Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 16:04:47 +0200 From: "Edmund Blackadder" <fredrik.israelssonnopsam.se> Subject: Re: Saab 9-3 or a BMW 328i
Are you sure you've had SAABS for 20 years, which roots do you see coming back in the 9-5, a sedan? Have I understood you correct, the turn indicator switch is on the right side of the steering wheel? To baad you missed the 9000 CS, a real SAAB. As you describe every beauty of the SAAB as ugly and/or unergonomic I think that you should really try the old Volvo 245 - you'll love it. /Edmund '75 96 '92 9000 CS Peter Wilkins skrev i meddelandet <37056045.1401518nopsam.one.net.au>... >On Thu, 1 Apr 1999 16:59:15 +0200, "Johan LAUWERS" <lauwers.sablonnopsam.be> >wrote : > >>No one can deny that Saab is a master in ergonomic arrangment and alignment. >>If you can't admit that .... All these ergonomic features are an heritage >>of their plane building history. >> >Until I bought my 98 9-5SE, I would have agreed with you, but the 9-5 is, >in my opinion, an ergonomic disaster in comparison with previous Saabs. >Probably designed by GM, not Saab engineers, and it's NOT a drivers car. > >In Australia, the turn indicators are on the wrong side of the steering >column: they are set for left hand drive. So every time I drive the Saab >after driving any local car, I tend to turn on the windscreen wipers >instead of the turn indicators (and vice versa): not my idea of a good >safety feature, positively dangerous, and a pretty petty cost cutting >exercise in a car costing 75 grand in Oz. > >I have to take my hands off the wheel to operate some of the steering >column controls, like turning on/off and setting/changing cruise control or >changing the variable wiper delay speed. I used to be able to adjust every >steering column control without removing my hands from the wheel in my last >car (a Subaru Heritage) and in my earlier Saabs. This isn't a problem if >you are alone on the road, but in heavy traffic in the rain it can be >distracting and dangerous. > >The front windows don't have up/down controls on the doors: they are only >on the centre console. Most annoying and dangerous when approaching a toll >booth: trying to juggle change with your right hand, lower the window with >your left, and steer the car with your... oops, just ran out of hands. >The front window controls are also not intuitive or easy to find by feel, >and it's not good to drop they eyes down to look for them while you are >driving. > >The electrically operated front seats have insufficient tilt and height >adjustment: it's hard to get a comfortable position, even though the seats >themselves are great. The seats also kept forgetting the memorised >positions, but they did fix that by fitting a replacement switch: the >original switch activated all position buttons and the memory button when >all buttons were depressed simultaneously by the back of my leg when >exiting the car. I was the first person (at least in Oz) to point out the >reason for this problem- Saab service didn't have a clue, and kept >suggesting intermittent connections in the wiring! So not only did bad >design get through, they couldn't fix it until told how by a customer! > >You can't safely operate the SID while driving - must have a passenger do >it. No passenger, no SID. > >The internal rear vision mirror is too small, with blind spots for >overtaking cars not compensated for by the external mirrors. > >You can't see some of the switches (eg foglights) without bending down >around the steering wheel. > >The centre armrest in the rear seats has a lift-up lid, but it can't be >secured in the up position. Result, one young grand-daughter with very >bruised fingers, lucky not to be broken, when the lid fell on her hand. >Saab say "bad luck", they are not going to provide any means of locking it >when raised. > >The door pockets won't even take a simple Sydney street directory, let >alone a road map book: they are an odd oval "fashionable" shape, which is >useless for real items. > >I have other minor bitches, including several system failures, but that's >enough for a start. No, let me give you one more example. There is an >interlock which stops you putting the car in gear unless you have your foot >on the brake. Good idea. Unfortunately, the interlock has a habit of >failing, leaving the car locked in "park" and you stranded. There is a >means of bypassing the interlock, but do you think it is mentioned in the >handbook or in the delivery briefing? No, I had to hike miles to a phone >to find out. Good design? Huh! > >I have had six Saabs over a period of 20 years, 99's and 900's, and have >loved them all dearly, if not fanatically. I skipped the 9000 as it didn't >look or feel like a Saab. I bought the 9-5 as it appeared at first to go >back to the Saab roots, but it's just a tarted up overpriced Vectra. > >I won't buy another Saab after this experience, can't stand Mercs or BMW's, >so where do I go for a distinctive car with high levels of comfort?. I >hate to say it, not normally being a supporter of Japanese over European >design, but my last car, a Subaru, seems even more attractive in hindsight. >I should have bought another one of those, and saved buckets of money! > > >-- > _--_|\ Peter Wilkins Email : wilkinspnopsamnet.au >/ \ 2/24 Cove Avenue Phone/Fax : +61 2 9977 2395 >\_.--._* MANLY, NSW, 2095, Mobile: 0417 415 014 > v AUSTRALIA
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