Mark,

I owned 3 Saabs before my current 2005 9-5 ARC. First was a '96 900S that was always in the shop. Don't really miss that one. But I had a '99 and '02 9-3SE. Loved them dearly. The '99 was old reliable in my opinion. My dad gave it to me as a commuter car for college the year I graduated high school. At that point it had 115k miles. I kept it until 217k miles. I couldn't kill it. I had front and rear sway bars which helped the handling along with bilsteins and viggen springs. Plus, it had T5, a manual boost controller, viggen intercooler, large intake, and sports exhaust. It was my favorite car thus far. The '02 didn't stick around long enough cause some drunk kid smashed it at 3AM. The handling was much better (could pull into a parking spot way easier) and the feel of the road was there. Plus, in sport mode and with the pedal to the floor they both sounded so violent. The ARC lacks that, it is too refined a car (especially at my age (22)). I think my butt warms the seat more than the butt warmers. Plus, the 9-3 was super easy to work on and enjoyable. Still have the scar from changing an 02 sensor while hot.

I like the 9-5 but really miss those 9-3s. One thing I hated about the 9-3 was that right in front of the rear wheel wells rust loved to bubble up along the weld. That was very annoying. The one thing I really love about the 9-5 is the fact that it is a highway cruiser. I just took it from central MA to Prince Edward Island last weekend to visit my aunt. What a ride (especially on those Canadian highways that need road work). Given the chance to buy a new car, I probably would have a got a NG9-3 even though it's cheaper inside. Just way more sportier and better handling. In a year or so though, I'd love to pick up a manual OG9-3 before they aren't around anymore. They really are nice cars.

Don't feel bad though, they are still out there.


Best Regards,

R.T.

posted by 72.74.120...

• former OG 93 owners prefer it to the 9-5?, mark from Toronto, Wed, 5 Aug 2009 07:47:21
  • Re: former OG 93 owners prefer it to the 9-5?, jp498, Fri, 7 Aug 2009 03:53:45
  • Mark read here...(long), R.T., Wed, 5 Aug 2009 16:24:49 <-- Viewing This Message
  • Interesting Experience...., LM, Wed, 5 Aug 2009 13:31:31
  • Re: former OG 93 owners prefer it to the 9-5?, Link, Wed, 5 Aug 2009 12:40:39
  • About the ACC, B Millar , Wed, 5 Aug 2009 08:41:53
    • Re: About the ACC, paul de k, Wed, 5 Aug 2009 12:32:59
    • Re: About the ACC, Mark from toronto, Wed, 5 Aug 2009 09:06:26
      • Re: About the ACC - Set it and forget it!, cryptical, Wed, 5 Aug 2009 17:19:21

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