UNSUNG HEROES - #10 - The SAAB 9-2X

[@andrecardenas5835]

I have both a Linear and an Aero model...NOT the least bit disappointed in either one. Thanks for the video and mentioning this Unsung Hero!

[@jacor653]

It's the Saabaru.

[@preztrigger]

People might be missing the point. This car IS a Subaru WRX. The only thing Saab are cosmetic things (bumpers, badges, wheels). Everything else is a WRX. It has Fuji Heavy Ind badges in the engine bay. I've owned one for years and I go to the Subaru dealership for OEM parts.

[@HSGAutomotive]

Actually that *is* the point - it doesn't have the brand recognition of a WRX, and is more of a sleeper because of it. Especially in Europe, where many people don't even know that it exists.

[@jareknowak8712]

@@maybelive765 impossible bc SAAB at than time already had zero his own engines. Only Opel petrols and Fiat diesels. And driveline in Subaru is prepared for longitudal engine layout. With inline 4 the engine will be in front of the front bumper :) - not really, but the car will be much more front heavy in the corners, which is a wery bad thing. Excuse my English.

[@johnnycab8986]

The SAABARU had a quicker steering rack (probably from the STi), more sound deadening, different suspension from the normal WRX. I miss the one I had, engine died from constantly leaking oil

[@shiloh5199]

I'm really impressed with your review of the Saab 9-2x Aero. I own a 2005 Saab 9-2x Linear and a 2005 Saab 9-2x Aero, I love both of them!! They are great vehicles that offer everything Subaru offered in 2005-2006 with the WRX but the Saab has a better looking front end. My 2005 Saab 9-2x Aero has leather seating, heated front seats, heated front/rear windshield wiper elements, better center armrest and the cabin is extra quiet inside when compared to the same year Subaru WRX. To top it off the Saab emblem is much cooler than Subaru.

[@HSGAutomotive]

Nice

[@surfbearsnb68]

I own 2 of these. One is being resto modded. It’s nice to have the only ones in my city. There are very few of these left due to buy racers etc.

[@alexarsenault2445]

i used to own an 05 aero and i got hit head on and totaled it, within the next month or so im picking up the true unicorn a manual red 06 aero fully loaded, only 35 made.

[@christopherparker6451]

i have one!!!

[@0692XA]

​@@alexarsenault2445 I have a black manual 06 aero fully loaded, one of 115 made. It's getting really rare to see any in good shape, I hope yours is still doing well!

[@coleshafer1635]

Do you know any aftermarket companies I just got one but am struggling to find anything

[@fifiandthegoldensax]

I have a 2005 with 80,000 miles. I've only had to change the oil. Super reliable.

[@SkexR]

The first thing to fail on the 92x is the hood chicken. So free upgrade.

[@AcidicAnomaly]

I’m so excited I’m hopefully buying one tomorrow!!! Amazing video man very informal and I can tell you put a lot of work into it!

[@0692XA]

Did you buy the car?

[@seankagan5720]

I have only recently found your unsung heroes playlist and I must say, it is incredible and very well made. You deserve many more views per video than what you currently get. I have been looking for a way to find out about interesting and rare cars, and fortunately for me I found your videos. Keep up with the great videos and cheers!

[@HSGAutomotive]

Thanks buddy, glad you enjoy them. And of course all shares and recommendations to friends about it are much appreciated :)

[@barisa8389]

1:34 that Car is really beautiful!!!

[@obrienpau]

My daily driver is a built 400hp Saabaru. Queen B is a beautiful sleeper. Super practical, easier on the eyes than most Subs, and very very fun to drive. With 300hp at all 4 wheels she’ll gobble up most wrx and STi’s.

[@HSGAutomotive]

Very nice. I'm not a WRX fan but I do like these quite a bit. The less obvious choice always appeals to me.

[@aaronatkinson3732]

My daily is 2005 9-2x Aero 5 speed in Brilliant Red and is tuned to 295hp on an EJ207. It is one of the best cars I've ever had.

[@shelbyabb2516]

obrienpau What has been done to yours?

