Category Archives: Saab 9-3 SS MY2008

2008 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan, SportCombi and Convertible

Saab XWD vs Audi Quattro

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Time to get away from tales of tactile but totally pointless tailoring and get into some DRIVING!

I can’t find a link but Widde points out that Tekniken’s Varld has a comparison between the 2008 Saab 9-3 Aero XWD and the Audi A4 3.2 Quattro. Mmmmm. Enticing.

Widde’s notes are as follows:

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During the article they compare the cars against each other in the following areas:

    - Price
    - Engine
    - Handling
    - Interior

So, kicking it off is……

Price:
The Saab is slightly cheaper, but not by much in the Swedish market.

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Engine:
Both engines have almost same amount of power: the Aero XWD has 280hp and 400nm, the Audi A4 3.2q has 265hp and 330nm. Big torque advantage to the Saab.

The A4 3.2q engine lacks the engine growl that the Aero XWD has and the Aero XWD sound is really towards the sporty way.

Handling:
The Audi is flat through the corners, no drama what so ever. At higher speed the understeer is more noticable. At lower speeds it just silksmooth.

The SAAB is more fun to drive, especially when driven hard. Not having the eLSD is according to the magazine a plus as the lesser amount of grip makes the car more fun to drive. The chassis is fairly soft, but the compromise between sport and comfort is good.

The precision in handling doesn’t reach the Audi class.

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Interior:
All points to Audi, SAAB still lacks the same quality feel as the Audi.

The Saab isn’t bad, it’s got perfect function and usability, but lacks the detail and quality of the Audi.

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Summary:
The feeling and the technolgy is really there for SAAB. What they need to do now is to get the details finished better and raise the feeling of quality – and spread the XWD system to more engine alternatives.

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SAAB 9-3 Aero XWD
+ handling, comfort, driving pleasure
- quality feeling

Audi A4 3.2 Quattro
+ steering, Engine elasticity, space
- Price

Saab 9-3 TTiD owner review

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I’m pleased to be able to present this review, sent in by Stefan in Belgium.

I have very, very fond memories of the Swedish highway system thanks to a Saab 9-3 TTiD, one of which is Par Brandt from Auto Motor and Sport looking over and saying “we don’t overtake like that here…” :-)

As I found out last July, the TTiD is one buttkicker of an engine. Stefan is finding that out himself right now!

Click any photos to enlarge.

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In 2006 I bought my first Saab. A Chili Red 9-3 TiD (150 bhp) Vector Sport (with Aero trim). I loved the car but it lacked some power so I had it Hirsched. Unfortunately I totaled the car a month or two ago (very short story: I turned left and didn’t see the other car and got hit in the passenger side. Nobody got hurt, but my car was a total loss)

Saab TTiDLuckily I had ordered a 2008 9-3 Aero TTiD. Here in Belgium, you can only get the TTiD in Aero trim. Since I was used to the 175 bhp from my Hirsched 2006 9-3SS, this was the only choice.. And let me tell you, it’s a good choice!

It’s Jet Black with the brushed aluminum side mirrors, 18″ wheels, Black Premium Leather Seats, Navigation, BlueTooth, 300w Bose and some more. Since I make about 45000km/year with my car I decided to drive them in comfort and style.

This car is unbelievable! It drives like a 6 cylinder. It pulls from 1500rpm and doesn’t stop… It just keeps on going. The overtaking power is enormous.

Saab TTiD

Some may consider getting a Hirsched TiD but let me tell you, the TTiD is in a whole other league! The Hirsched TiD has some turbo lag, but the TTiD engine responds immediately if you push the throttle. No turbo-lag. Remember the sketch of an exhilarated driver Saab made a few years ago? That’s the feeling you get when you floor the throttle on this car…

Every minute I’m not driving it is a minute lost.

In the two weeks I’ve had the car, I’ve driven about 2500km. The changes they made are incredible. It’s much quieter, less wind and tire/tyre noise, no rattles or squeaks AT ALL! The steering feels a little more direct than the 2006 model. The suspension is great. The 2008 Aero sport suspension with 18″ wheels is more comfortable than the 2006 Aero sport suspension with 17″ wheels.

Saab TTiDI love the new interior. It’s very clean and organized. While waiting for my new car, I drove my parents BMW 525D and I hated the interior: Too many small buttons, too many places to get your information. I spent more time looking which button to push than looking through my windshield.

At first I (as many) was a bit skeptical about the new interior, but it’s great. I even love the “batwing” steering wheel. Also the interior is a lot better put together than my previous car. The dual exhaust makes a very nice sound. You can hear it growl for more.

