More 9-3 XWD news - US market
I was fortunate to spend this morning with John Libbos, the product manager for the Saab 9-3 and 9-5 here in the United States. Questions were asked and answered, and I’m very happy to let US readers know the following (non-US readers might want to scroll past and avoid the anger).
We’ve already heard the bad news - that there won’t be any eLSD option in the 2008 model year for Saab 9-3 Aeros equipped with XWD.
This decision has been taken to maintain the exclusivity of the Saab Turbo X for this model year.
The good news is that not only will the eLSD be available on the 2009 model, but it’ll also be part of the standard equipment for XWD-equipped Aero versions of the Saab 9-3. Previously, this was thought to be a $2,000 option, so its inclusion as standard equipment for 2009 is a major bonus for US customers.
John had no information on other markets around the world, but prudence would dictate that you should still count on it as an option as first thought. Prudence is a nasty woman.
——
For those of you thinking “I’ll just wait for the 2009 model rather than get a Turbo X”, you should know that the Turbo X will have mechanical enhancements that the Aero won’t.
Whilst both will have the 280hp, 400Nm engine setup, the Turbo X will have a strengthened gearbox with no torque limiters in first and second gear, for instance.
I’m unsure of any other differences, but if this is typical of the differences between the cars - and if there are more of them that we don’t know about - then perhaps Saab might benefit from setting them out in a clearer fashion.
The Turbo X is going to be a special vehicle and I’d absolutely, knuckle-bitingly HATE to see them incentivised with discounts in order to clear the volume.
The full spec and differentiation with this model needs to be made clear, IMHO.
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Interesting news, Swade, thanks!
What’s strange is how little - if any - advertising has been done on the Turbo X. How do they expect to move units when they have not spent a dollar letting people know there is such a car coming out? I seriously have a feeling most advance buyers are TS readers.
My dealer won’t have pricing until March, I was told last I visited. They have no brochures, no information on the car, hell we both keep quoting this site. Well, for that matter, I have not seen a single 2008 9-3 ad on Canadian TV, and you’d think I fall in Saab’s target audience. Geez…
From what you learned from John Libbos it sounds as if eLSD will be included in the XWD package for the Aero at no additional cost in 2009, right? Not that XWD is standard equipment in the Aero model?
IIRC XWD itself was to be a $2,000 option. I never saw a price for how much extra the eLSD option was to be. Maybe because it was never going to be offered as an option.
Either you get an ‘08 Turbo-X w/ XWD & eLSD, or you get an ‘08 Aero w/ XWD w/o eLSD, or you get an ‘09 Aero w/ XWD & eLSD or you get an ‘09 2.0T w/ XWD w/o eLSD.
I think that’s how I understand it. But I’d be very surprised if XWD comes standard on the ‘09 Aero (It’ll likely be a $2K+ option). I think it’s just that the eLSD will come standard with XWD at no additional cost if you buy the XWD option on the ‘09 Aero.
Did I misunderstand?
Swade, they are going to have to offer incentives to move the Turbo X in the states with those awful wheels! Speaking of wheels, The other 18″ inchers Saab makes are so much better looking. Do you know if, and what, 18’s will be offered on the Aero’s with XWD in the states?
Gripen - That’s how I understand it too.
The local Saab dealership here has 2 TurboXs coming in and they have no information on them as well(price, delivery date, etc…). When I stopped by the dealership last week, it didn’t sound like the cars were pre-sold.
Did John Libbos mention anything about the 2009 SAAB 9-5?
We’re hungry for information and photos…..or should I say starving for data?
Kroum - the dealer I ordered my Turbo X from here in the UK saidthis when I asked if they were sold out yet. “I am not sure of exact figures but I am sure that the last I heard there were about 100 [of the 500] sold. This is very good as Saab GB are not starting to advertise the Turbo X until Late Feb and March 2008 !”
Rentokil: I’ll say that’s pretty good considering that (as far as I remember) Saab hasn’t set an exact price or a delivery date. I mean, you have to really like a car on paper to buy it sight-unseen, undriven, and not even know when you’re going to get the car! That’s a hard sell.
When they introduce an official delivery date, price, and allow people to test-drive it I’m sure they’ll sell pretty quickly. Hopefully w/o too much incentives.
My dealership received special Turbo-X brochures last week, and I never ordered them. Which makes me think that they were automatically shipped to all U.S. dealers. Check with your local dealer.
yeah, if it’s better than my 2.0T Aero (with a few cheeky tweaks) then I’ll be one happy shopper - and I’ve no doubt that it’ll be nothing short of mind blowing. Can’t wait.
