About Saab

[Kelpie]

1. I would like to know more about this car brand. Is this a reliable brand of car? in term of maintenance, handling and characteristics?

 

2. What are the difference between a 9-3 and 9-5. Where do they stand when comparing with Volvo, Audi, VW and Alfa in term of stock specifications?

 

Thank you very much.

 

Regards,

[Nkps]

is a very good car, put on the wing and the car can fly...

[Ls430]

i bought a saab 900 many years ago ... got tubo somemore ...

 

the only turbo i got out of it ... is a BIG BIG boost out of pocket money to repair the cAR.

 

 

i am not sure if SAAB cars are well adapted to Singapore hot hot and wet wet weather

 

....

 

I have given up

[Ccssgm]

FC.....Very HIGH......

[Oflyboy]

Saabs are very understated IMHO compared to the other marques you mentioned (save maybe the Volvo :-)). The engines are nice 4 pot turbo-charged units except for the top of the range V6s. The 9-5s are larger than the 9-3s, much like the BMW 5 vs 3 series.

 

I have only driven the Alfa 156 in comparison and I must say the Saabs are more comfortable though not as sporty as the Alfa. The 9-5 Aero and 9-3 Aero has quite nice handling with a firmer ride. Aeros mid-to-high end torque makes for great overtaking experience. Have left quite a few irritating rice rockets in the dust on the Malaysian HWY :-)

[Sony]

This is a car which words cannot discribe... you need to drive one to know what is a SAAB.

 

and don't let the interior turn you off.. it grow on you

[Naqshband]

I just bought a 93. Decided to test drive one before getting my S60 and I was blown away.

 

U got to test drive it to know it......

 

Go for a test drive. PM me if u need a name.....

[Ara84]

1. I would like to know more about this car brand. Is this a reliable brand of car? in term of maintenance, handling and characteristics?

 

2. What are the difference between a 9-3 and 9-5. Where do they stand when comparing with Volvo, Audi, VW and Alfa in term of stock specifications?

 

Thank you very much.

 

Regards,

 

its ignition is in a very unique area.and u can start in reverse only if i'm not wrong.

[Sony]

nah.. I finish driving the 95 already

 

 

you shd have ask me for a name before buying

[Sony]

eh... what do you mean by start in reverse? not that I know of leh..

[Saabretooth]

I would say its a quirky car. The similarities of a Alfa and Saab owner is that we just want something different. One is a head-turner (Alfa) and the other would like to fly under the radar. Both are cars will bring a smile on your face whilst driving, albit for different reasons though.

 

Handling characteristics, I would go with the Alfas, but don't let a fatter 93SS fool you in the handling department. Overtaking, the 93SS has got a lot of torque and overtaking is a breeze, with the Alfa, the overtaking is easy with that kind of handling, dropping a gear and have the banshee of an engine note overwhelm you and the guy you're overtaking.

 

Reliabilty and maintenance... i realised its whether or not you choose to go with more powerful aftermarket parts or not. If its a daily driver with the occasional FnF, it should be reliable.

 

93 vs 95 almost the same as 3 Series vs 5 Series or S60 vs S80. More nimble, sportier, vs Bigger, more powerful, more luxurious...etc

 

As to where they stand, depends on where you park the Volvo, Audi, VW and Alfa.... but seriously, the Saabs are TC'd cars, they have a very different torque curve to the other cars, and peak torque comes in very early in the rpm range and stays rather flat all the way up. No kick in the but feel when accelerating, easy engine note, you're faster than you know, before you know it.

 

The Audi, I feel, has got a better interior, the A4,A6 is more teutonic than the 93s,95s. but they're very different cars. VW is a nice car, value for money, but between VW and Audi, I'll go for Audi. Audis also have NA cars, but it would feel heavier and more sluggish for bigger CC. 2.0 vs 1.8T. The Alfas are strictly NA cars. Built for handling.

 

That saying, after driving both the 159 and 93SS, the handling characteristics are VERY similar. Just that the 93 had loads more torque upfront. But the 159 is a whole lot better looking.

 

As with MOST car buyers, find out a few things, but not necessarily in that order

 

1) budget upfront cost

1.1) budget, regular servicing cost

2) 2 or 4 door

2.1) space in the car/boot

3) Power or safety or both?

4) Handling

5) Asian or Conti

6) Appearance(image)

7) Mod-ability

8) Manual or Auto

9) How long are you going to keep it

10) Brand New or Resale

 

and probably a bit more, but for me, thats what went through my head before I bought my car.

 

I would seriously ask you to go for a test drive, take a look at the cars, get the brochures, highlight what you like about it, what you dont like about it. Get the pricing and the freebies...etc Then come back here to ask better questions regarding each car. If not, your questions are too general for a lot of the bros here to give you the type of answer you are looking for. But then again, its a good start :)

[Ara84]

i dunnoe about newer saabs but i remember the 900's of the 80's and early 90's had these unique characteristics.or was it u cud only remove the ignition key when its in reverse? sorry may haf gotten it mixed up.twas very long ago.

[Sony]

nah.. he's just asking... don't think he will be buying at all..

[Sony]

not too sure about that.. but I'm certain that for the current version, the gear need to be in P or N before it start.. part of the safety feature.. Doesn't make sense for the car to be in any gear during startup.

[Julian]

Saab like Citroen is for individualist but the Saab today are starting to lose a little Saabish feel compare to the yester year 900. I will pick a C6 if compare to a 9-5. In fact, I like Saab but i just prefer the old 900S Turbo.

 

I heard that Volvo is quite expensive to maintain, a normal servicing will cost abt $2k i heard. Since Saab is from same country, it might be not cheap to maintain too.

[Saabretooth]

$2k? I think thats a bit of a stretch. $200, maybe I believe. Saab has got 3 types of servicing. A, B and C.

A is standard servicing

B is with a bit of addtional servicing, can't remember what.

C is Change of sparkies, ATF...major servicing.

 

So the cycle is A,B,A,C...etc so the C servicing is at every 40k. even then the C servicing is in the region of $400-600 at the agent, if I am not wrong.

 

Its true, the current crop of saabs is more GMish, almost american. Still, the ideas and implementation of Saabs spirit is still there. Hope it doesn't change too much.....

[Saabretooth]

Thanks. just doing my NSF (National Service for Forum)

If not for anything else, it might help other guys looking for info ;)

I get yer drift

[Sony]

sure.. all in the spirit of SAAB...