Saab XWD vs Audi Quattro
Time to get away from tales of tactile but totally pointless tailoring and get into some DRIVING!
I can’t find a link but Widde points out that Tekniken’s Varld has a comparison between the 2008 Saab 9-3 Aero XWD and the Audi A4 3.2 Quattro. Mmmmm. Enticing.
Widde’s notes are as follows:
——
During the article they compare the cars against each other in the following areas:
- - Price
- Engine
- Handling
- Interior
So, kicking it off is……
Price:
The Saab is slightly cheaper, but not by much in the Swedish market.
——
Engine:
Both engines have almost same amount of power: the Aero XWD has 280hp and 400nm, the Audi A4 3.2q has 265hp and 330nm. Big torque advantage to the Saab.
The A4 3.2q engine lacks the engine growl that the Aero XWD has and the Aero XWD sound is really towards the sporty way.
Handling:
The Audi is flat through the corners, no drama what so ever. At higher speed the understeer is more noticable. At lower speeds it just silksmooth.
The SAAB is more fun to drive, especially when driven hard. Not having the eLSD is according to the magazine a plus as the lesser amount of grip makes the car more fun to drive. The chassis is fairly soft, but the compromise between sport and comfort is good.
The precision in handling doesn’t reach the Audi class.
——
Interior:
All points to Audi, SAAB still lacks the same quality feel as the Audi.
The Saab isn’t bad, it’s got perfect function and usability, but lacks the detail and quality of the Audi.
——
Summary:
The feeling and the technolgy is really there for SAAB. What they need to do now is to get the details finished better and raise the feeling of quality - and spread the XWD system to more engine alternatives.
——
SAAB 9-3 Aero XWD
+ handling, comfort, driving pleasure
- quality feeling
Audi A4 3.2 Quattro
+ steering, Engine elasticity, space
- Price
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You can’t find it yet as the new magazine (no.7 y.61) is released today 19:th of March. I got it abit earlier.
I just do not understand how “engine elasticity” can be Audi’s stronger point while Saab has loads of more torque.
someone please explain!
“I just do not understand how “engine elasticity” can be Audi’s stronger point while Saab has loads of more torque.”
Well, it´s freaking Audi, for gods sakes. It has to be good. Especially the engine. No matter how thirsty and lacking power, but it´s german made FSI so it really has to be better than Saab´s Turbo…
So, no supprises there. Thanks Widde for providing this summary. I´ll grap the paper later.
I assume that Audi was the latest A4? Otherwise this comparisen result would be somewhat ridiculous. Older Audi being so empty.
“Not having the eLSD is according to the magazine a plus as the lesser amount of grip makes the car more fun to drive.”
Less grip = more fun! Yes, if your daily commute involves an unused runway so you can enjoy Top Gear-esque powerslides. To me more grip = more confidence = more fun. But that’s just me.
Motoring journalists are funny like that.
They do sum up the interior nicely:
“The Saab isn’t bad, it’s got perfect function and usability, but lacks the detail and quality of the Audi.”
I love the functionality of my ‘07 9-3. It’s easy to find what you need without taking your eyes off the road. But it’s missing that feeling of quality because of the plastics used.
I think they illustrate the problems with the 9-3 perfectly. It accelerates pretty well and is fun enough to drive, but it just doesn’t have that impeccably executed feeling that the German cars have.
The Audi has a more advanced engine, tighter steering that transmits much more feel to the driver, a slick shifter, and a stiffer, more responsive chassis that’s less prone to understeer than the Saab. I’ll refrain from beating the dead horse about Saab’s poor interiors this time around, other than saying that the design and materials need alot of work.
So for the next-generation cars, Saab NEEDS to have direct-injection and flex-fuel capability be a standard feature on all gasoline Saabs. Next, they need to drastically improve the steering feel, shifter feel, and chassis stiffness and responsiveness. Finally, the cars need to have interiors that are as high-quality as the one in the new CTS, with the kind of stunning design that we saw in the 9-4x. Make sure that high-quality, soft-feel plastics are used everywhere that the occupants might see and touch, and extend that high quality to the switchgear and gadgets this time around. Opel bin parts and bowtie radios just aren’t going to cut it in a car as pricey as a Saab.
And as an aside, for god’s sake lose those stupid white gauges, they don’t look futuristic, they just look cheap. Would BMW or Audi change their gauge design? No! Because it’s one of the most visible part of a brand’s identity. So go back to the green and yellow lettering with orange needles, it looks good and it’s unique to Saab.
Alex, the gauges are not white, they are ligh lilac. And the lettering is still green. I, for one, think it looks very classy in a non-flashy way, and personally think the green/orange combination is rather overwhelming and cheapish looking. So it’s a matter of opinion. And I hate the gauges on Audi, they are just distractingly bright.
Another review more or less identifies the same problems with the 9-3 raised in numerous other articles: poor interior quality, steering feel and shifter feel. There have bene so many reviews all pointing to basically those three areas Saab is lacking in, I don’t believe there is an international conspiracy of auto journos against Saab. Hopefully the Swedes will address them in the next 9-3 and 9-3.
I am not sure what “engine elasticity” really refers to…..Perhaps off-topic, but I will say that although the V6 in the 9-3 aero is nice in many aspects, IMHO it is somewhat fuel inefficient when you consider its modest performance compared to some of the competition (e.g. the BMW 3-series 6 cylinder engine). Perhaps, I would even go so far to say that it is a bit “un-SAABish” in that sense. Something SAAB will have to work on if they plan to stick this engine in the next-gen 9-5. However, I would still take the Aero any day over the A4, if for nothing else, the repair costs.