RE: Shed of the Week | Saab 9-3 'Aero' cabriolet
Discussion
The 9-3 never quite captured the image or build quality of the original Swedish 900. I had one for 4 years in the early 90's & toured all over Europe - hardly depreciated either over that time.
The GM versions never quite had the same cache. More interesting alternative to the more predictable German convertibles though. Well done shed!
The GM versions never quite had the same cache. More interesting alternative to the more predictable German convertibles though. Well done shed!
Turbobanana said:
John.Taylor said:
I'm sure that I've read in the past that this generation of Saab 9-3 are basically a Vauxhall Cavalier convertible underneath, hence the comically bad handling.
Almost.GM bought a majority stake in Saab in the early '90s and removed almost all of the "Saabness" that made the marque what it was. Engines sort of carried over (in that they didn't use anybody else's, except the diesels which were GM's own) but the chassis became far more generic and, yes, did share much with the Vectra.
Don't think of this as a hot-hatch baiting supercar: consider it a swift summer funmobile and enjoy while the sun shines.
Turbobanana said:
Owners of 900s may well disagree with you there, as the handling of those was well up with the best at the time - certainly the aero-spec cars (SPG in the US) - with well-located rear suspension and north-south engines, but once GM spoiled the party your statement stands, unfortunately.
I was pointing my finger at mainly GM derived cars. My 9-5 Estate is not bad but compared to an E39 or even a V70 of the same generation is no where near as good. The engine however more than makes up for it and is a peach.
Harry Flashman said:
Turbobanana said:
As the long term owner of an original ("Classic") 900 Convertible, I should hate this.
But..., over time, these have grown on the purists and offer excellent value. Yes, you'll get scuttle shake but nothing like as bad as mine. Yes. you'll get turbo lag but that's just how they are, sir.
The worst thing is probably the torque steer, because these have transverse engines whereas the older ones had longitudinal, so equal length driveshafts - something not mentioned by Shed in the article.
For the money this is a fantastic summer smoke, in a good colour combination too.
I feel exactly the same way. It's not as if my car is the last word in handling and anyone who has driven contemporary things like the Audi 80 drop-top knows that chopped cars of that era were not always all that good!But..., over time, these have grown on the purists and offer excellent value. Yes, you'll get scuttle shake but nothing like as bad as mine. Yes. you'll get turbo lag but that's just how they are, sir.
The worst thing is probably the torque steer, because these have transverse engines whereas the older ones had longitudinal, so equal length driveshafts - something not mentioned by Shed in the article.
For the money this is a fantastic summer smoke, in a good colour combination too.
But who cares. They look good (and better and better with time), and are very comfy.
I'll keep my old 900, though, thanks! Very entertaining in a gentle, old school way. Actually a much nicer steer than my 1994 Merc E320 cab, a car which is meant to be the last word in luxury convertibles of that era, but which handles less well and shakes more than the Saab, and has a less fun drivetrain.
20190701_124954 by baconrashers, on Flickrcraig_m67 said:
I always thought GM borrowed the diesels from Alfa/Fiat (FPT) - the 1.9JTD was a cracking good thing for it’s time (I may have owned one, am are biased, you’re mileage may vary)
The 9-3 of this generation used the 2.2 GM diesel (not in convertible form though, that was petrol only). The 9-3SS (2003 on) used the Fiat engines; they had some tie-up at the time, Punto/Corsa and Croma/Signum were on the same platform, apart from the engine supply thing (note Alfa got the 1.8, 2.2 and 3.2 petrols from GM for the 159/Brera). I think the 1.9 8v diesel with a whole 120bhp was the reliable one, the 16v 150bhp less so.Ohhhhhhh Saabs....
never had one but would have loved one, sadly they are slowly disappearing.
brother had a viggen and father had a 95 griffin. never had a convertible. Brother did say the viggen was bad for cracking the bulkhead. may be a concern with this one especially in vert format.
never had one but would have loved one, sadly they are slowly disappearing.
brother had a viggen and father had a 95 griffin. never had a convertible. Brother did say the viggen was bad for cracking the bulkhead. may be a concern with this one especially in vert format.
I have one (non vert but 5d) and its been running really strong, it was modified to the same power figure as this one way back in 2005 and just required regular servicing to keep it running, only major thing I've had to do was recon the turbo a few weeks back, which for a stock unit that's been on a mapped car has survived super well. It wasn't a complete failure I just wanted to freshen it up a bit with a new compressor wheel, and bearings.
I am a Saabist having owned 10 from flat front 900s to ST3 9-5 Aeros with LSD. As nice as these still are to look at and cruise about in you would be wasting your money IMHO trying to get this one to handle with 270bhp. All powerful Saabs need at least the quaife lsd but few do it as they deem it expensive and do suspension instead. Add up the cost of springs, dampers, arbs and polybushes, add a bit more then fit a quaife instead.
The hardtop chassis was like blancmange so imagine what one with no roof, 270bhp and an open diff will be like.
And yes I do speak from experience.
Anyone interested go and root out the original roadtests of the Viggen 'vert, and that only had 230bhp...............
Just my opinion of course.
The hardtop chassis was like blancmange so imagine what one with no roof, 270bhp and an open diff will be like.
And yes I do speak from experience.
Anyone interested go and root out the original roadtests of the Viggen 'vert, and that only had 230bhp...............
Just my opinion of course.
Had a 9-3 that had been plainly been chipped and had some suspension mods, my goodness it was quack ! it also made the oddest resonant noise in the engine bay..would whirr and sort of ring like a church bell just every so often, plus a engine management light on ( air temp sensor) it's why it was like £400 cheap but it was borderline nutty fast, when the boost came on it was like a wayward fairground ride, swapped it for a Daewoo Laganza and some money my way!
Didn’t the earlier ones have bulkhead cracks?
I had the later one a 56 plate
I really liked that car,
Switches and things were abit cheap, but it was great in the summer with the roof down,
I’d still have that if the kids didn’t have such a growth spurt,
I always wanted to noobtune it but never got round to it
I had the later one a 56 plate
I really liked that car,
Switches and things were abit cheap, but it was great in the summer with the roof down,
I’d still have that if the kids didn’t have such a growth spurt,
I always wanted to noobtune it but never got round to it
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