NEWS: Audi A4 Allroad
Just days after the Saab 9-3X has been revealed, Audi has decided that this is a market it wants in on. For some reason. Well, anyway, it has jacked up the ride height of the A4 Avant, and given it a funky two-tone paint job. If you get a lighter shade in the main colour, the complementary colour will be a dark grey, but if you get a darker shade for the main colour, you get a lighter, silvery-grey for the complementary colour. This, of course, looks rather questionable if you choose the poo-brown colour - check it out in the picture gallery below.
NEWS: Saab 9-3X Turns Swedes Butch
The long and short of this is that Saab have converted their 9-3 SportCombi (read wagon) into a Subaru Outback-like AWD wagon. In other words, it gets a raised ride height (an extra 35 millimetres), some tough looking cladding, and as chief designer Simon Padian says, "we are offering a vehicle that will do what's required in more comfort and style than a heavier SUV." Which of course, sounds great, and is an idea that may well work. The idea isn't new, however. There is the aforementioned Outback, the Audi A6 Allroad and the Volvo XC70. The Audi and the Volvo aren't exactly sales sensations, but that does not mean the Saab 9-3X is unlikely to find buyers.
Compared to the Volvo and the Audi, the Saab will be far more competitively priced, and represents a very practical and upmarket alternative at a cut price. And of course, it is far more handsome than the Audi and Subaru, probably on par with the Volvo. This car will share its engines with the 9-3, and in some markets will also have a front-wheel-drive version, which I doubt will come to Australia. In any case, it's set to hit showrooms late this year, a few months before the 9-4X (Saab's take on the Cadillac SRX) arrives in 2010.