[@MrBrokehisbollo]

Aaron Lamb how has the reliability been with the ej207 swap?

[@daltonwilson23]

What's under the hood?

[@plottwist1733]

On the topic of Subaru's. I feel the Forester is a bit of an unsung hero because it's always been overshadowed by the Impreza and even the Legacy. Personally, I'd take a 1st gen Forester over an Impreza any day, not only because of the reason I just mentioned, but also because I actually like the boxy styling of it. I know lowering one would go against the intended purpose of the Forester, but I've seen a few stanced ones online and I personally think the lowered stance along with that boxy styling looks really good.

[@HSGAutomotive]

Yeah I'm a big Forester fan, especially the STi, which is a monster.

[@TheMatHazE]

Still love my 05 at 151k now. Hopefully last me another decade honestly lol

[@Fitforacting]

Great voice and entertaining video. I love these wagons and wish I got one years ago! Subscribed to you channel now and looking forward to devouring this series 🤩🤩🤩

[@HSGAutomotive]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it, tons more in this series to watch, 117 episodes and counting

[@lewznebkujawbe891]

Found one and love it

[@WonkOfWonkyness]

I simply looked for saab wrx because it's pretty cool. And I found it!

[@thatoneguy454c]

Someone parked one next to my bugeye wrx wagon at the grocery store. I like them a lot. Still prefer the look of my WRX over it though. Wagons are totally awesome, I never understood why they are not more popular. On the other hand it made them rather rare. I have only seen one or two other than my own in person in God knows how long. If you can find a 9-2x aero or a old WRX wagon get it, you won't be disappointed.

[@danbmx445]

I'd love to know what wheels were on that black car.. Looks so good.

[@tjs8560]

Thanks for the vid!

[@iI_Principe]

Whats going on with the sound levels?

[@HSGAutomotive]

What 'sound levels'? There is only one.

[@Becomingbaconn]

I've been trying to find this car in Ontario for the past 6 months and can't find one that has less than 250,000 km (155,342 miles)

[@HSGAutomotive]

Speaks well for its reliability I guess, lol

[@1Kaizen_Neech]

Just picked one up with 55k miles

[@HSGAutomotive]

Nice

[@cgrist7000]

How much? Manual or auto

[@patrickg420]

lol, i just need an areo hood!

[@TheMatHazE]

You can still order them from saab partnered dealerships. Mine was Jaguar in the east bay California for like 400$. I actually did this like 5 years ago but grew out of thinking it was cool and put the old one back on

[@ElGato01]

I need one of these. I love Subarus and saabs

[@normanchambers7929]

Too bad that Subaru didn't buy the Saab brand when GM shut it down. It would have made a great premium brand for Subaru. Just think combining the Swedish design/innovation with Japanese engineering/manufacturing. They could have given Volvo some real competition and grew there Euro/US market share.

[@littleleitao2303]

Is not bad , is cool .

[@1Kaizen_Neech]

I just picked one up.

[@danbmx445]

Everybody parts these cars out makes me sad. I love my 05 aero

[@Fitforacting]

Have you done anything to it? How is it holding it up?

[@josephcazzuto7198]

Anybody know if the seats are actual leather?

[@0692XA]

They are, but it's a cheap vinyl coated leather.

[@jareknowak8712]

I might be wrong, but i heard that this is 100% wrx but with the steering system from sti. Correct me if im wrong please.

[@Johnyquest1]

You are 100% correct. It *is* a wrx wagon with three saab branded fenders and saab badges ... and it does indeed have an STi steering rack, which makes it a lot more nimble feeling & fun to drive.

[@georgelee5292]

I wish I could buy one but I’ve only seen them for sale in the USA can they be bought in Europe

[@0692XA]

Nope, only sold in the US. I think a guy imported one to Germany though.

