2005 Saab 9-2X Compact Car Reviews & Ratings

Sadly, there's as much, if not more WRX inside the 9-2X as there is outside. Not that the Subaru's is a particularly unfriendly interior, just that Saabs are known for people-oriented cabins, and the 9-2X comes up a bit short of that standard.

Saab did adapt the WRX's front seats to accept Saab-developed active head restraints. But seats lack the thigh support and bolstering consistent with the sporty driving the 9-2X promises, especially the Aero, and there's no lumbar adjustment. Driver legroom is adequate for a six footer, but front-seat passenger and rear-seat legroom isn't. With the front seats all the way back, it's easy to bang an elbow on the rear of the front door frame. Upholstery and other fabrics look and feel durable, that covering the seats like a soft canvas, and the leather surfaces are, well, leather. The center console cover is located too low and too far rearward to support an elbow.

Save for some cosmetics, the dash is unchanged from the WRX, with the instruments deep-set beneath a hood shading them from the sun's glare. Center-most of the three is a large, round speedometer, running up to 120 miles per hour in the Linear, to 140 mph in the Aero. To the left is a combination fuel and water temperature gauge. To the right is the tachometer, redlined at 6200 revolutions per minute in the Linear, at 7000 rpm in the Aero. The three dials are rimmed in polished metal in the Aero, in monochromatic black in the Linear. If the instrument cluster weren't enough of a giveaway to the 9-2X's WRX roots, directly atop the steering column is an auxiliary parking light switch that's a Subaru fixture.

The center stack houses the stereo control head, situated above the climate control knobs and beneath the two center air vents; truly disappointing are the last, which are everyday, horizontal vanes backed by vertical directionals, instead of the delightful and infinitely adjustable, aircraft-like, multi-layer registers unique to Saabs. Climate control knobs are large and round with good feel. The C-stack flows smoothly into the center console, over a covered ashtray with the 9-2X's sole power outlet, a cigar lighter. The digital clock squints out of the center of the dash above the C-stack.

Outward visibility is good, better than expected, actually, thanks to the sloping hood in front and the wrap-around rear quarter windows. Rear door windows roll about two-thirds of the way down. Front seat occupants each have a cup holder, and front doors have molded map pockets, but there are no storage bins on the back of the front seats, nor any map pockets on rear doors. The liftgate opens to clear six feet and has an inside pull-down. A space-saver spare is stored beneath the rear cargo floor under a sound-deadening foam pad. Lift-over is comfortably low, and there are tie-downs for awkward cargo.

Overall fit and finish is good, if not excellent. No buzzes, squeaks or rattles marred the test cars, comprising a Linear with automatic transmission and an Aero with manual gearbox.

The 9-2X is fun to drive, not a blast, nor as much fun as the Saab 9-3, but fun, nonetheless.

The steering wheel is the right thickness and size. Response to inputs is good, if a bit over-assisted at speed in the Aero. The automatic transmission's upshifts are subtle, but it could hold lower gears longer on grades, both going uphill and downhill. The five-speed manual would allow better use of the Linear's power, although, oddly, the EPA-estimated miles per gallon for city driving is actually 1 mpg less with the manual.

The Aero's turbocharger doesn't kick in until around 3000 rpm, and then with a surge, albeit an easily manageable one, thanks to the all-wheel drive, a first for Saab and unchanged from the WRX. The manual transmission's gear ratios are spaced well for the most part, but there's enough of a jump between fourth and fifth that the lower gear is better for most circumstances, reserving fifth for steady-state, interstate cruising. Shifts are clean and certain. Clutch take-up is smooth.

Both models feel firmly planted at speeds into low triple-digit figures, but the Aero is the more confident at high speeds and when pushed on winding roads. This is a credit to its tauter suspension tuning and more aggressive tires. Also, the Aero's abundant drivetrain sounds (gear whine, engine intake and the like) are a mixed blessing; some drivers will find it entertaining, while others may consider it an irritant.

Brakes perform well, with solid feel and no noticeable fade after many miles of rapid motoring through southern California foothills.

More road noise than expected in a Saab penetrated the cabin on both models, and the Aero's tires set up a thrumming sound on some surfaces. The moonroof created some wind noise, although minimal buffeting when open. And the air conditioning strains in very hot climates. Even in temperate zones, it regularly shifts to re-circulation mode to keep the cabin cooled to comfortable temperatures.

Saab builds the 9-2X in two trim levels, the base Linear and the sporty Aero. The Linear has a 165-horsepower, 2.5-liter, flat four-cylinder engine, the Aero a 227-hp, 2.0-liter, turbocharged intercooled flat four. The standard transmission on both is a five-speed manual; optional is a four-speed automatic.

The Linear ($22,990) arrives fitted with fabric upholstery and air conditioning, plus power windows and an AM/FM/CD stereo with four speakers. Easing the driving are cruise control, manually height-adjustable driver's seat, power outside mirrors, and tilt steering wheel. The rear seat splits 60/40 and folds. A retractable cover shields cargo from prying eyes. Tinted side windows lessen the burden on the air conditioning.

The Aero ($26,950) replaces the manual air conditioning with automatic climate control complete with cabin air filter. The stereo is upgraded with the addition of two speakers, for a total of six, and a six-disc changer. The seats are covered in a higher-grade fabric, and leather wraps the steering wheel and trims the shift lever and handbrake.

Two stand-alone options and two option packages are available on the Linear. The stand-alones are a four-speed automatic ($1250) and power glass moonroof ($1200). The packages are the Premium ($2495), including leather-faced seats, door inserts, shift knob and handbrake boot, and foglamps and xenon headlights; and the Cold Weather ($600), comprising heated seats, outside mirrors and wiper de-icer. The Aero has one stand-alone option, the automatic transmission ($1250), and three packages: the Premium ($1695), with leather-faced seats and xenon headlights; the Sport ($1950), with power glass moonroof and 17-inch wheels and high performance tires; and the Cold Weather ($600), with heated seats, outside mirrors and wiper de-icer.

Standard safety equipment comprises the usual frontal airbags, three-point seatbelts for all five seating positions and seatbelt pre-tensioners and load limiters on the front seatbelts. The front seats also have active head restraints and head-and-chest side-impact airbags, and the rear seats have lower and upper child safety seat anchors. Foglamps are standard on the Aero.