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, Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:53:54
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Hi,
I've had 7 SAABs, and presently drive an '04 Aero, manual. All of them have been 4 cyl. turbos, all of them weighed less than average for the class (sometimes by a huge margin), all were very fuel effient, fast, fun, nimble, good in the snow, and also unpretentious, practical (although why the hatch is gone is beyond me), safe, great quality leather, great ergonomics, fabulous seats. Reliability admittedly was pretty bad on the ones manufactured before '97, but the materials were impressive and everything felt very solid and purpose-built (until the NG 9-3 and post '05 9-5s showed up - what crappy plastics!!!). What's wrong with the new one?
1. It's HUGE!!! Over 5 meters in length. One can only guess much heavier also. This will just serve to bring it more into the mainstream, where it might be difficult to justify getting it over similarly "serious" cars like the Audi A6, Mercedes E, BMW 5, Lexus GS, Infinity M.
2. With its extra girth, it will require more power. With more power, front wheel drive becomes more of an issue, hence the need for AWD.
3. AWD means even more weight, and with a 6cyl. turbo, you can kiss fuel economy goodbye. And a 6cyl. SAAB to me wouldn't feel right, the sound and feel, etc.
4. Extra weight will impact agility. Ultimate grip might be great, with huge tires and all, but you can't hide it when it comes down to agility.
5. Huge grill on the front screams AUDI - in a rather very nice way though (but it is a bit much and seems pretentious), much like an A8 I think, while the rear looks a little like the A6 crossed with a mid '90s Camry.
6. The speedometer lacks a proper arrow, I hate the short, Benz like needle, especially since the other gauges have proper needles.
7. Where's the emblem on the steering wheel? Looks exactly like that on the Opel.
8. The seats look ho-hum and the leather not very grainy at all
9. Too many features aren't SAAB-like. A proper engineer wouldn't reivent the wheel for no good purpose. Why an electric parking break?
10. The cabin sure seems to have a lot of black plastic bits... hope the quality is half decent, the NG 9-3s have the worst plastics in their class, as do the newer 9-5s. Thank goodness they stayed away from the ambient lighting shown in the Buick - How distracting must that be? What's the purpose, flash? It's a car - actually supposed to be a sports lux sedan - not a disco. It would have been nice to see more creative gauges though like on the Aero X.
11. NO HATCH, yet again! I really look fwd to seeing the wagon, from the earlier materials released, it does seem promising!
I got my 9-5 because I like the feel, performance & economy of a smaller car but appreciate the size + comfort of the mid-size format. Looks like much of those attributes might be missing here... Might have to wait for the next 9-3, or keep my current SAAB forever. I do love it...
posted by 67.68.24...
, Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:53:54
, Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:38:47, Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:11:43, Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:20:58, Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:56:21
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