, Pepper Green and Nocturne Blue. All four of those were dropped for MY2011, some of which would have been down to lower sales, and some to restricted paint options being available in a post-GM world. A new color will be added for MY2012, but you’ll have to wait a little to hear what that one is.

The only other mystery remaining now is what color(s) will be dropped from the current range? I can’t tell you that either, but I can tell you what were the three poorest selling colors in 2011 and it’s interesting to see the correlation (or lack thereof) between the sales and the poll.

Continue reading Poll follow-up: What’s your favourite color Saab 9-3x?

Poll – What’s your favourite color Saab 9-3x?

I’d like to do a little experiment here.

Yesterday I heard that one particular color in the Saab 9-3x range was the lowest selling color (there has to be one, of course) and thus was in danger of being cut to make way for a new color in the coming model year.

What I’d like to do is conduct a poll looking at the current Saab 9-3x colors and see which colors are most (and least) popular with readers. It’ll be interesting to see the results.

Your choices, all from the current Saab 9-3x color palette, are as follows:

Arctic White:

Laser Red:

Carbon Grey Metallic:

Diamond Silver Metallic:

Glacier Silver Metallic:

Jet Black Metallic:

Oak Brown Metallic:

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You can only vote for one color.

Please cast your vote in the poll below. It’ll be interesting to see whether the least favourite color in this poll is the same as the slowest selling color in dealerships.

[poll id=”2″]

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