Norwegian Saab Turbo X review

Posted by swade on May 19th, 2008 10 Comments Printer-Friendly

Different places have different needs in their cars. Most of the reviews I cover here are from the North America, due mainly to sheer volume of reviews written there as well as the language barriers I face with reviews from other places.

It’s great when I can get some perspectives from other places, though, like a snowy and very expensive Norway.

This review was sent in by Kristian. It comes from Dagens Næringsliv.

Thanks a bunch, Kristian!

——

A short summary:

The journalist calls the car the greatest thing to ship from Sweden since the Wasa in 1628, though in a positive sense. (Never mind that Wasa sunk…) He wonders how the company that produced a “SAAB” based on a subaru and on a trailblazer could come up with this.

The usual bashing of the front wheel drive follows (we do live in Norway, with snow-covered roads), and he claims that it is about time SAAB came with the four wheel drive-system. He claims it to be an excellent system, and that one hardly notices the system at work.

According to the journalist, this is the car that should bring SAABs to the mainstream drivers looking for a fun and great looking drive.

He calles the car a bastard, with an engine from Holden, Australia, brought to Sweden for tuning. The tuning gives it a “beautiful sound you just cant help falling in love with”. It has a body that has a lot in common with the Vectra, and the oh not so great Cadillac BLS. The four-wheel -system is from Haldex.

The car is tight and sporty to drive, but he deducts points for the slow gearbox (automatic) He calls the automatic transmission “slow, and not optimized for ’sporty driving’ ”

The interior gets top marks, but for the cheap plastic on the door handle. He says the CO2 emissions are a bit on the heavy side.

The car is then compared to the BMW 335XI and the Audi A4 quattro. In Norway these cars would be almost as expensive as the SAAB Turbo X, but not nearly as unique. A fun alternative. The price in Norway is about £92000

He also has high hopes for haldex on the cheaper models, hoping they can bring life back to SAAB.

And for the highlight of the test, the “10 point check”

Drivers environment: Top seats, high quality but for the door handle

Passenger comfort: The car is a little small, and the roof is a bit low in the back. Acceptable for four. Comfy.

Design: Rugged and though. Cool spoilers and styling

Sound insulation: Premium class. The engine is perfect in the coupe (??? - SW).

Loading/Cargo space: OK for a sedan.

Performance: Grate engine with plenty of fun. Emissions of CO2 TOO HIGH!

Second hand value: Only 15 of these in Norway. Still, the potential for loss is high.

Value for money: Heavily equipped. High emissions and large engine allows for a tax of £53000 to the government piggy bank.

My favourite: Brand renown: SAAB is accepted even amongst those who despise the concept of a car. It’s never wrong to drive a SAAB

On the road/ Handling: One of the best 4wd systems on the market. Tight drive and lovely engine. Go for manual transmission.

That is the essence of it!

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Comments

mjl73187 said:

Sorry, I might be a little behind the times here, but £92,000 for the Turbo X in Norway? JEEEEZ! That’s like US $200,000! That’s like, five times what we pay! Wow, man. Just, wow.

-May 19th, 2008 at 7:04 am
swade (Author) said:

Yep. Huge vehicle taxes in Norway. Lots of money too, due to all that oil. But very expensive cars.

-May 19th, 2008 at 7:11 am
zippy said:

All the oil in the world wouldn’t compensate for a price like that, I’m sorry. £53000 tax, I am of the mind that lower taxes allows me to decided what I can spend my money on - not allow the government. Having said that for a Norwegian to offer high praise of something Swedish says alot about the Turbo X’s capability!

-May 19th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Kaz said:

HOW MUCH TAX?!?!?!?!?!?

I thought we had it bad in the UK!!

For the Turbo X to get such a good review with that price tag, it must be like God’s personal ride when he likes to chase down the Devil.

-May 19th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Benjamin said:

Yeah cars are really expensive in Scandinavia!

A Turbo X Aut. would cost around US$ 165,000 in Denmark and the cheapest new 9-3 costs US$ 63000.

Too bad I live in Denmark…

-May 19th, 2008 at 9:15 am
mjl73187 said:

JEEZ. All hail Uncle Sam, I guess.

-May 19th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Kristian said:

I think the conversion to USD, based on todays rates, would be about 175000$. Expensive as hell.

The taxes in Norway are based on three things: Amount of BHP, Engine size (in litres) and CO2-emissionrates. The higher the emission, and the more BHP you get, the higher the price. That is why the SAAB Turbo X is so damn expencive here.

-May 19th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Edonis said:

Kristian: If I recall right, this has changed, and they don’t base the tax on the engine size, but otherwise than that you are correct. Plus they also base the tax on the weight of the vehicle.

-May 19th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
MarkoA said:

Kristian: “The higher the emission, and the more BHP you get, the higher the price. That is why the SAAB Turbo X is so damn expencive here.”

That is why we need 1.8t XWD model. As quickly as possible. There´s Hirsch (or BSR) for those who want more sport. Lighter, more nimble, more fun. IMO.

If you ask me, FWD 2.8V6T or 1.8t BSR - for fun and driveability I´d say 1.8t with sports suspension. Those who´ve driven both know what I mean.

-May 19th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Kristian said:

Yupp. I agree completely. The enormous engine is not optimal in the Norwegian market…

It is correct. The new rules are based on car weight, engine effect and CO2 emissions. There are a few veichles that are taxed by engine size.. (http://www.toll.no/templates_TAD/Article.aspx?id=131779&epslanguage=NO#Utregning%20av%20avgifter)

Swade: “Sound insulation: Premium class. The engine-sound is perfect in the coupe” is what it is supposed to be

-May 19th, 2008 at 5:03 pm