The only downside about the car is that it’s not possible to get XWD on a diesel engine. I would’ve bought it in a heartbeat. I would love to have 400Nm and 180 bhp on 4 wheels and I know I’m not the only one. It would definitely sell in Europe. Hopefully Saab is clever enough to make it available in the near future.

If you get a chance, go and test drive this car…

Saab TTiD

Saab Aero XWD video

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Here’s another video produced by Widde, who recently provided us with a Turbo X video as well as a review of his drive of the Turbo X.

Whilst at the drive event, Widde also drove an XWD Aero and pieced together this highlights video.

If you haven’t seen or read Widde’s previous contributions from this trip, I’d highly recommend that you do at the following link: Turbo X vs Aero XWD – The drive

Here’s the Aero XWD video. Thanks again to Widde for sending it through!

Saab 9-3 surprises one journo, rocks another!

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There’s two new road tests out with regard to the 9-3 – one in regular FWD form and one to do with the Turbo X.

The Mail and Guardian took a look at the 2008 Saab 9-3 recently and found that it was a lot more than they bargained for:

When General Motors South Africa told motoring journos that we would be on a racetrack for half the day for the new Saab 9-3 launch, we were understandably bemused. Surely a Saab would display its best characteristics on a long-distance drive instead of a racing circuit?

…..We thought we weren’t terribly interested in flooring it in a Saab, but that was until the first journo got into a Saab 9-3 turbo-charged 2,8-litre sedan and screeched around the cones and down the main straight in what looked to be a very fast time. By the time we all had a chance to go around the track and compare our times, we were in agreement that the sedan, the convertible and even the sportcombi (station wagon) were quite composed, despite the fact that the brakes were smoking and we were all out of breath.

he he he….

Despite the new aggressive look, the 2008 9-3 still sits under the radar. And the good news for the journalist here is that the Saab actually IS more suited to the long road. The fact that it can provide so much fun in the twisties is an added bonus.

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CarKeys took part in the Marseilles launch of the Turbo X, and I’d say it made an impression too:

….the best news is that XWD, Saab’s first foray into four-wheel drive, is here now – and it rocks.

There’s not a bad word in this review, save for a good dumping on the silver dash surround on the interior. Everything else is a total and uncompromising thumbs-up.

It’s a superbly-engineered arrival and a reminder of the good old days when Saab were genuine innovators….

….[the eLSD] delivers a significant handling boost to the Turbo X and means the best possible traction in both spirited normal driving conditions when dynamic manoeuvres are made such as swinging out to overtake on wet or slippery surfaces when it’s important to ensure the heaviest loaded rear wheel gets the most torque. In practice it stabilises the Turbo X and makes rapid lane changing and sharp manoeuvres safe and sure footed.

Click through to read the whole enchilada. I’ll keep saying it: this is going to be one heck of a good car!

Popular Mechanics bullish on XWD

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If you’d like to feel a little Swedish pride amidst all the recent GM-globalisation stuff, then here’s a sentence for you:

Well, for the first time this genuine Saab has all-wheel drive cooked up entirely by Swedes—not Japanese (9-2X) or Americans (9-7x). The team, made up of engineers from Saab and the Swedish all-wheel-drive experts at Haldex, have created some super sophisticated tech inside.

It’s an interesting article. The byline states that it’s been written from Jukkasjarvi (think Ice Hotel) but it doesn’t mention anything about driving the car on ice.

Instead, what you have is an excellent overview of the XWD system and its development, and it appears that the system itself made quite an impression on these tech-heads.

I imagine a driving review from Sweden will be forthcoming soon, but fear not, as PM has already done one driving review of an XWD Saab (All-wheel delight) from the 9-3 launch last year, and it proved that not only do they love the technology, the loved the car too.

Grip was immediate and highly controllable, as well as completely transparent and absent of any buzzing, abrupt changes in attitude or intrusive braking from the stability control system. Nice.

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XWD production vehicles will be rolling off the line in Trollhattan any day now. Deliveries are expected to begin in April.

The Saab reviews just keep on coming!

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It’s absolutely mind-numbing to try and figure out why the Saab 9-3 isn’t selling well at the moment. The reviews have all been positive, especially where the XWD models are concerned – which might be part of the problem. I’m sure things will improve when XWD models become available.

Here’s a few more reviews for you Europeans to check out (or any of you multi-lingual types):

In Swedish:

Robert Collin from Aftonbladet was at the ice Experience test drive of the Turbo X and whilst the review is subscription only, it comes with the headline Hysterically Fun!

Expressen were at the Marseile drive event and scored the Turbo X as ’22 out of 25′, saying that the Four Wheel Drive Saab is a Success.

