Saab Subaru comparison test
Many have opined that Subaru is the new Saab.
They do things a little different. They had a full AWD range when everyone else had it as an option. They offered turbos long before many others. They use a range of boxer engines, including a new boxer diesel. Somehow they managed to make ugly wagons quite fashionable and they tend to emphasise the practical over the aesthetic. They forged a large part of their success on rally racing.
Does all that innovation, difference and motorsport success sound familiar?
I’m not of the view that Subaru are the new Saab. They’re definitely slightly different from the mainstream, but still fit into the mainstream segment in my eyes. Saab are still different enough to be the real Saab, but they’re definitely closer to the mainstream than what they were.
How close these companies are might be reflected in this recent road test at Auto Express. They run a Saab 9-3 TTiD SportCombi against a Subaru Legacy Sports Tourer, the new one with the diesel boxer engine.
Just the fact that they’re pitting these two against each other is a possible indication that the landscape is changing.
I’ll leave you to read the comparison and the verdict, but in summary the Saab carries the day thanks to a very strong TTiD engine, a better quality interior and better overall driving characteristics.
What’s more interesting to me is that this seems to be where much of Saab’s competition is nowadays. I know Saab consider their competition to be the premium Europeans like Audi and BMW, but the reality right now seems to be different. Entry luxury marques from Europe and Japan seem to be where most of Saab’s comparisons lay nowadays.
Perhaps that’ll change with the new 9-5, but until then…
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So why aren’t they priced in the same range then?
They are priced almost the same in Canada, if you consider the turbocharged models.
Subaru and Saab were also the last two companies to have hand brakes on the front wheels.
Someone took the words right out of my mouth. Saab cars shouldnt be priced like their German competitiors.
IMO Subaru are the new Saab in that Subaru are selling well in neighborhoods that used to be mostly Saab or Volvo neighborhoods.
There are lots of Saabs where I live (intown Atlanta) but I see more and more Subaru’s every day.
So, to me, it appears the new Subaru’s are appealing to the same people that used to buy Saabs.
Saab USA marketing needs to get real about who they are and who they are not. They need to start competing against Volvo and Subaru and try to score some victories against other “niche” brands before they think they can compete with Audi, Mercedes and BMW.
One thing that seems to be consistent in most reviews is the ride of Saabs. As a owner I have to agree. I drove my mother’s Niaasn Mirano for a week and my ride felt so much more bumpy. My last car, Audi A4, felt sooo much smoother and that was a 1999. Smoothing the ride and reducing engine vibration are some key things Saab needs to address.
Subaru is the new Saab.
I used to drive a Saab and now I drive a brand new Subaru Impreza. I thought that before I went test driving and now I really do.
Swade, I’m looking forward to your comparison WRX vs Saab.
Also Swade, Subaru just issued a notice to stop sales of the 2.5L turbo in the USA. Is the one you’re driving the 2.5T or 2.0T?
Subaru is the new Volvo. Their customers are the same people who used to buy 240 wagons in the 80’s (or their children, at least), and they buy them for the exact same reasons: the aura of durability, safety and basic functionality.
The comparison does not end there.
Subaru’s progenitor is the “Nakajima Aircraft Company” which became Fuji after WW II.
They are “born from jets” too.
Subaru are definitely more funky 1980s Saab that Saab currently is.
I’ve also never considered Saab to be at BMW or Audi level. Not because they couldn’t, but just because they shouldn’t. They should be able to be optioned to be fairly high end, but shouldn’t start there (except the 9-5). Saab really needs the 9-1 to cover the lower price ranges.
Just to point out what Adam touched on … Subaru yesterday halted sales of all models with the 2.5L turbo … the claim is a “wear issue” but I haven’t seen what people who already have one are supposed to do.
Sorry … That’s in the U.S. only as far as I can see. Which is also interesting. Any one have any idea why? Especially since they claim that this action is based on complaints from outside the U.S.
Subaru Legacy was the second choise for me when looking for a new car last fall. It took too long for Subaru to get a diesel in my case..
Okay, my wife uses our car mainly (I´d say 75%) so she has a right to say the last word on this, and it was easy: Saab.
If Subaru would´ve had diesel/automatic Legacy, then things might be different.
Subaru is no Audi (interior quality), nor BMW (Handling, the looks) but it has some values competitors don´t. Best AWD so far, as proved by several tests. Not on a track, but in tough conditions like snow, gravel etc. and of course towing stuff it the way to go.
