New Viggen review!

Posted by swade on April 3rd, 2008 5 Comments Printer-Friendly

What a wonderful convergence of comments and editorials!

Not only do we have a new Viggen owner on the site (and here in Aus, too) but there’s a new retrospective review of the Viggen as well.

Firstly, congratulations to “Aussielars”, who’s just picked one up:

Finally! I bought a Viggen last week. Drove it from Sydney home to Brisbane. Yes I think a lot of people don’t know what the Viggen is about. The adrenalin rush I got out of thomping the accelerator reminded me of Swedish gravel roads in my old Saab96 -68.

It’s quite a drive. Welcome to a very satisfying ownership experience (just be careful on the track, ok?)

——

Secondly…

Occasionally, the motoring press here in Australia do retrospectives on different models. What you can get for your money etc.

This week, Drive.com.au are looking at the Saab 9-3 Viggen and whilst the usual tramlining criticisms remain, I think it’s fair to say that this particular review shows that maybe time has softened them. I certainly didn’t feel the same squirms I usually feel when I read through a Viggen review from the late 1990s.

The 2.3-litre, four-cylinder engine stuck with a single turbocharger but, unlike Saab’s more familiar, low-boost turbo installations, the Viggen got a lot more boost. Enough boost, in fact, to bump power to 165 kW, which was pretty impressive. Even more gobsmacking was the torque, which now peaked at 342 Nm, almost 100 Nm more than the next-fastest 9-3 of the time, the Aero.

There was a certain amount of turbo lag, but when the power arrived, it came on hot and strong.

And that’s the point where they get into the handling woes.

It’s a good read and any Viggen owners or would-be Viggen owners out there should check it out. Makes me nostalgic and very keen to get mine back on the road.

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WooDz said:

I’ve recently bought a Viggen and I was told by my work mates that the vehicle is extremely unforgiving and even edged on the side of dangerous! I collected the car in UK and drove it to my place of residence in Germany, which was somewhere in the region of 600 miles. I was told in good faith the car was in good working order and I trusted the guy’s opinion so much that I forgot the check even the basics of oil and tyre pressure before setting off on the journey.
The verdict is that I am still in one piece and when Saab set out to offer a true GT, I think they nailed it in one go. 10 hours of driving normally leaves you with neck and backache, with the yearning for a bed let alone a small break. The Viggen on the other hand produced none of those dismal side effects of long-haul driving. Forget what you’ve read or heard, If you want a car that will just eat the miles and return you over 34mpg this is the car for you.
To Be Continued . . .

-April 3rd, 2008 at 11:42 pm
J said:

What - Germans don’t like Swedish cars? They can KEEP those BORING BMWs!

CONGRATS on landing my, er, your dream car, WooDz! You mean to say you didn’t have the oil pan dropped before you bought the Viggen?
How many miles on her? Hope all’s well w/ the car, for a long long time!

-April 4th, 2008 at 2:11 am
WooDz said:

just clocked 100,000mls, Car is at Saab Zentrum Paderborn at the moment.
Service done, very minor amount of sludge.
I just having a few more things done to the car as the alloys were not in good condition and the front skirt had hit a speed bump. Also having a set of ‘Bilstein B6 Sport’ shocks fitted.
The Dealership owner has a 9-3 2.0T Aero Coupe tuned to about 280hp and it was on his recommendation that I went for the Bilstein over Koni. He fitted a set of Koni’s and hated the harsh ride. Great for the track (of the famous Nürburgring) but not good for everyday use. Once I get the car registered and fully running I can give you an update, with some pics.
For the future I’m aiming for a good set of breaks, nice set of rims and finally a bigger hairdryer for the engines vanity.

-April 4th, 2008 at 3:46 am
PGAero said:

WooDz,
Right now I own a 9000 Aero. My next car will be either a Viggen, or a 9-5 Aero Wagon.

I grew up in California, and went to school in Washington state, then graduate school in Montana. So, I’ve done the long-drive thing about four times per year, for 7 years, plus a few summer-time trips, and my honeymoon, just last week.

I must say that my 9000 Aero is a fantastic car, and I assume that the Viggen is similar. (I drove my brother’s ‘97 900SE on one of those trips… very nice). My longest day was 1,100 miles (1,770 km) in one go. My more typical days were 850 miles (to WA) and 910 miles (to MT). Only a handfull of these drives were with another person.

The 500+ miles my Aero will do on one tank of fuel is a bonus as well.

A close second, as far as seats are concerned, were the Recaro Sport (stock sport seats) seats in my e30 BMW (’89 325is).

I hope you enjoy your new Viggen. I’d love to get behind the wheel of one of those someday!

Cheers,
~Peter

-April 4th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Joe Lobo said:

Well WooDz you’ve made all my passion worth it when you state “Forget what you’ve read or heard” and even better “when Saab set out to offer a true GT, I think they nailed it in one go”. Ohh, there is obviously justice in this world. I’ve not been too active lately in commenting, first is due to workload and commitments and secondly is because I don’t want to start sounding like an old vinyl record. But the evidence here in simply does justice to the continuous grievance about how much bad press has simply killed off most of the brilliant stuff that Saab has delivered in the last 10 + years. The experience by WooDz says it all !!!

-April 4th, 2008 at 9:10 pm