 |
|
|
1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
attended the boston auto show yesterday. on my short list for car reviews was the saab 93ss, volvo s60 and passat w8.
the new 93 looks so much better in real life. they had a black 93 with manual and the 10 spoke wheels and a silver one with the steptronic. the exterior/interior color contrast on both was excellent. i admire the interior, even if it does look somewhat "plastic" like. great seats too. the only thing that looked a little sub-quality were the trunk hinges. the rear legroom was tight for me (6'3") with the front seat all the way back. but acceptable with front seat edged 1-2 inches forward. the doors on the 93 are very sturdy and on par if not better than that of heavier cars. the door handles felt very sturdy, almost as if they weighed 30 lbs apiece.
the passat W8 was disappointing. headrests were flimsy, seats not as comfortable as the saab seats, and the quality of some of the interior components not up to par of the saab or volvo. i was curious about a posting i read (on another forum) regarding VW reducing weight by installing thinner glass on their cars. sure enough, the VW glass even on the W8 was very thin. makes me wonder where else VW is cutting costs in their cars. not to mention the added road noise that might arise. the advantage of the passat, is it's interior space especially in the back seat area.
the volvo S60 2.5T awd was below the 93's in styling, but there is something to admire about the s60's scalloped side and rear. i also think that the interior of the volvo has a certain european/swedish design you can't find on any other car. i did notice the laminated side windows in the volvo, which made for the thickest glass of all 3 cars. the volvo's rear seat was a little more cramped that the 93's and probably the smallest in size. i was kinda amazed that the fuel economy of the volvo s60 awd was rated at 18city/25highway. that's the same rating as the 8 cylinder vw. too bad there's not v60 wagon in the future. (the v70 in my opinion is a little too big.)
on as side note, i checked out the 9-5 as well. i would recommend the 9-5 over the passat W8 to anyone looking to spend in the $38K category.
anyway, thanks for reading. i'll be going to test drive the 93 arc when it's available next year.
-matt
posted by 65.96.33...
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
