Swedish Charms.

[Michael G]

Well, with the ladies of the family away (and some of the extended family), me and my old man were given my aunt's Saab 9-3 2.0t Convertible. And here's my passengers notes.

The interior: Better than I actually expected. Dash plastics were good, bit low rent on the top though. Buttons had a good feel to them but not as smooth as a 204's. Indicator stalks felt cheap too on a car of this class. It was nicely laid out and the night mode is produces a great ambience. Perceived quality is good, the doors have a nice clunk but still not as good as a C or 3er. The interior did have a rattle but only one, which on a Saab of this age is okay.

The exterior: A good looking car, very understated and seems to have aged well compared to its 9-5 cousin. The convertible is a lot sleeker and has some very nice lines. Even with the roof up, its still very nice.

The drive: Here's were it wilts a little. It under steers a bit and the wheel needs to be turned quite a bit to get round the roundabout. Scuttle shake is noticeable even to me and lets the car down. The seats are sooo comfortable and supportive, you really could cruise for miles. With the roof down you can talk at normal levels and still be heard. With it shut its surprisingly quiet The 2.0t engine is a peach. It's almost silent at idle and produces a nice growl and turbo whistle. It can become thirsty though we only averaged 29.9 mpg. The ride is good but could be better, you could feel the bumps on anything but smooth roads but still good.

The toys: There weren't too many on this. You had leather which was good but felt under par compared to a C or again a 3er. Climate control and the stereo is very good even at speed. Heated seats weren't on this which is a shame because this type of car cries out for them

Conclusion: It's a good car not as good as Stuttgart's or Munich's finest but good enough to be a good medium between a Mondeo and a 3 series. I think all this battering the car gets on PH and from some reviews is not justifiable. It's underestimated IMO. It's a nice car and I would be happy to own anyone of the 9-3 variants.

 

[iscaboy]

Conclusion: It's a good car not as good as Stuttgart's or Munich's finest but good enough to be a good medium between a Mondeo and a 3 series.

I've always said there was bugger all difference between a Cortina and a BMW3

 

[grober]

Built in Gratz Austria----well its quite close Germany.

 

[Howard]

I had a Saab 95 as a courtesy car after my cabrio was totalled ...

Terrible ....

Interior plastics so sharp , i actually cut my finger on a bit of it .

 

[Tiff]

I always loved Saab's, the old 900T16S in particular,different,but always for a reason. I appriciate that. Once GM took over this was diluted,but still liked them to a lesser extent. I drove a 9-3 turbo convertible for quite some distance,as we had a customer complaint of strange noises. I couldn't believe the amount of scuttle shake.. the interior mirror was useless it vibrated so much. I always ram my fingers between the door and dash when driving a convertible to see how much body movement there is.. and I actually yelped in pain on this particular Saab. Worse than a mid '80's XR3i cabrio!

Later 9-3's and 9-5's always used to seem particularly troublesome too- especially suspension. Lots and lots of broken springs,same as the Vectra. I try and try, but always get sad when discussing newer Saab's.. And Volvo's for that matter.

I would say the quality on 850 series Volvo's and classic Saab 900's were every bit as good as Mercedes. Then they got bought out by mainstream companies where making money was the number 1 priority... look where it got them. A lesson there I believe.

 

[Michael G]

I'll admit the 204 sport I was passenger was a better ride altogether.
The buttons on the Saab we're a touch harsher than the MB and the button to open the dash looked as if it was off a Kia from the 90's but its not that bad.
I did that with the panel behind the sun visor.
Wasn't too much flex, but there was some.
Was a few gaps between the stereo and the CD player, but not too major.
I'd have one with the 2.0t over a Mondy but not over a C or 3er.

 

[davidjpowell]

My work car is a Saab 9-5 (2001 model). Came from a much more expensive E60 730d BMW.

Saab finishes not quite up to same standard, and handling not as tight. But I love it. Fairly economical, quiet, non conformist. Clients can't place it as an older car, and those that do just assume that I value it's differentness as a Saab. One client whose into his cars misread the reg and believed it was a 59 rather than a Y plate, after he had been in the car for 30 mins.

And quite happy - I thought it was needing a new Turbo last week. Turned out to be a 20p clip.

 

[tog410]

I've had several Saabs and love them. I've just replaced the most recent, a 9000 Aero, with a W126 300SE. The Aero was devastatingly quick, with fantastic mid-range lunge, but obviously front wheel drive not rear. Very practical car too with decent boot, and very solidly built. I've had a 9-5 as well which was also good at what it did, quiet and economical with a good ride and great seats. Put 120,000 miles on it three years (I bought it at 80k miles) and had no problems. The 9000s are much more characterful though.

The 300SE is nothing like any of them, but I fancied a change and had wanted an old S-classes for ages. It's big, wafty and comfy, though much slower and thirstier, but very solid and relaxing.