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Re: 900 vs 9000 Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Thu, 11 May 2006 13:05:23
In Reply to: 900 vs 9000, whitesaab, Thu, 11 May 2006 06:40:10 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I've had both. To show my bias, I presently have two 9000's, and no 900.
The 900 is more upright and narrower. Somewhat more body roll, but it feels pretty sporty. The 9000 is wider, and feels more luxurious. 9000's tend to be better equipped, with more fun stuff. A 9000 is larger on the inside than a 900 - it is amazingly big inside. Interestingly, a 9000 is shorter than a OG900. In terms of carrying capability, comfort and performance, a 9000 wins. A 900 would be better in an autocross, all things being equal. A 900 may have slightly more height in the hatch, but not by much.
In terms of maintenance, it boils down to a big 'it depends.' Anybody that has ever replaced belts, water pump, or a harmonic balancer on a 900 will curse the designers. The transverse layout of the 9000 makes replacement of those parts very easy. Replacing a voltage regulator? 900 wins hands down. Clutch? 900 wins hands down. Belts, pulleys, pumps - 9000.
Yes, the 9000 has '5' mounts. I've never replaced the tranny mount, so that makes four. Having done the rest a few times, they're not that bad, and only need to be done every 100K miles or so, so it isn't an every week activity.
Cheaper parts? Cars are even. The 900 is a simpler car, so it is simpler to fix in some ways. So yes, you won't find a DI on a OG900. You will on a 9000, or a NG900. But given that, Saab should have never given up two-strokes, and three cylinders is needless complexity compared to the two-cylinder 92.
There is a lot of apples and oranges here. The OG900 is a 1978 design based off a 1970 design. The 9000 is a 'fresh' 1986 design. By the time the 9000 rolled around, many cars had a lot of features not imagined in the 70's. A '93 OG900 is the end of the line, where they just couldn't fit any more into it and still produce it at a reasonable cost. The 9000 was still growing, just having a face lift.
The newest NG900 you'll find is '93 (except for a '94 CVT). You can find 9000s into 1998. When it comes to reliability, condition being equal, I go with lower miles and fewer years. Any OG900 you find will be at least 14 years old. That's not a great start.
My recommendation is a '96-98 9000. The CSE is great, as it comes with the full pressure turbo (FPT) and all the bells and whistles. No TCS, and a well-rung-out Trionic system. The CS model is good, too. Low pressure turbo still gives plenty of oomph, and if you want more, can be easily converted to the FPT. CS models come with a variety of option sets - some as full up as a CSE, some base (fabric seats, no sunroof, etc). Then there is the Aero - extra horsepower over a CSE if it has a manual tranny (no HP advantage with an automatic), improved handling. Personally, I don't find the Aero quite worth the extra money, but that's me.
posted by 192.249....
, Thu, 11 May 2006 14:07:20, Thu, 11 May 2006 13:05:23 <-- Viewing This Message
, Thu, 11 May 2006 12:25:21
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