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Good question. Scott has the right short answer to your inquiry. Here's another; a rather long-winded stab at it:
People who buy transportation for specific, extreme reasons should not buy a Saab.
For example, a person bound to purchase the fastest, the biggest, the smallest, the most fuel-efficient, the most capable in foul weather conditions and off-road, the best around corners, the flashiest, the most reliable, and as Scott suggests, the most conventional, should not buy a Saab.
Saab attempts to be a lot of things to a lot of people. Form follows function. So if the Saab isn't the most fuel-efficient, go elsewhere (although newer, not-yet-sold, hydrocarbon-burning technology from Saab may just give the lie to my thesis here). And if it isn't the fastest, go elsewhere, (although Saab has the Viggen for you here). And if it isn't the most capable in foul weather and offroad, one would need to get into AWD, although Saab's abilities in snow and ice without AWD and without traction control are the stuff of legend.
If going around corners fast is your priority, there are other cars than do that better than Saab.
Although to some, the Saab is a handsome car, others may find it odd-looking; unconventional; even "dated" although there are few changes marking huge shifts in body design in the model lineup over the years. Even a 9-5 may be mistaken for a 9-3 to an untrained eye from the front end on a quick glance. Autowriters make widespread use of the term "quirky" to capture Saab features borrowed from the aviation engineering.
Although Saabs in the right preventive maintenance-inclined owners'/mechanic's hands can be as reliable as the next car and more reliable than some, I can name at least one other car whose reliability record is superior. Much of this is subjective in the extreme, right down to the specific unit you acquire and the components attached to it, like air conditioning.
So, to those who want a car for certain extreme reasons, the Saab is not for them. My question would be, what are you giving up in some area or another to get ...in the extreme...in your area of priority?
One extreme Saab offers in the sedan-hatchback category is an extremely large cargo area. That, and based on the data, extremely unlikely to take your life in the most frequent types of crashes. Again, Saabs are among the least likely cars to be stolen. Again, with the right care and maintenance, over time, your Saab may last longer than any car so there some extremes that can be said to apply to Saabs.
Peoples' priorities change over time. Hence, most are unlikely to get all they can out of a single Saab. But I'd say the Saab is not a car for people bound by the (former?) widespread practice of changing out cars every two-three years. Applied to Saab, this practice will kill you financially .....unless your point of entry is the second hand market.
At risk of repetition, Saab attempts to be a lot of things to a lot of people. In my case Saab's reach does not exceed its grasp. In some ways, I am conventional but never a thoroughly conventional North American. At one time, I owned a Volvo for the advertised 11 years (in Sweden). Those most conventional of all people, accountants, would tell you, this Volvo came close to paying for itself. With care, Saabs can do the same and better. So, based on rational thinking alone, although the Saab may appear unconventional, it is the most conventional form of transportation. Saab is paradoxical. Conventional, but not.
, Sat, 28 Apr 2001 22:00:28
, Fri, 27 Apr 2001 20:14:47
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