Saab - Why do you like them?
Discussion
Its something about the style and quirkyness of them for me.
I have a 2005 93 aero and to be honest its a great car. Sure its not going to win a handling contest or built quality against say a BMW but it was probably half the price.
Its fast (faster now its got an extra 45bhp and 70Nm of torque from a stage 1 remap) has the comfiest seats i have ever owned and returns over 34mpg regularly.
Its not as radical a design as the older Saabs and to be honest if i had the spare loot i would have a 900 Carlsson in a heart beat, but not as a daily driver.
I think top gear got it right when they waved goodbye to Saab. Architects and people who are individual and creative like Saabs.
I have a 2005 93 aero and to be honest its a great car. Sure its not going to win a handling contest or built quality against say a BMW but it was probably half the price.
Its fast (faster now its got an extra 45bhp and 70Nm of torque from a stage 1 remap) has the comfiest seats i have ever owned and returns over 34mpg regularly.
Its not as radical a design as the older Saabs and to be honest if i had the spare loot i would have a 900 Carlsson in a heart beat, but not as a daily driver.
I think top gear got it right when they waved goodbye to Saab. Architects and people who are individual and creative like Saabs.
I got a 2003 2.2 Diesel 9-5 Vector Estate, which about as performance-oriented and Eric Pickles in trainers. But I like it as it has an engineered quality to it - the switches all 'clunk' and the door hinges look like they've been crafted from bits of the Forth bridge.
I think one of the main reasons I bought it is that it isn't a BMW or Audi, and doesn't attract the one-upmanship that those marques seem to have. No-one looks down their noses at an old-ish Saab, they seem to have a certain shabby-chic quality.
That said, the diesel engine is hardly cutting-edge and smokes like a dreadnought on hard acceleration. I'd rather have got a petrol turbo, but the missus insisted on diesel.
I think one of the main reasons I bought it is that it isn't a BMW or Audi, and doesn't attract the one-upmanship that those marques seem to have. No-one looks down their noses at an old-ish Saab, they seem to have a certain shabby-chic quality.
That said, the diesel engine is hardly cutting-edge and smokes like a dreadnought on hard acceleration. I'd rather have got a petrol turbo, but the missus insisted on diesel.
Ahh, I'll join this thread! 
I come from a motor trade background originally so have had the pleasure/ pain of lots of different cars from a wide range ing budget.
Alongside the work cars I've always run a Saab or two.
When the XF came out I also had my (classic) 900 turbo set up and working well, I'd almost always jump into the 900 as I like to enjoy getting from A to B. The classic 900 was, as has been said, very over engineered. It has a much more expensive e set up than arguably it needed and this results in really really good fwd handling.
The exhaust has an un equal length manifold that creates this wonderful burble, a bit like a flat four. And the way it smells, the doors clunk and the boost comes in is all good fun.
I bought my 9000 Aero a few years later as it was very cheap and I fancied some bits off it.
It had no boost and was very scruffy, I quickly sorted the boost issue and remapped it.
Fast forward 4 years and its been a lovely fast reliable car that I'm loathe to get rid of.
300 hp and a broad power band with long gears mean that you'll need something pretty special to keep up on a roads that don't have too many tight turns!
I've used both of mine on track and whilst the 9000 is never fun in the corners it deals with them well enough. The 900 on the other hand is like a slightly longer 205 in the way you can control it on the throttle.
Clearly the later cars aren't all that. They feel cheaper inside although I still like the outside appearance.
But, and this is the point. They are very well built cars that can go very fast for not much outlay without getting your collar felt by the police every other day.
(Sorry, bit of a ramble, iPhone etc..)
I come from a motor trade background originally so have had the pleasure/ pain of lots of different cars from a wide range ing budget.
Alongside the work cars I've always run a Saab or two.
When the XF came out I also had my (classic) 900 turbo set up and working well, I'd almost always jump into the 900 as I like to enjoy getting from A to B. The classic 900 was, as has been said, very over engineered. It has a much more expensive e set up than arguably it needed and this results in really really good fwd handling.
The exhaust has an un equal length manifold that creates this wonderful burble, a bit like a flat four. And the way it smells, the doors clunk and the boost comes in is all good fun.
I bought my 9000 Aero a few years later as it was very cheap and I fancied some bits off it.
It had no boost and was very scruffy, I quickly sorted the boost issue and remapped it.
Fast forward 4 years and its been a lovely fast reliable car that I'm loathe to get rid of.
300 hp and a broad power band with long gears mean that you'll need something pretty special to keep up on a roads that don't have too many tight turns!
I've used both of mine on track and whilst the 9000 is never fun in the corners it deals with them well enough. The 900 on the other hand is like a slightly longer 205 in the way you can control it on the throttle.
Clearly the later cars aren't all that. They feel cheaper inside although I still like the outside appearance.
But, and this is the point. They are very well built cars that can go very fast for not much outlay without getting your collar felt by the police every other day.
(Sorry, bit of a ramble, iPhone etc..)
That's a good summary.
I've had both older and new-series 900s. The old one was wonderful for all the reasons posted, particularly the ride: handling balance. A charming car that I got to appreciate more the longer I kept it.
