Saturday Snippets
Chevrolet in the UK are 10 days late for April fools….
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Some people have said that maybe the re-design of the Saab 9-3 for 2008 isn’t so appealing and that’s why some people have been put off buying one.
Me? I think people got too into the incentive pricing that GM sucked themselves into and now consumers are holding out for more. This is a better car than the one it replaced and Saab are trying to price it that way.
It’s not the looks though. Robin M just posted this to his Flickr account. Absolutely superb!!
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I’m not sure if I noted this in my article on Canadian XWD pricing the other day:
Saab’s advanced new XWD system is also available as an option on 2008 9-3 Aero models, in both body styles, for $2,340.
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Whaddayaknow?
A review that cans the BMW 135i. I never thought I’d see the day.
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Saab Austraia are trialling a Kenwood navigation and audio unit for local fitment. It’s currently running around in press cars here in Australia and it seems the opinion so far is divided. This is from today’s Courier Mail in Brisbane:
The navigation function was so difficult to operate, I gave up and used a UBD instead. As for changing radio stations, forget about it.
The screen was almost unreadable in any daytime conditions because of glare. And, although I find touch screens preferable for ease of use, my fingerprints, together with the glare, made it even more difficult to see. It also reflected the glare off the rear window which allows little vision because the light blue paintwork on the test model’s rear deck directed sunlight straight into it.
There also didn’t seem to be any clock in the sat nav unit that I could find, which left the driver with no means of telling the time in the cabin. What is this, a Harley?
Yet the guys from CarAdvice.com.au quite like it:
For your info, the Sat Nav was brilliant. Albeit a tad slow.
Here’s a picture, below. Click to enlarge. Integration’s nice and it is a premium thing so I can see why Saab are trialling this. But in all honesty, most practical people are going to pass on the four-figure option and spend a fraction of that on an aftermarket unit that works better and is possibly easier to update.
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You can see the Courier Mail story online
here
My bad. Link now included. - SW
As someone who lives in Brisbane I am well aware that anything published in the Courier Mail should be very carefully scrutinised. I’m always embarassed that this is our main daily paper and this article is probably what we should expect.
That review is a bit distressing. Whatever you might say about the 9-3 convertible you would have to admit that it is one of the better convertibles around in terms of design and performance. Comparing it to a sedan is not the point.
There are so many contradictions in this article it really makes you despair for automotive journalism.
The car is said to be ok for families given it has four seats but then says “we won’t mention the lack of luggage space.” This is scurrilous, everyone knows that roof up the 9-3 has a fairly good boot/trunk at 352 litres. Admittedly not as good as the 9-3 sedan, 425 litres, but we talking about a convertible here.
Then he generalises about all convertibles having body flex but fails to mention the SAAB 9-3 is acknowledged as one of the more solid convertibles around. It would have to be much better than the Chrysler Sebring which the press reviewed recently.
And then the issue of NVH. The article says “As a rag top, it is also loud, even with the top up, although Saab has a triple-lined rag top, so it’s quieter than most.” So, is it noisy or quiet? Reading this comment from the author one would be forgiven for thinking this car is really noisy when it probably isn’t.
And again we say evidence of a lack of research. He has put down the 1.9TiD as a two stage turbo. I think he was confusing this was the 1.9TTid which is not currently available in the convertible.
Did he mention that this is one the safest convertibles around? No, too busy making sweeping statements.
On second thoughts, don’t bother reading the article. It is just more of the same ill informed comment about SAABs.
cdp, you just wrote my review-of-the-review for me! I thought all the exact same things. I wonder if he leaves a contact address at the bottom of the article. I’d be happy to send your commentary along to him with your consent. Keep the bastards honest, as they say in South Australia.
Hi Swade
I posted a comment on the article at the website. I pretty much said what I wrote above but left out the rant about the Courier Mail being a disgrace. Let’s see if they are prepared to publish it.
I can’t help but thing that the ‘08 9-3 has taken a lot of styling cues from the 1st gen 9-5. Does anyone agree?
On the subject of the appeal or otherwise of the 2008 9-3’s redesigned front end, I can believe that it’s put people off. My Dad for one, and he’s currently on his ninth Saab. I’m not that keen on it either, and I’ll be looking for the colour that best hides all that chrome (since if you want the TTiD you must also have chrome aplenty).
It seems to be accepted that if you want a premium sporty car then it must also look aggressive, and you must go around snarling at everyone you meet on the road. But a Saab should be different to a BMW or an Audi. I would hope it might say that I’m a nicer person than people who drive those makes.
This rather heavy-handed attempt to stick on some BMW-style aggression to the car’s nose has given us something that to me looks rather unbalanced. But more importantly, if the 9-3’s face now looks like a cheap copy of an Audi or BMW, then perhaps it’s no wonder that prospective buyers are concluding that they may as well get the real thing.
Swade — have to disagree with you about the looks of the ‘08 9-3. I got to see it in person, and it really looks like too much “bling” — even in the 2.0 version, which is more subdued than the Aero. I know that Saab design tends to grow on you over time, but to me the ‘07 model just looks better composed — more balanced, less flashy, and more understated. Now, the “quiet package” on the ‘08 may make it all worthwhile (along with the thousands of other changes), but the exterior of the car doesn’t really do it for me.
99GL - Saabs have been aggressive-looking forever. C900s look just plain angry in the rear-view mirror, and so do 9000s and 9-5s. Heck, even 99s can look mean with the right shade of paint. I think making the 9-3 more aggressive-looking was fixing a mistake that happened when the 9-3SS debuted, namely the wimpy grille.
That 135i review is especially surprising because it came from TTAC. When’s the last time they had anything bad to say about any BMW? The new G8 got a better review. What the hell is going on over there?
May be Saab Sat Nav is brilliant but why Saab doesn’t supply Nav disk with maps for country in which cars deliver?
For example I can order Saab 9-3 MY08 in Russia with Sat Nav but without maps for Russia. In the same moment Lexus sells cars with the same Delphi DVD with Russian maps.
What do you think wich choice I’ll do?!
From that BMW review:
“In fact, the overall exterior looks like someone stuck a 3-Series coupe in a trash compactor.”
Spoken like the word of God!!