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Well, this afternoon I picked up the 9-3 SE for an extended test drive to compare it to my experience with the Volvo. My thoughts after an afternoon of driving it:
-It is definitely quick in sport mode, with a bit more pull of the line than the T5 due to the lower torque curve, land the exhaust note does not grate on me like my 98 Audi.
-The interior does suffer in comparison to the Volvo. It's not as sculpted or elegant in my opinion (I should mention that I would be getting the Volvo with a $500 dealer-installed wood kit that covers the entire center console and gives the car a very rich, classy look), and lacks some minor conveniences (one-touch up windows would be nice, as would a tilt-adjustment on the steering wheel). I also don't understand why the sport mode and climate control each have to be switched on every time you start the car. Overall, I think the interior could be a but classier, especially the center console on the floor. (Check out the shiny tiptronic shifter on Audi's compared to the black plastic motif on the Saab - disappointing).
-The suspension gives much better road feel than the Volvo, which does have a very soft ride. But it doesn't feel quite as refined as my Audi (sure is faster though). It feels a bit rough and dated, as has been discussed ad infinitum in this forum.
-The Saab obviously has more cargo space than the Volvo, but for me that is not an issue because my wife drives a sport utility that we can use for hauling. Thus, the practicality factor is not that big a deal for me, and the Volvo certainly isn't bad in that department anyway.
-Since I am in Texas, the Saab's cold weather prowess is somewhat wasted on me. Is it as good on slick, wet, oily roads?
-Perhaps the biggest issue for me, which I just discovered, is the lack of a tilt adjustment on the steering wheel (or am I just missing this? I know how to telescope it). My wife is very short (4'11"), and even with the driver's seat as high as it goes, she cannot see clearly over the steering wheel. While it will primarily be my car, she may need to drive it sometimes, and this is a big problem. We've never run into it with any other car. I think the dealer is expecting me to buy this car tomorrow, and I'm afraid he may be disappointed to hear this. I'm not ruling the car out, but I may need to think about this problem for a while.
Overall, I like the car, but I don't love it. Yet. Maybe I would grow to love it, but I STILL can't decide what to do. Give me the Audi's suspension, the Volvo's interior, and the Saab's engine and uniqueness (and rebates!) and I'd have the perfect car. Since I can't have that though, I have some more thinking to do. Perhaps a Volvo 2.4T, which has more low-end giddyap than the T5 and could be made a bit cheaper (though they're in short supply), or I may settle on the Saab and hope it grows on me. Good problem to have, I guess!
, Fri, 23 Feb 2001 18:26:29, Thu, 22 Feb 2001 22:03:36
, Thu, 22 Feb 2001 22:56:21
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