As far as the exclusivity of it - I’d be disappointed if the USP’s of the TurboX were offered to the “normal” Aero customers from launch. I wouldn’t have any objections to it not being a limited edition though, in fact I’m surprised that it is.
Rentokil, the situation is fairly similar in Canada, I believe. My dealer has 5 units allocated, and has so far sold one to me and one to some other guy… And the situation has not changed for a few months.
But if advertising is scheduled to start in late February-March, then it all makes sense. I am guessing Canada will more or less have the same schedule as the U.K., spare for delivery times which I expect to be 3-4 weeks longer here.
Gripen: Forgot to say that the day the order books opened here in the UK in early November that the dealer had recieved brochures and confirmation of the pricing - so I knew what I was getting myself into (even if my wife wasn’t too happy). The car with ALL the extras comes in at £38,100. Gulp.
I have seen one 08 9-3 convertible here on the mean (ie people cannot drive here) streets of Vancouver and I hope to see a lot more by the time it comes to get my 09 2.0T 9-3SS with XWD and eLSD or (that other car I have mentioned but wont mention again). Can someone tell Saab to drop Polar White and bring out Arctic White for all models - that is once fantastic ’shade’ on the new 9-3SS!? Failing that - its Snow Silver for us!
Still more proof that the sun shines brighter on America’s fair lands
Hey Zippy,
Are you on Saab Club of Western Canada (SCWC) ? What do you drive ?
For years I thought that GM is the one that is holding back SAAB (Which is true to some extent)But I changed my mind.I think that people that are making decisions at SAAB are the one that are keep shooting them selves in the foot.To the point of ignorance & stubbornes.We all know that is DO or DIE for SAAB.They desperate need new products & technology.But NO! Somebody is smarter then us(consumers).They know beter then us what we wont! It doesn’t make any buisiness sense to short change 10000-15000 cars(New car buyers) because 2000 cars.As per SAAB top people in charge in USA & EUROPE.It was very easy to give 9-3 TURBO X 320-350 HP & 325-350 lbs/tq with other enhancements to make car very special and make other buyers of 9-3 aero happy.That way you can have yours cake & eat it to. As a owner of 2 SAAB 9-5 that are ready for replacement looks like that i have to go someware else for new cars to the company that is watching & making cars that consumers want.I guess that people at SAAB still don’t see that time is up.SAAB needs new products to give in big numbers(to make profit & to be noticeable) not to hold it back.(Like eLSD
The Turbo X isn’t selling because Saab missed the mark, BIG TIME!
A turkey is still a turkey, any way you slice it….
underpowered, overpriced, (terrible rims), etc…we can go on and on…
I was at my local Saab dealer this past weekend and the salesman said they would be selling the Turbo X at MSRP….wishful thinking, that got me out of the dealership very quickly. I may go back after October when they start getting desperate. No direct-injection, no bluetooth, no etc etc…i am not paying anywhere near MSRP, and noone else should either.
I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again. If volvo could sell their S60R with it’s adaptive suspension and an engine based on 1980’s technology that still managed 120 hp/liter for $40k, then it’s inexcuseable that saab can’t do the same.
The reality however is that the turbo X has inferior brakes, a cheaper interior, 20 less hp, and no adaptive suspension, yet sells for ~3k MORE than an R would have cost you. It’s really too little, too late, and having such an overpriced and underpowered “halo” car paints the rest of the saab lineup as pathetic also-rans.
Saab seems to be making the same mistake that mazda made with the mazdaspeed 6. It may turn out to be a great car, but it doesn’t break the 300hp barrier and as a result saab will end up needing heavy incentives to move them off the lot, just like mazda needed for the 6, and to be fair, just like volvo did with the s60R.
Now a turbo-x making 120hp/liter on ~14 psi (well within what saab could pull off on pump gas) would be an almost 340 hp monster that would have been able to beat the S4 for thousands less. Saab wouldn’t need incentives to move a car like that off the lot, and the automotive press would have eaten it up. Too bad it seems like saab looked at the S60R and said “you know, that overweight and underpowered car was great, let’s copy it but with poor interior materials and a weaker engine”. In order to base your brand on “responsible performance” you first have to have “performance”.
Couldn’t agree with Alex more.
Would anyone from Saab like to explain why the Turbo-X does not have 300+ hp?
As is, it is very hard to justify the price of the Turbo-X.
Does anyone know if there will be a 2009 9-3 Turbo X for certain, or is it just a 2008 model year car? Thanks!
Is the 9-3 Turbo X only for 2008 or will there be one in 2009 also?