[@joshuar9938]

You can’t do a sedan as it would’ve been to competitive with the 9-3

[@Sullycs2]

if you have a Saabaru 9-2x please feel free to join the facebook page dedicated to it. facebook.com/groups/saab92x/?ref=nf_target&fref=nf Great group of people who share one passion. And That is the saab 9-2x

[@HSGAutomotive]

Nice one. I'd love to import a 9-7X Aero

[@simonescalici5302]

great vid: pedant here, why is sedan the obvious choice over a wagon? wagons rule, saads especially...sedans are kinda plebian

[@chadfellers9128]

Only 4k of the aeros were made.. only maybe half those left.. that sounds pretty rare to me

[@5610winston]

As compared to 4,643 Studebaker Avantis. I wouldn't mind having the Saabaru Linear/2.5i as a daily driver. Looks good, Subaru mechanicals, and about half the price.

[@SomethingVISCID]

I got a 2006 9-3 Aero used.... loved that car. Even though it was so electronically twitchy. If I'd known at the time Saabs were just rebadged cars, I would've gone for the rebadged Subaru rather than a Holden.

[@0692XA]

The 9-3 isn't a rebadge, actually. The closest thing is the Cadillac BLS which was a rebadge of the 9-3. It shares a platform and many parts with other Opels but Saab did a lot of the work for GM to design the platform and engine with them.

[@Xueqs]

I want it

[@aaronatkinson3732]

According to GM there were only 9,292 of these cars made. It was a bit of a joke to GM hence the production number...

[@jareknowak8712]

There are even less popular SAAB-GM cars. Like less then 1000 produced. Im not joking.

[@SB-vi9ss]

#saabaru, i propably would just buy a saab and make it look subaru (as first car) beacose its has cheaper insurance and also some aother god things

[@SWATforce1]

If they put the 2.8 V6 in this I think it could’ve done a bit better having the option. Or even took out one of the Subaru engines and put in a Saab alternative. I don’t quite understand why smaller brands rebadge a more known vehicle but don’t put in any of their own mechanical equipment

[@alaricbragg7843]

Who's here after watching THE SWEETEST THING? 🚗👙👙💋💦🍑👀🏍️😜🚧💥💫🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jareknowak8712]

Thats not impressive power for a SAAB. They had so much power in the mid '90, in the 9000 model. In the mid '00 you could buy new 9-5 with 309hp, called Aero Hirsh. That why 9-2 is not especially impressive. Excuse my English.

[@HSGAutomotive]

And there's the 97X Aero, with 400 bhp (I want one, hah)

[@jareknowak8712]

@@HSGAutomotive yes, but the 95 2.3T Aero Hirsh is the most powerfull SAAB-only engine (direct ignition Trionic system but based on Opel Ecotec block) Others are rebadged of-the-shelf GMs.

[@0692XA]

@@HSGAutomotive Not many people know that it's secretly a Trailblazer SS. I want one too

[@nippe_93]

Fiirst time first

[@lowlyfe03]

I literally learned nothing watching this. All you did was go on about how it looks for 8 minutes. Why do you even make car videos? Oh, and the impreza wagon is far superior to the sedan. There is no "obvious reason" to say otherwise.

[@rebeccaschade3987]

So, and uglier, less powerful Impreza WRX wagon? I can totally see why this failed. The main market for Saab isn't people who want a "rally car for the road", which is exactly what the Impreza WRX (and STi) models were made as. Strange and interesting hybrid though. I do know that Swedish cars have a very loyal fanbase, and I imagine this one will have a fair few fans.

[@0692XA]

I don't know why people say they're more or less powerful, they're exactly the same mechanically. The only difference is that the base model 9-2x came with the EJ25 in both 05 and 06 instead of the EJ20 which does make it a little faster. The aeros only had the 255 in 06 though and with how few they made that year it makes them a lot harder to find.

[@rebeccaschade3987]

@@0692XA From the specs I've seen, the SAAB 9-2X Aero appears to be tuned for a slightly different engine profile, and gives up top end power for a slightly more highway friendly driving experience. But that might be incorrect.

