Faults:

- Heater control knob broke. On inspection of the back of the knob, where it mounts to the car, it is made of cheap plastic and would obviously never last.

- One of the rear windows won't wind down.

General Comments:

This is my girlfriends car, and I have been driving it for about a month now whilst I am doing some upgrades to my 1991 SAAB 900 Aero.

To list the few good things about the car:

- It has had few things go wrong with it since we have owned it. There have been no serious mechanical problems.

- Has moderate fuel economy (Maybe around 10L/100km).

- Electric windows all round.

- Huge boot space, typical of SAABS.

But now to list the negatives... where do I start... Having owned an earlier SAAB, it is just sad to see what the marque became, and I feel the need to tell others with an automotive passion to avoid these cars. Don't let the badge trick you, SAAB cars post 1993 are not SAAB's. They are products of General Motors, and have none of the qualities you'd expect from a real SAAB. The car has had all the recommended services etc. so there is no excuse for its many issues.

- Interior components are just borrowed from other cars. The side mirror adjusters are identical to those used in Holden Commodores from the late 80's and early 90's, the gear selector is identical to some older Vectra's, and don't even seem to fit properly.

- Gear shifts when you're giving the car a bit of spirited driving are terrible. They are accompanied by a big jolt from the transmission, and are nowhere near as smooth as a car should be for this age. When trying to put the car into park, your knuckles run straight into the centre console/dash area.

- The cars handling is pretty poor. Body roll is worse than that of a Toyota Camry of similar age that I have driven, although some of its bad characteristics may be tyre related. Not sure of the quality of the tyres fitted. Steering is vague, and the steering wheel is made of plastic, and is big and chunky.

- Everything about the car just has a noticeable air of cheapness. The transmission selector feels cheap, the aforementioned steering wheel feels cheap, the stereo looks ridiculously spread out and dull, pixels have died in the display (which coincidentally does nothing but tell me I have a brake light failure, which I don't) - The list of let-downs as far as quality is concerned goes on.

- The engine lacks power. If you accelerate at full throttle from a stand still, it is just sad. The engine note is just a pointless drawl, and revs climb painfully slowly. The engine does however top out at a respectable redline of around 7000 rpm. Mid range acceleration is OK, but nothing you wouldn't find in a Camry or Civic of the same era.

- The styling of the car can only be described as embarrassing. It looks like the ugly cousin of the original 900, which was actually designed and made by SAAB, unlike this vehicle. The original 900 looked quirky and cool, whereas this looks bulbous and stupid. It really is just like someone at GM sat down and styled this car with the goal of removing any character or interesting feature the original 900 had. It is shameful when I see a real 900 whilst driving this thing. I used to love driving my 91 900 Aero, and would literally look forward to every drive. I now dread being seen in this car, and driving for fun is impossible.

Why anyone would have bought this car new as opposed to something cheaper, more fun, and better quality from Japan is beyond me. Seems like GM just bought SAAB to make a quick buck out of people before the poor customer realised SAAB wasn't SAAB anymore, at the expense of the marque. Let's face it, SAAB probably won't survive much longer given the turmoil they are in. It is widely accepted that this model spelt the end for SAAB as an innovative and quality auto maker.

I cannot wait to get my real SAAB back up and running. Sat in it again the other day, and couldn't help but smile my face off. If you want a SAAB, good on you! But DO NOT buy one of the "NG" models made by GM. They are nothing but rubbish.

Faults:

In the short period of time I owned the car, quite a lot!!

- Shortly after buying the car, the engine developed a starting issue. Numerous turns of the key and it would finally fire. This only happened on frosty mornings or after hot running - tedious but I learnt to live with it.

- Almost every seal in the engine was leaking oil (even the oil filler cap!!!), engine was removed from the car and it spent a week in the shop having them replaced.

- Passenger sunvisor won't fold up properly.

- The alarm system. PROBABLY THE MOST FRUSTRATING THING IN THE CAR!!! A thief definitely won't be able to steal this car, and given the car's mood, you probably won't be able to drive it either.

Eventually I gave up using the key fob to lock the doors, because the amount of times it never switched off the alarm, was more than what it was worth for the embarrassment of having the security guards and public in mall carparks looking at you funny, as you sheepishly try to shut it up.

- After the engine was put back in, the engine temp. gauge needed numerous trips to the shop to be re-activated (kept reading cold). And eventually a new coolant temp sensor was required.

- Pirelli tyres had a fault in them, which made a thud sound, didn't replace them though as they were new when I bought the car.

- The hatch. Worked perfectly when ever I put small loads in the boot. Until the one day when I am taking the dog to the kennels and the stupid thing jams shut. It takes an hour of yelling and swearing to get the stupid thing open. It wouldn't have been so bad if the seat tilt release wasn't jammed also. *Sigh*

- The driver side headlamp wiper assembly. The rod connecting the arm to the motor bent, so I took the headlight out and unplugged the motor. Easy to do if you have the same problem.

General Comments:

Well on the plus side this was a fun and enjoyable car to drive. But I am glad it's not my everyday car. What a character this car had!! Far more exciting than the BMW it replaced!!

I bought the car privately as a well maintained example, I maintained it well myself, but sadly I don't think it was helping it.

It was nimble fast and quirky. The center console ignition makes the whole car special.

My 900 SE had climate control, which was great but confusing with its different labels, the A/C switch was labeled Eco. etc...

Cruise control was good, but you never really get to use it in Auckland.

The stereo system was excellent. As good as the one in my Volvo S80!!!

The engine, although problematic, was reliable and was excellent on the motorway, push the sport mode button and put your foot down hard and this thing flies!!! You get so lost in the growling it makes that you don't realise you are well over 130kmh.

Was good at the traffic lights, you can easily put the other guys in their done up Subarus in their place with your stock standard Saab!!

Heated seats!! Front and rear, nice and toasty and on really cold mornings they made the interior feel like it was heated by a open fire.

The rear seats had two built in child seats, would have been great if I had kids, but I'm only 19.

Although sadly this car cost me a lot of money in repairs, and in frustration of more impending repairs I sold it for well under what I paid for it. It owes me more money than what I paid for it. However, I was taking the car to an independent specialist, so the cost of repairs were a lot cheaper than they could have been, the distance to mechanic (well over 40km from my home) would have well been worth it.

I'd have to say I would defiantly buy another 900 SE V6. It was a great car to own, just sadly not as reliable as the Volvo, so out it had to go. I think next time I buy a Saab though I will hold out for the 3.0 V6 9000CDE.

Faults:

Distributor cap and rotor button broke.

Handbrake cable mount broke off.

Radiator hose broken (understandable).

Clutch replaced at 130,000 (understandable).

This car has broken down, and been towed to the mechanic 3 times.

Faulty engine immobiliser, all vacuum hoses needed replacing.

Door molds have come off, sill mold fallen off.

Heater knob broke, passenger sun visor does not sit properly, glove box does not close properly unless pushed hard.

General Comments:

Overall the car is economical, but the poor build quality lets this car down.

Hard, cable operated clutch; should be hydraulic for this type of marque.