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I have had both. Posted by B Millar [Email] (#1109) [Profile/Gallery] (more from B Millar) on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:05:39 In Reply to: Is the 3.0 V6 better than the 2.3T?, mySaab, Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:30:54 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I entered the Saab world with a 2001 9-5 V6. Now I have a 2004 Aero with the 2.3t. All 9-5 V6's were 3.0t's. They all had a turbo. In fact, every single 9-5 from day one, 4- or 6-cyl, gas or diesel, has rolled off the assembly line with a turbo of some sort in it.
The V6 is good in that it's pretty smooth, quiet, and in general comfortable to drive. It has plenty of oomph to move the 9-5, and when you REALLY want to move the growly sounds it makes are, in my opinion, pretty sweet. The V6 doesn't suffer from the oil sludge issues the 4-cyls do, and there aren't any crazy PCV modifications that you need to keep up with. A V6 with a failed head gasket is almost unheard of, though some of the early V6's had poorly designed gaskets that do fail. One thing I hated about the V6 was the Garrett turbo- very unreliable, and expensive to replace/rebuild. They can fail as early as 60k miles! Other things to watch out for are oil cooler leaks. They leak internally and mix oil and coolant. Not pretty.
Like others said, keep up with the timing belt and tensioner/pulley replacements every 60k miles. That's really the only thing that can cause catastrophic engine failure if it's not attended to.
In my opinion, in the 1999-2003 range, the V6 is a safer buy than a 4-cyl. They're more idiot proof. Of course, still get any used Saab checked out by a good Saab specializing mechanic before you commit to buy.
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