If the Saab 9-2X looks vaguely familiar, it should. Save for the front end, the liftgate and the rear bumper, the body panels come directly from the 2004 Subaru WRX (as does virtually everything beneath the skin, but more on this later). Still, Saab's designers have managed to imbue their knock-off with distinctly Saab cues.It's not quite a rhinoplasty, but the 9-2X's front end presents a sleeker look than its Asian progenitor. The hood begins its deeper slope from a lower leading edge, which sports a laid-back, Saab-trademark, three-segment grille, with dividers and headlight housings angled from the center outward, giving the car a sharper, more aerodynamic and less brutish fascia. Headlights wrap all the way around the fenders, ending in gently up-swept side marker lights. Beneath the bumper, a large opening directs air to the radiator, the Linear's smaller and less domineering than that on the Aero. A somewhat modest scoop in the Aero's hood feeds air to the turbocharger's intercooler.
From the side, the 9-2X's lineage is outlined in stark relief. There's nothing like it in the Saab stable. It's not quite a station wagon, but neither is it a five-door hatchback. The sloping nose almost leaves it looking a little tail heavy, with a disproportionate mass over and behind the rear wheels. Front and rear overhangs are contained, promising a sportier car than the body otherwise suggests.