The following NG900 turbo OTOH - blander, but a rack brace and rather stiffer rear antiroll bar completely resolved the 'bagginess' and turned it into the driver's car it should have been from the factory - without losing the very good ride. Excellent long-distance hack, and with the boost turned up c.230hp, a bloody rapid, anonymous, A-road car. I bought mine at 5years old in a pinch based on the need to make a 250mile run several times a week for a work project, but in the end I kept it five years as such - not that I meant too, it just soaked it all up and went well enough meanwhile.
As an architect - I replaced it with a BMW E34 540
I've had both older and new-series 900s. The old one was wonderful for all the reasons posted, particularly the ride: handling balance. A charming car that I got to appreciate more the longer I kept it.
The following NG900 turbo OTOH - blander, but a rack brace and rather stiffer rear antiroll bar completely resolved the 'bagginess' and turned it into the driver's car it should have been from the factory - without losing the very good ride. Excellent long-distance hack, and with the boost turned up c.230hp, a bloody rapid, anonymous, A-road car. I bought mine at 5years old in a pinch based on the need to make a 250mile run several times a week for a work project, but in the end I kept it five years as such - not that I meant too, it just soaked it all up and went well enough meanwhile.
As an architect - I replaced it with a BMW E34 540
Edited by Huff on Thursday 18th July 14:34
Huff said:
A charming car that I got to appreciate more the longer I kept it.
That's it. The more you own one, the more you like it.Neither of my Saabs were planned purchases, both just became available when I needed something large and reliable at a relatively cheap price.
Years ago I paid £500 cash for a 10 year old 9000 on a stag weekend - I needed another car to run alongside my Motorsport Elise (my wife was getting tired of climbing in and out of it in work clothes) and it fitted the bill, cheap and spacious. We had it for years and it never let us down, we loved it and the only reason it went was thanks to the Bargain Barge thread I decided I wanted an E39 540i (which was a troublesome, unreliable shed, frankly) - we both knew we'd made a mistake almost instantly.
Last year I wanted a cheap towcar for the race car and a 2007 9-5 diesel was for sale at £3500 so I snapped it up - it's not the 9000 but in the 9 months we've had it we've both come to appreciate it more and more - especially it's ability to cover motorway miles in complete comfort.
They're just rational, sensible cars. They're not flash or brash or pseudo-sporting, but they are comfortable, relaxing, safe, quick enough, well thought out family transport. I wouldn't buy one as a driver's car, but nor would I buy a 5-series or E-class or A6 for the same thing - I think people who buy a very expensive luxury saloon which has its primary function of being comfortable transport screwed up by attempts to make the best part of two tonnes of car look and feel sporting are mental. Especially when the price of a new M5 would buy you a new 530D and leave 30k to spend in the used market on a proper sports car.
Our Saab was bought at the opposite end of the market. We were looking for a nice cheap large estate car for about two grand. We were happy to consider BMW, Mercedes and Audi, but the main difference I noticed was that German cars at that price point were usually overpriced tat with interstellar miles, photographed outside blocks of council flats - it would seem that cheap German metal is ghetto fabulous and cheap Swedish metal is not.
Our Saab was bought at the opposite end of the market. We were looking for a nice cheap large estate car for about two grand. We were happy to consider BMW, Mercedes and Audi, but the main difference I noticed was that German cars at that price point were usually overpriced tat with interstellar miles, photographed outside blocks of council flats - it would seem that cheap German metal is ghetto fabulous and cheap Swedish metal is not.
Because they are not a BMW or Audi, after many years of driving I have never been tailgated by a Saab (had a new one on the M4 today; was tailgated by a Black Infinity 4X4 - that is my first, one for the diary I think), This must mean that Saab people are on average just better than BMW and Audi drivers 
and I don't own a Saab... yet.
and I don't own a Saab... yet.GrizzlyBear said:
Because they are not a BMW or Audi, after many years of driving I have never been tailgated by a Saab (had a new one on the M4 today; was tailgated by a Black Infinity 4X4 - that is my first, one for the diary I think), This must mean that Saab people are on average just better than BMW and Audi drivers and I don't own a Saab... yet.
Because Saabs overtake. That's one of the things I like on mine, overtaking is so easy as peak torque is around 2k RPM (I think) and I don't own a Saab... yet.Eski1991 said:
GrizzlyBear said:
Because they are not a BMW or Audi, after many years of driving I have never been tailgated by a Saab (had a new one on the M4 today; was tailgated by a Black Infinity 4X4 - that is my first, one for the diary I think), This must mean that Saab people are on average just better than BMW and Audi drivers and I don't own a Saab... yet.
Because Saabs overtake. That's one of the things I like on mine, overtaking is so easy as peak torque is around 2k RPM (I think) and I don't own a Saab... yet.GrizzlyBear said:
Not even that, when I see a Audi in the mirror, there is a fair chance they will tailgate (why they can't just pass is beyond me). Saab drivers just don't seem so eager to crash into people as some others.
You're looking at it the wrong way round, it's not that Saab drivers are better than everyone else, it's that Audi drivers are worse. For instance I remember a thread posted not so long ago where a chap had undertaken a van and a car on the hard shoulder of a slip road. Among the first few comments was "What Audi do you drive?" Turned out it was an S3.
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