[@0692XA]

@@rebeccaschade3987 Can I ask where you found this? I have one and it doesn't feel any different

[@rebeccaschade3987]

@@0692XA I'm not in the habbit of keeping links for random articles I read, but I did read a review of it that claimed it had different engine tuning. This would also make sense, seeing as Saab in general aim at a somewhat different market segment than what the WRX was aimed at. I've never driven the Saab though, so can't say from personal experience. And none of this is meant as an insult or anything, just in case you might have gotten that idea.

[@0692XA]

@@rebeccaschade3987 I'm not insulted at all, I find all of the mystery around my car's production interesting. I've heard about the STI steering rack it's been proven not to have, and a mechanic of all people tried to tell me it has a different turbo and fuel injection engineered by SAAB that's definitely false, but this was a new one. It seems more plausible and I'm curious what I can find about it.

[@jameshavenga4998]

These cars are cool and all, but I've known a few who've had them and they ended up being overpriced and unreliable Subaru wagons. The drivetrain was of course as reliable, but anything else Saab did themselves just didn't have Subaru quality. My Impreza 2.5RS has held up aesthetically and internally very well, and with it being cheaper and just as good looking as the Saab, it becomes clear to see why Saab's approach was never as good as the Impreza itself, especially with the WRX and STi.

[@surfbearsnb68]

It’s a Subaru. You are basically putting down Subaru. The only thing changed was the front pumper and hood( aluminium) the rear tail lights and the interior is a bit nicer. Better carpets and insulation, nicer seats with active headrests. And they tweeked the suspension a little to make it stiffer but more compliant. Also this has a wrx sti steering rack.

[@EulogizingSleep]

Completely false, the drivetrain of the aero is identical to the wrx. You 2.5rs is one of the most unreliable drivetrains Subaru ever made. Since it doesn’t have a turbo to cool the internals the head gaskets constantly blew. You have 0 empirical evidence it’s all speculative. You can expect all the same issues with the 92x aero that you could with a wrx. The blob eye(04-05) were extremely reliable and were/are often driven and modded to harshly thats why they have problems. There are no known common problems with the blob eyes. The bug eyes did have some problems that leaked over to early manufactured 04s but thats it. The 05, 06, and 07 respectively were and are the most reliable wrxs to own. But like every car some can have issues most relating to BAD driving habits. The na 2.5 rs on the other hand are world renowned for being pieces of trash.

[@0692XA]

What parts did Saab do themselves that were unreliable? Every single cosmetic change they made was produced in Japan by FHI.

[@SibbyStiggy]

I strongly disagree, this is not a hero by any means. This car is not as fast as the subaru, so if you want performance, something that can beat any saab, then why not just buy a subaru? The subaru-ness is lost here but isn't replaced with saab's luxury so it's not as good as a regular saab either in that respect. It makes no sense why it exists. It would make somewhat sense if it was a subaru with saab's comfort or practicality but it doesn't have any. It's like subaru and saab toned down their top end cars and then molded them into this thing. GM went onto making a collection of blatant fake saabs, this was 1 of them, this lead to killing off saab. This to me symbolises the path saab went down which was their all time low. Definitely not a hero in my opinion.

[@HSGAutomotive]

Plenty of cars in this series were failures.

[@ruukasu71]

ill give you one a few good reasons why you'd want this over an Impreza. #1 it looks better, #2 you can say you drive a Saab, but not have to deal with a Saab. #3 its got a sunroof and heated seats (witch for some reason Subaru did put on Imprezas) and #4 its 99% Subaru but much cheaper aftermarket due to its badge. all this makes a perfect 1st car, witch is why I own one

[@ruukasu71]

but no its not a hero, its just a great car

[@Chenzo_400]

I own a Saab 92x aero and It's just as fast as a wrx

[@checo94]

With a simple Cobb Access Port, I have mine at roughly 260hp. It also has more insulation, meaning its more quiet inside than a WRX. Fantastic little commuter car!

[@pixelbath2131]

It would be cool to own one and replace the saab badges subaru ones with the front one lowered into the centre of the grill of course. This would make it tolerable to look at everyday personally. It would look sort of like there was an expansion pack to an earlier generation wrx or luxury outfitting for the non wrx. As is it just looks too uncanny valley because it appears to just suddenly become a saab at the front end.