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In Italian:

Quattroroute drove the TTiD Saab 9-3 and loved the low-down torque produced by the twin-turbo setup. They also seemed quite complimentary about the steering, which has been a point of contention amongst other writers. Coming from Italians, that’s impressive.

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And from Norway, Oistein wrote to me about his own recent drive in the TTiD:

I just parked a 9-3 Aero TTiD after a spin here in Oslo. That car impresses very much with its handling, power, comfort and as a stylish car! Outside the car you can hear that this is a diesel, which SAAB should spend some time to quieten down, but inside, it is just brilliant.

And that’s from a Saab guy, as well. Oistein is currently driving his sixth Saab, a 2007 model Saab 9-5 TiD Sport Combi.

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Hit the Road Tests category and you’ll see the 2008 Saab 9-3 is rating very well, whether with XWD or not.

Now they’ve just got to sell the things! That seems to be the hard part right now.

Canadian day-by-day road test

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Just a quick note….

Canadian Driver are conducting a day-by-day road test on the Saab 9-3 2.0T. This is the reviewer’s first time in a Saab, so it’ll be interesting to see how things progress.

Day 1 was merely introductory and not much was missed. You can read about it directly under the text for Day 2. Again, not much driving on day 2 (you’ll read why) but the author manages a good overview of the interior.

As you can see from the photo, our tester is going to get to drive the 9-3 in the conditions it was born for. Thankfully, it works well in the dry, too.

I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

Saab 9-3

Friday Snippets

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Thanks to all the people who sent in banners for the website!

I just threw the red one together to have something up there while I changed from the 2-col to 3-col layout but the resulting advice and then submissions have provided some great artwork.

The one you see up there now was sent in by WooDz, but there’s a few more sitting in my inbox that I’ll install in the next day or so. I think the template I’m using here has a facility for rotating banners, so I’ll see if I can get that going.

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The Saab 9-4x is going in for its first service.

Tekniken’s Varld are reporting that the concept vehicle got a very thorough going over by the press and visitors at the Detroit Auto Show and will now go back to Bertone in Italy for a tidy-up prior it’s appearance in Geneva next month.

Being a concept car, the finish is great on the surface, but the underpinnings are often just what they need to be to hold the outward appearance together.

The 9-4x was certainly well put together, so much so that people were allowed to crawl all over it. But the work on the car continued right up until the 11th hour prior to its unveiling in Detroit, so the need for a tidy-up isn’t surprising.

It’s often difficult to get up close and personal with concept cars, so it’s great that Saab finish theirs to a standard that allows it. And the fact that the 9-4x got so much attention that it needs a tidy up is very encouraging.

Thanks ctm

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And speaking of the 9-4x, I’m hoping to finish transcribing my interview with Andrew Dyson, the lead designer of the vehicle, this weekend.

It should appear on the site Tuesday, Aussie time.

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Mike Mello from the Boston Herald just had his first experience with the 2008 Saab 9-3′s headlights.

On my way home from work the other evening, I noticed a pair of headlights in my rear-view mirror that were completely new to me. They seemed to follow my line of site as I glanced back, trying to guess the make and model. The attractive, bright white blades were like eyeliner or eyebrows, depending on your view, and were fixed over two equally icy-white beams.

Before long, I pulled to the right lane, intent on discovering the brand and found my answer as the Saab 9-3 2.0T sped ahead. Although I had already seen the 2008 9-3 in the daylight, I was unsure how this Saab’s new headlights would appear when illuminated and the view after dark took me by surprise.

They do. look. excellent.

This was my first experience with them and it certainly was a moving moment.

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We’ve noted a number of bargain 2007 model sales here in the last few weeks.

Brian W, who picked up a 9-3 aero Sport Sedan for a song recently, has let me know that there’s an Aero SportCombi in Nocturne Blue at the same dealership that’s still waiting for a new owner.

And it’s going for only $26,995, which almost $10K off the regular price.

Saab of Hunterdon have still got that silver 2007 convertible at almost $8K off as well.

Bargains!

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I’ve covered a number of dealership closures here in the last few weeks, so it’s a relief to talk about a dealership ‘opening’ as well.

Saab of Santa Monica closed their doors recently, but it’s worth noting that the closure may have actually had more to do with the lease of the building (see the comments section here). It seems that business will now be covered at related premises under the moniker of Saab of Beverley Hills.

Despite my recent look around the area I’m just not familiar enough with the lay of the land, so I’ll leave it to others to comment on how this arrangement will work out.

thanks Gripen!

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Lots of work for the rest of today….