Jalopnik Snippets - feat. Saab Turbo X performance
Early last week Wulf journeyed down to a race track in southwest Michigan to take a drive of the Saab Turbo X.
SaabUSA had a sedan there and were using the day to run it up against some of the competition - a Subaru WRX STi, a BMW M3, an Audi A4 3.2 Quattro and a BMW 335xi. Can I just pause to say that that’s a freaking excellent lineup. Anyway, that said…..
We all read Wulf’s account of the day, but one thing I didn’t shine any light on here on the front page is the performance numbers from the day.
SaabUSA ran tests in both the wet and the dry and they timed each car around the track in the varied conditions. The results for the run in the dry were as follows:
So the STi and the M3 were well and truly out there in the dry but the Turbo X pretty much tied with the widely worshipped twin-turbo 335xi.
I haven’t seen specific wet times yet, but Jalopnik were there as well and they had this to say:
But it was on the wet track that that new 4th-generation Haldex XWD system really appeared to prove its mettle — blowing away the A4 Quattro, besting the Subie and dropping behind the best M3 lap time by only one tenth of a second.
It’s results like that that heap a little shame on my head for not making a song and dance about this earlier. For those who questioned the Turbo X and its credentials as a driver’s car - the jury is in. For those who saw Saab’s own short course slalom testing against these types of cars and weren’t really sure - you can believe now.
The Turbo X can mix it with anything else on the road in its range and maybe it’s been a little while since we’ve been able to say that about a Saab without being accused of drinking the Kool Aid.
——
Los Jalops also put together a quick video of the immaculate Saab 900 Turbo that was there on the day. This car was recently restored for the GM Heritage Collection and is incredibly detailed.
Click here to watch the video at Jalopnik.
I had some good news come in from Eggs n Grits earlier this week. He’ll be attending the official Turbo X test drive event for the US on May 20th. Not only will he be able to drive the Turbo X there, they’ll also be letting people loose in the Heritage Collection’s 900 SPG and 99 Turbo.
Given the way Eggs loves the C900, I can’t wait to hear the report on that little lap session 
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Interesting that the 911 Turbo wasn’t included again. I wanted to see how an AWD car in the M3’s league would fair against the Turbo-X. I’m suprised that the Turbo-X beat the subie on the wet, this shows how good this AWD system really is.
I´ve seen some people complain about the pricing of the Turbo X.. Then go to Volkswagen.com and on to the american site.. Choose to build a VR6 Passat sedan with 4-motion.. With the same stuff thats included in the Turbo X the Passat is just as “expensive” as the Saab. The Passat is somewhat bigger, not much though, the Turbo X is faster, more exclusive (4´th gen Haldex and limited to 2000 cars made), and judging from the Audi in the test the Saab would beat the Passat round a track.. So is the Turbo X really expensive? Nope..
The Haldex system must be something special for sure…..However, I must say that I am really impressed with the Subie too (although I do not like its looks), beating the entire competition on dry track.
Just curious about what you think….
Swade, how is the write-up coming along on the WRX by the way?
Nice to see the Turbo X can keep up with the competition. And let’s keep some of this in perspective – those track times are from professional drivers. Should the Turbo X encounter one of these cars in the real world it would easily keep up with or surpass them – especially if a less experienced driver is at the helm of one of those other vehicles.
The end of the article was particularly entertaining. Hopefully Saab has a few automatic transmission test vehicles for the press to enjoy.
Does someone can tell me why can’t we get the times for the wet session ?
According to them, the TurboX performed very weel on wet track, so why Saab would be afraid of sharing such numbers ?
I really can’t understand this !
Subaru WRX STi 5D.. 2,5l Boxer 4 turbo, 305Hp/407Nm 4400rpm, Symmetrical AWD, VTD
Saab Turbo X SS.. 2,8l V6 turbo, 280Hp/400Nm 4500Nm, XWD, eLsd
Weight: Subaru 1590kg, Saab 1710kg
Give the Turbo X enough horses to compensate for the extra 120kg in weight and I believe Saab has a chance to give the Subbie a serious challange…!
The way I see it, the Turbo X came in second in this comparison, right behind the Audi. Saab is the brand for responsible performance, and there is nothing responsible about going around a test track at breakneck speeds. So slower is actually better than faster. Which makes the Audi the most responsible choice, and Saab the second.
Sam has officially drank the cool-aid.
(i kid i kid)
the turbo-x is the winner in my book.
nothing against the subaru like-minded, but i prefer my performance with civility. …and for starters, the engine mustn’t sound “putt-putt-putt-putter-y”….
Dan,
It’s Friday and my comments are sillier than usual.
I would have liked to see the rwd 335i and the S4 thrown in as well, along with possibly the G35 or the IS350 just to round things out.
I like how it demolished the Audi, but let’s face it, the A4 3.2 has an old engine riding on a platform that’s even older than the 9-3ss. It was a great, class-leading car back in 2003-2004, but the recent spate of 300hp+ V6’s are leaving it looking quite dated.
Now the S4 has the same old chassis, but a slightly newer version of the Quattro that has a 40/60 f/r torque split. It also MSRP’s at ~$46k USD, within spitting distance of the Turbo X.
Likewise, the AWD system in the 335xi is designed for winter practicality, not performance, which is why the 335xi is actually slower from 0-60 than the rwd 335i. make no mistake about it, the 335xi is all about practicality compared to the more performance-oriented 335i, and the rwd i is likely the faster of the two around a track.
As for the rwd sedans from the land of the rising sun, they both offer 300+ hp for prices starting in the low 30’s so it goes without saying that they’re serious competition for the Saabs.
I guess we’ll just have to wait until C&D includes it in a comparo or Top Gear gives it to the stig to see how it matches up to those other cars.
Other than that, the Turbo X did pretty adequately. I’d love to see the times for a car with the BSR stage 1 chip, just to answer once and for all whether those 20 hp would have made a real difference in the car’s performance, especially relative to the competition.