1999-2009 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Well... I have driven a number of cars in my
life and I now own my 5th Turbo car which is
my 9-5 Aero. I also owned a few non Turbo cars
but I am addicted to Turbo engines.
The Aero has most definatley the finest Turbo
engine money can buy for a number of reasons.
The Aero is also one nice drive.
I just read an article on car reliability in French
car magazine and SAAB was among the "ABOVE AVERAGE QUALITY"
brands, it also scored a lot better the VW which was in the
same group. Accoridng to them SAAB and VOLVO are the 2 brands
that have the most noticable quality improvements, while
AUDI and VW are those with the quickest worsening of quality
in that group.
Let me put that in a simple way, the overall balance of the Aero
on dry and wet roads is excellent, the traction control works
very well on wet roads and the fuel economy is very good for
a Turbo car using a gas engine.
Stengths:
Handling
Ease of drive
Good power steering
Ease with which one gets used to where the buttons are
Strength of the car ( in the Swiss alps I push it real hard )
Good suspension, not too harsh not too soft
Good ABS, works well on SNOW
Space in the car and in the trunk
Good Acceleration
Excellent Torque
The fact that it loses no power up to 10'000 feet of altitude
Good Clutch
Good heating seats
No squeaks or rattles
Brakes work great at speeds up to 130 Mph (on dry roads)
Fair fuel economy
Quickness of Turbo spool up, boost builds up real quick
The OVERBOOST festure on the 5spd is real fun giving you 240Hp for 20 seconds
The ease with which the car drives on snow when fitted with winter tires
Good lights
Good build quality of the car
Grim on your face effect when the engine is warm and you drop the hammer
The grip in corners
The troumendous passing power in 3rd and 4th gears
Excellent AC in winter and Summer ( mine is always on )
Great range on Freeways, with all that fuel and a low
fuel burn you go quite a distance on freeways during long trips
Excellent safety features of the car (more then just talk)
Advantages of FWD in bad weather
No ESP that overrulles your driving decisions
Decent Sound System (It isn't the best but it's good)
Weaknesses:
Original Michelin Pilot HX tires are noisy and pick up nails real fast, they also tend to go out of round after a high speed drive. I recommend
to replace those with Dunlop SP9000s
Steering is very sensible and a bit quick at center which one
has to get used to on freeways, the car always reacts quickly
at any speed to any steering input... again one has to get used
to this. In fact it's also an advantage.
Seats could make use of more lateral support in sharp turns...
otherwise they are fine.
Gas tank thunk. On some days when you brake hard you can hear
the gas slosh in the fuel tank. Like when your radio is off.
Requires proper servicing. You need a good mechanic to properly
sevice your Aero. A 1/2 smart undertrained mech. will not be able
to do it right. Torque settings on wheels bolts and on all the rest
have to be done right for the car to perform as designed.
To drive an Aero fast you need to be alert, you can't just
be 1/2 asleep and try to drive the Aero fast as you need to watch
out for torque steer effects on bad roads. In any case the power
steering makes it real easy to handle these.
You need the 93/94 octane gas for the AERO. (EURO 98 which is the same)
On the 2000 models radio reception is less good then on newer 2001 models.
BAD POINTS:
The main thing I dislike about my AERO is the fact that more often
then not, other drivers in other cars are convinced that their
V6 or Turbo engines are a match for the AERO, they thus often
harass me of block me on freeways. It get's unreal sometimes
when a Golf GTI or so tries to block or race you.. or when a Passat
driver becomes agressive. The main thing here is not to get involved...
cause when you drop the hammer they get real upset as you pull away.
THE ENGINE: Only SAAB makes a Turbo engine that runs for 1000 hours
at full boost and power. Simplicity of the engine is the key to that.
No 2nd Turbo, no variable Turbo vanes... no loads of high tech stuff
that doesn't do much but to brake down.
I must say that my Aero has been an excellent car so far and
that I can only recommend it. As an 5spd or an AUTO.
Regards,
Coolknight drives a 2000 9-5 Aero 5spd
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