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Do you mean reliability/maintenance issues, or "performance" in the sense of acceleration/deceleration/handling/etc.?
I'm not sure about differences between the T8 engine management in the 9-3SS versus the T7 in the previous 9-3. However, in T7 cars, colder than normal weather will show a slight improvement (i.e. reduction of) the so-called "turbo lag", whereas hotter than normal weather will do the opposite. This is because of the increased density of cold air versus hot air. Consequently, variations in humidity and/or altitude would presumably have similar effects (low humidity = good, low altitude = good), though I haven't personally tested them as much.
In T7 cars, these effects are rather subtle, and I think unless you're a very performance oriented driver, you probably wouldn't even notice them. It's my undestanding that qualitatively speaking, the turbo-lag effect in general is less noticable in T8 equipped 9-3SS vs. the T7 9-3. So you'd probably notice it even less in the 9-3SS you're considering.
If you live/drive at altitude regularly, you'll appreciate a turbocharged car vs. one without turbo. I would say this is also generally true in a hot climate. Turbocharged cars by their nature are better able to adapt to reductions in air density than are naturally aspirated ones, since effectively speaking they can alter compression ratio on the fly.
In the past, Saab A/C wasn't anything to write home about, and those in really hot/humid climates would sometimes complain (go figure, Swedish car has great heat, lousy A/C). But I emphasize "in the past". My 9-3 is far superior to my '89 900 in this regard, and I never had a complaint driving I-10 from Houston to San Diego in the middle of last July. When it was hot, high altitude, and going uphill, I was leaving everybody in the dust as I watched the turbo needle gently rise to compensate. It's quite satisfying.
Saabs have great brakes...have had disks all around for MANY years, contrary to most other manufacturers. So deceleration is no problem.
Best test - go drive it when it's hot out. See what you think. Drive a naturally aspirated car for comparison, preferably up a long, steep freeway hill.
Never personally heard of abnormally bad reliability records in hot climates for Saabs versus any other car.
I'm sure many here could provide good info if you add some specifics to your definition of "performance".
Cheers,
'Roo
'01 9-3SE
'89 900S
posted by 130.76.6...
, Thu, 16 Jan 2003 01:23:40, Wed, 15 Jan 2003 21:42:32
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