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Hi all in the 9-5 BB, I've mostly listened in on the 9-3 board since leasing a 9-3 SE three years ago. Well, our lease was up this month and my wife and I (mostly me) had been wondering what to get next. Our inital ideas were to a) buy the leased car for $17,000, b) buy a slightly used Viggen, or c) a new 9-3SS. We loved our car, but I felt ready for a new one, knowing I would miss the hatch unless we got the Viggen. Then we got sidetracked looking at the most impractical but fun car to drive - the BMW Z3 3.0 coupe. There were three unused 2001's on a local lot here in SoCal that we test drove. That car is awesome to drive if you ever want a third car, but cooler heads prevailed. So we went back to the Saab dealership to look at the 9-5's (knowing that the two non-Liner 9-3s aren't out yet), the Volvo dealership to check out the S60 T5, and Audi to drive the A4 3.0 Quattro. We were utterly disappointed with the S60 - there was no communication with the road, and I still have never seen the point on the manu-auto transmission, unless you have never learned how to drive a stick and want to feel like you're shifting. Otherwise it's pointless. The A4 was a close second to the Aero, but Audis sell almost as well as BMWs in SoCal, so we were looking at a $700 lease payment!!! But even if the lease was more reasonable, we would have gone with the Aero anyway. With GM family discount, we got it for $34.5K. The natural progression from the 9-3 felt comfortable, and having the added features of the 9-5 truly felt like an upgrade, especially the dual-climate control. We ended up getting a car off the lot from Symes in Pasadena: black with tan interior, touring package, and the 5 speed manual of course, despite our traffic here. It's just too much fun driving in the local mountains. Our best experiences in the 9-3 were driving in the Colorado mountains with absolutely no loss of power up winding roads. I can only imagine with another 45 HP! And we're going up to Mammoth Mountain in about 7 hours, I can't wait...Anyway, I thought I'd introduce myself to the board, and give anyone else who is weighing the Aero vs. other cars another opinion. We love Saabs and are happy we didn't stray...
posted by 65.119.24...
, Fri, 3 Jan 2003 22:15:08
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