Subaru normally aspirated engines lack torque badly if you´re coming from Saab turbo´s but new diesel is different. Though the low rpm (below 1500) torque is not up to today´s standards like those on VW,BMW, Saab etc.
Anyway, boxer diesel sounds quite nice and it gives Subaru a good “weapon” against others in Europe.
Again, not everyone wants to have BMW or Audi!
About the Auto Express test, I agree fully what they said. Spot on.
Delivery of Subie 2.5 turbos has been halted in Aus also, awaiting clarification of the issue. Hear any strange sounds in your loaner Swade?
Saab right now is in a really precarious position, even compared to where they used to be. I think a bit of this stems from GM trying to homogenize Saab’s offerings around the globe when historically the brand was very different things in different countries.
In Europe, especially Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia, Saab was a relatively mainstream car company that built mainstream, if slightly unusual cars for middle class buyers. Sort of what VW or Subaru are to American consumers. Accordingly, their product offerings spanned from lower-cost, practical cars all the way to the higher end models that competed with BMW and Audi.
In the US and some other parts of the world, Saab has always been a much more upscale brand. At least in New England, Saab has a reputation as being the “rich man’s BMW”, a car purchased largely by educated upper middle class professionals and academics, and the wealthy who historically were drawn to Saab by it’s winter practicality, sportiness, and lack of pretensions and flash. These people chose Saab (and to an extent Volvo) over flashier brands like BMW or Mercedes. As such, since the 99 the Saabs that have made it to the US have largely been the higher-end, sportier models with all of the luxury bells and whistles.
There is nothing wrong with having a split identity, plenty of other companies like Mercedes, Toyota, Nissan, and others are very different things in very different markets, and they are all doing quite nicely.
The problem with Saab is that it’s current lineup tries minimize the differences between the high-end and low-end cars in order to cut costs, and the result are cars that don’t really do a good job of fufilling either role.
So the low-end Saabs for the European market are too expensive and not reliable enough to compete as volume cars for the middle class, while the higher-end Saabs sold in the US just don’t have the interior quality, power, or handling that is now expected from entry-luxury cars in their price range.
Personally I think that Saab has a better chance of moving back upmarket than it does of being able to truly compete with Subaru. Saab’s prestige as a niche brand, it’s history of technological innovation, and it’s focus on sporty cars filled with all sorts of cool aviation-inspired gadgets just translates more easily into luxury-car sales. The history of unreliability will also really hurt Saab’s chances at reclaiming any meaningful chunk of the volume car market.
Unfortunately, right now I think Subaru has far more of it’s unique identity still intact than Saab does. Mechanically, the Subarus of today can trace their design roots back to the 70’s, and the company has stuck to building idiosyncratic boxer-engined cars on subaru platforms with longitudinal awd drivetrains and the engine still ahead of the front axle, Audi-style. Saab on the other hand now borrows platforms and engines from GM, and the cars mechanically are transverse-engined fwd cars like 80% of all new cars sold today. It doesn’t matter where the ignition is if the rest of the car is as compromised as modern Saabs are.
I first rode in a Subaru back in the early 70s. It was a 2 door coupe belonging to a friend’s father. Believe me, riding in the back was not a pleasant experience. It was horribly cramped and I was only about 13 at the time!
Subaru have come a long way since then, but they still have some ways to go to catch up with Saab. That could happen though, because Saab only seem to be moving forward at an incredibly slow pace, if at all?
Saab’s new models can’t come fast enough, the 9-1 especially. Saab knows how important that car is and knows it needs to make it, but I fear the 9-1 doesn’t fit in to GM’s plans for Saab? All will become apparent when the new 9-5 is launced, I’m sure.
It’s a pity, Saab could have become GM’s Audi in a smaller way, making cars theat relate to Opel/Vauxhalls, but upmarket and intrinsically different. Much the same way Audi relates to Volkswagen. I think GM has missed th boat on this and I’m sure there was too much opposition from other GM brands so it’ll never happen now. If you had to compare Saab to a brand in the Volkswagen/Audi stable, unfortunately only Seat now springs to mind.
Subaru was lucky to slip out of GM’s clutches much like Fiat. If some day Subaru can embody some Lexus like quality into it’s cars, it will have truly come of age. That day may be sooner than we think?