General Comments:
Where to start. Let me begin by saying that I am not a fan of European cars, never have been, until I drove this Saab. Lots of good features, only hindered by a few annoyances. Keep in mind I drove the Linear, 170 horsepower automatic, not the best performing one of the bunch.
Power: check
It's got it. It may not seem like it at first, it doesn't seem that quick from 0-60, but the acceleration is very consistent. Give it some poke at any speed and it takes off, I found myself going from 80-100 pretty quickly.
Comfort: check
Leather seats, smooth shifting transmission, and a great seating position. I love it.
Style: check
It takes some time to grow on you, at first I thought that it looked deformed, but it's just that kind of car that you learn to love.
My only downside is the stereo, the car I drove had a blown speaker, and in general the bass and treble wasn't what I am used to, but it's a factory stereo, not many are good, especially for an audiophile like myself.
This car has a lot of "funky" touches to it, some good, some bad.
The key goes into the center console, down by the armrest
The key itself is pretty large
The handbrake is blended into the lines of the interior, it took me a minute to find it
The glovebox is enormous. If it was cooled, I am sure I could keep a few 2 liters in there.
The passenger mirror has a built in blind spot section, nice touch, good to see they care about your safety, certainly helped me move quicker in traffic.
There is a "head up display" in the center but it should be a bit higher up. I like to sit low and I couldn't see it all, all the time.
There is a nightpanel button, which turns off interior lights and the gauges except the speedometer up to 90mph. It's different, but I can't see anyone using it, except the 10 year old passenger.
The cupholder is not a cupholder, it's a complicated spring loaded thing, easily broken.
Trunk is enormous for a mid-size car.
Safety features galore (typical euro engineering).
Doors don't auto-unlock when you remove the key. Got annoying after a few stops.
In general I think the car has to be driven to be understood. I thought it was just another Passat clone, but it's just so different and so much better that I am going to be getting a 2005 Arc 5-speed within 3 months.
Great little car!
25th Jun 2009, 13:23
A lot of people downing Saab because many of them are not original Saab owners. The problem with used Saab is that some are going to be abuse by their previous owners, and the unlucky new owner end up paying for all the replacements necessary for the maintenance of Saab performance. Even worse, car that is wrote off as junk came back again on used car lot after cosmetic work. If my last Saab new owner knows how often I drove my Saab at 120+ mph, he wouldn't have bought it from me, but at least I sent my car for service and have parts changed according to the service plan. Real Saab owner knows all long Saab is a great car, until you need a chauffeur.