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I have been driving 2001 Aero SW for the last 2 days since I leased it on Friday. I believe that I now understand why Saab doesn't sell well perhaps with the exception of the home country.
The reason I think is very simple, it's the engine, stupid; and to some extent the front-wheel drive. It's not the reliability problems, quirkiness, shape, resale value or anything else ( though these may contribute a bit).
I know this will offend many Saab purists, but to me Saab is a fine sporty luxury automobile with the engine of Hyundai on steroids. I have been driving a 95 BMW 540 for the past 4 years and switching to my Aero the difference in driving dynamics is very noticable and it primarily comes down to the engine. (I got a Saab because I couldn't find a low-mileage BMW SW for a reasonable price)
Alas, the engine. It's coarse, produces very weird hollow sound, it vibrates too much (this is transmited into the cabin) and it's not very fuel-efficient. Saab claims the engine produces the power of a 6-cylinder and consumes like a 4-cylinder. This is clearly false in today's market. There is a number of 6-cylinder engines having more then 250hp and most of these are only minimally less fuel-efficient if at all. My 95 Mercury Sable SW with 3.8 V6 got a better fuel economy in the city than my Aero and its engine was also a lot smoother. Simply put, this engine should not be in this class of a car. It may have made sense at some point in the past but no longer. There is no excuse for this car not having a 6-cylinder engine with a turbo if desired.
The other major problem is the FWD platform. The steering is very twitchy and though there isn't as much torque steer as in previous Saabs it's still too much for a sporty luxury car. The twitchiness contributes to the overall feeling of instability, unfirmness, lack of substance, which is the opposite of what BMW or Mercedes feel like. Even a Passat feels much more robust and stable in city driving than the Saab and it is also FWD. Paradoxically at higher speeds Saab seems a lot better, firmer, very stable. Unfortunately I mostly drive in the city. The only strong point in the drivetrain is the automatic transmission, paradoxically built in Japan.
Otherwise it's a fine car, beautiful (at least to my eyes), with excellent interior design touches, certainly equal to a BMW in built quality. Too bad Saab insists dogmatically on sticking with the 4-cylinder engine and FWD platform. As it is I can't see too many people switching from their BMW's, Mercedes'es, Audi's to a Saab based on the driving dynamics (though I can certainly see other reasons for switching such as reliability, need for SW etc).
posted by 199.89.6...
, Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:34:20
, Tue, 13 Sep 2005 06:01:43
, Tue, 13 Sep 2005 22:01:01
, Thu, 15 Sep 2005 00:15:16, Thu, 15 Sep 2005 00:40:49, Tue, 13 Sep 2005 06:27:32, Mon, 12 Sep 2005 19:31:22, Mon, 12 Sep 2005 09:14:47, Mon, 12 Sep 2005 19:37:07, Mon, 12 Sep 2005 21:16:57, Sun, 11 Sep 2005 22:48:19, Sun, 11 Sep 2005 20:44:13, Sun, 11 Sep 2005 19:43:43, Sun, 11 Sep 2005 13:55:00, Sun, 11 Sep 2005 12:59:56, Sun, 11 Sep 2005 21:32:40
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