RE: Shed of the Week: Saab 9-3 Aero

[SidewaysSi]

tdm34 said:

fuchsiasteve said:

Doesn't do it for me. When you consider you could have an Accord type R for similar shed money which is way better to drive (better engine, steering, gearshift, handling etc) it's a real no brainier.

Not everyone wants a peaky screamer of an engine, and more importantly not needing to go on about the V-Tec kicking in.....Yo!

The 2.2 in the Accord is somewhat different. I had a Type R for many years and not once did I mention, or indeed feel the need to, of it kicking in.

[tdm34]

SidewaysSi said:

tdm34 said:

fuchsiasteve said:

Doesn't do it for me. When you consider you could have an Accord type R for similar shed money which is way better to drive (better engine, steering, gearshift, handling etc) it's a real no brainier.

Not everyone wants a peaky screamer of an engine, and more importantly not needing to go on about the V-Tec kicking in.....Yo!

The 2.2 in the Accord is somewhat different. I had a Type R for many years and not once did I mention, or indeed feel the need to, of it kicking in.

212ft/lb of torque @ 5000rpm vs 258ft/lb @2500 rpm
will make the SAAB more relaxing,
factor in an £80 Noob stage 1 map and those
figures change to 280ft/lb and 250bhp

For a motorway mile muncher i'd have the SAAB

http://noobtune.co.uk/

[VolvoT4]

You can i paid £300 for my 200bhp Volvo S40 T4

[Jual Mass Flywheel]

tdm34 said:

212ft/lb of torque @ 5000rpm vs 258ft/lb @2500 rpm
will make the SAAB more relaxing,
factor in an £80 Noob stage 1 map and those
figures change to 280ft/lb and 250bhp

For a motorway mile muncher i'd have the SAAB

http://noobtune.co.uk/

I'm doubtful the Accord makes 212 ft/lb tbh but happy to be corrected. Pretty sure my CTR back in 2005 only made around 147 ft/lb with 197bhp.

[tdm34]

Jual Mass Flywheel said:

tdm34 said:

212ft/lb of torque @ 5000rpm vs 258ft/lb @2500 rpm
will make the SAAB more relaxing,
factor in an £80 Noob stage 1 map and those
figures change to 280ft/lb and 250bhp

For a motorway mile muncher i'd have the SAAB

http://noobtune.co.uk/

I'm doubtful the Accord makes 212 ft/lb tbh but happy to be corrected. Pretty sure my CTR back in 2005 only made around 147 ft/lb with 197bhp.

Absolutely right it has 159 ft/lb, my CB1300 makes 101ft/lb!!

[SidewaysSi]

Lack of torque is a major major issue when driving. The average Type R driver is no doubt wondering how he will get up hills and looks longingly at every Saab that he passes. Just wishing to dear God that he had such a wonderful nobtuned machine.

[Jiebo]

Crap cars, never end electrical problems. Handling is terrible and interior is very poor quality.

Had a 150bhp diesel £800 shed and it was a piece of junk.

[bearman68]

I have one of these on a 55 plate. I love it, the engine is smooth and quiet, produces loads of low down torque,so it's easy to drive it quickly without thrashing the nobs off it. Comfy seats,and I think the handling is quite good,albeit a bit crashy over rough roads. Mine has been well maintained, and just had new suspension, but it really is a very nice car for very little money. And economical to run as well. regularly achieving 36 or so on a run, and around 32 on short journeys. I like it a lot, and I think I prefer it to the E39 I had for many years.

[nipsips]

Ive got a lowly 1.8t Vector Sport Anniversary. Its better specced than an Aero (full leather, power folding dimming mirrors, sat nav, special paint) but obviously only has 150bhp.

Mine has a Hirsch map which takes it up to 195bhp and 310nm torque and tbh it feels quicker than the 210bhp Aero I had years ago however thats probably a placebo or related to the gear box (mines only 5 speed).

Second the interior creaks, im currently in the process of ripping it out and rebuilding it with silicone grease, fabric tape and sticky back foam but it isn't the best.

Also isn't very reliable in regards to the electronics but I think I've narrowed it down to a faulty throttle body.

Lot of car for the money and got a look about them thats just different. I love mine!

[parabolica]

Jiebo said:

Crap cars, never end electrical problems. Handling is terrible and interior is very poor quality.

Had a 150bhp diesel £800 shed and it was a piece of junk.

The diesels were reportedly very poor, as demonstrated by my dad's 1.9d Vector Sport which had issue after issue. The petrol models were much more reliable. Interior wasn't bad for it's time, but it doesn't hold up well today. Still a fan of them though.

