Its got to be said that the CGI images didn't excite me but after a full day spent wandering in, out and around this vehicle I can tell you that true to form, it’s much better in the metal.

 

The main problem area for many was the front grille but you’ll see from the pictures that the rise into the hood isn’t nearly as offensive in person as it was on the CGI. Actually, that’s damning it with faint praise. The centre grille actually looks much better proportioned in person and you don’t notice the cutaway into the hood at all until you look for it. I still have some problems with the outer grilles being so far away from the centre, however. I spoke at length with Anthony Lo and he explained that dues to the vehicles larger proportions, everything had to be bigger than usual. There were two ways Saab could go with that centre grille - down further (like Audi) or up just a little higher. They definitely didn’t want to go the Audi route, so they set the front bumper as a lower boundary for the grille. Going up just a little into the hood area gives it a good proportion and trust me, it looks a LOT better in person.

The rear is dominated by this strip of red light - a direct homage to the Aero X. It looks good, though points off for the Saab lettering instead of the griffin badge. The lettering is just too hard to read and won’t work as an identifier for the car.

The floor extends outwards on a set of tracks to create a loading area outside the car, and revealing a storage area underneath. This area has been designed in consultation with Salomon and some individual extreme skiers as well.

Under the sliding tray is a heated compartment to store your ski gear, in particular a space for ski boots. The chromed ’square’ in the floor area itself actually folds upwards to reveal a ski rack. Fold down the middle section of the rear seat and you can rack your skis and they push through the middle of the vehicle.

The interior of this car is what had me most excited, and from the photos to the real thing it only gets better.

The seat and interior materials are all very soft. This concept vehicle had a white leather interior, though the production version will likely feature the usual grey, black or sand colours.

Par Brandt from Auto Motor and Sport set the front driver’s seat to his usual position and then got into the back seat to check out the rear leg room - a handy test. He’s about my height, and as you can see below, there’s quite good room in the rear with a six-footer at the wheel.