Christian Wardlaw’s opinion of the 2006 Saab 9-7X’s Design:
Ask GM what makes a Saab a Saab, and based on the 9-7X they’d likely respond with front styling that recalls the company’s aeronautical heritage, an ignition slot located between the seats, checkerboard air vents, and a collapsing cupholder that deploys from the dashboard. That’s about all that distinguishes the 9-7X from a Buick Rainier, Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, and Isuzu Ascender. Though the end result is, in my opinion, the nicest looking one of the bunch, and will likely fool most people due to the extensive reworking of the front end, the 9-7X nonetheless represents a definitive low point for a once distinguished and respected brand.

Thom Blackett’s opinion of the 2006 Saab 9-7X’s Design:
From a purely subjective point of view, the 2006 Saab 9-7X is a much more attractive vehicle than the GM models on which it’s based – the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and the GMC Envoy. The clear taillights are more modern than those on the other GM versions, and the front styling is sleeker and more streamlined. In short, it looks kind of like a Saab, yet after years of being homogenized by General Motors, those meaningless styling cues are all the brand seems to stand for.

Interior design is all Envoy with a few token stylistic highlights tossed in to convince Saabophiles, desperately holding onto a disintegrating thread of hope that a sliver of its former self still lives within Saab, that this SUV has the same quirky heart as an old 900. Swivel air vents have been added, as has the requisite center-mounted ignition, which forces the Envoy’s logically placed cupholders to be replaced by the 9-7X’s flimsy pop-out unit on the instrument panel.

Ron Perry’s opinion of the 2006 Saab 9-7X’s Design:
Overall the 2006 Saab 9-7X’s design is plain and dull. Yes, stylists threw in a few nice details like the taillight design, the contrasting stitching on parts of the leather interior, and maybe the air vents, but there just aren’t enough of them to make you sit up and say WOW! With the big push Saab has on right now with regards to aeronautical design, one might think the 9-7X would have a more streamlined, modern twist. Unfortunately, it’s not so.