[rscott]

parabolica said:

The diesels were reportedly very poor, as demonstrated by my dad's 1.9d Vector Sport which had issue after issue. The petrol models were much more reliable. Interior wasn't bad for it's time, but it doesn't hold up well today. Still a fan of them though.

The interior improved a lot on the the 2006 onward models (the earlier ones have the radio/clock display at the base of the windscreen). They also have much better sound systems - the early ones are a weird fibre optic system which is a pain to upgrade.

I had a 2006 2.8v6 Aero Sportwagon with the Hirsch remap. That was an extremely rapid dog transporter :-)
Was also incredibly good at ong drives - the seats are some of the most comfortable I've ever sat in.

Only problem was low 20s mpg when driven rapidly.

[Avantime]

I had a 2.8T Aero for 18 months or so. I had a Maptun remap taking it from 250 bhp to about 280 and 450 nm of torque. The good thing is the remap was put on / taken off using a plug in device, so you could remind yourself about the difference it made - quite considerable. The best thing about it was the mid-range; very addictive.

It was a good car - with a few rattles. I traded up for a 2010 9-5 2.8T XWD Aero - far more refined and comfortable.

[MadDog1962]

At 750quid with MoT to the end of January 2019 you can forgive this thing a lot.

Remember this is "shed of the week" and not "lifetime shiny dream car of the week". As a local runabout this has a fair bit going for it.

Not a bad find really. Definitely the sort of thing shedders like :-)

[Blackpuddin]

Somebody obviously agreed with the positive comments here as the car has been bought.

[tdm34]

SidewaysSi said:

Lack of torque is a major major issue when driving. The average Type R driver is no doubt wondering how he will get up hills and looks longingly at every Saab that he passes. Just wishing to dear God that he had such a wonderful nobtuned machine.

Different cars, different driving techniques required, I've driven plenty of Type-R's both Accord and Civic and they're wonderful in the right circumstances, but at the wrong time they're horrid, just like the SAAB is , but I know that i'd rather take my Stage 1 Aero TTiD on any drive over 50 miles and the main reason for that is 480nm @ 2000rpm, makes for effortless progress, easy overtakes and 50mpg and I can't really fault the handling as it goes where it's pointed without too much drama. It's not any kind of car i'd take on a track but it wasn't designed for that, it's built to cover ground with as little fuss as possible, in comfort. Which it does admirably.

[JoshMay]

A friend of mine got a phone call from his wife that she had been involved in a crash in theor Saab many years ago, the policeman in the back of the ambulance said she wouldn’t have walked away from it alive had she not been in a Saab.

As soon as I heard that I went out and bought one, great decision all in all! Very fast, very comfortable, very big, not bad MPG and just £4,000 back then.

Unless you want to drive like a bell-end, they can be all things to all man.

[JoshMay]

The ‘Swedish Rolls Royce’, great for power wafting, not so good for power drifts in car parks.
This one smacks of the GM era when it did lose some character, but still amazing car for the cost of a service.

[kellyt]

MadDog1962 said:

At 750quid with MoT to the end of January 2019 you can forgive this thing a lot.

Remember this is "shed of the week" and not "lifetime shiny dream car of the week". As a local runabout this has a fair bit going for it.

Not a bad find really. Definitely the sort of thing shedders like :-)

Precisely. I hope the new owner enjoys it a lot. It's a nice shed, and that's the point, not a Lambo surrogate. Wonder when Tony's out of bed this week...

[HannsG]

I had a TTID 2008 reg.

The interior was shocking in terms of quality. Creak, creak, creak.....

Worse than any car in terms of rattles.

[edward1]

We have an areo 2.0T xwd as the family wagon. I would say it is as reliable as anything else mechanically.

The in built sat nav has a bit of mind of its own, it generally doesn't work if you want it to but will spring into life when driving locally.

The interior does have more creaks than I would like and expect.

The mid range pull is good (we have a stage 1 noob tune) but it doesn't seem to like revving much, the 1.8t I have driven as a loan vehicle was much more free revving. I am not sure I'd like 210+hp through only the front wheels though. When the haldex pump failed (note not a GM or Saab part but a component of the same system used by VAG etc) and it was basically front wheel drive for a week I really noticed the torque steer and potential to spin up a wheel and trouble the traction control something you rarely see when the xwd is working.

As a shed for brisk mile munching this would be great couldn't think of much better at that price point.