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Albany Times Union 9-3ss review (long) Posted by IrieTom [Email]  (#1032)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from IrieTom) on Thu, 8 May 2003 11:07:11
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The following article appeared in today's "Automobile Weekly- a Times Union advertising supplement, Thursday, May 8, 2003" I am re-typing the article here WITHOUT PERMISSION. Please delete this post if I am breaking any laws or otherwise compromising the intregity of saabnet.com.
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Road Test Notebook
by Mike McNessor
2003 SAAB 9-3
base price: $25,900
price as tested : $32,860
When the 2003 Saab 9-3 arrived at Automotive Weekly's sprawling test facility, I was fully prepared to don a tweed jacket with suede elbow patches, start smoking a pipe and make a lot of off-hand references about my zany egghead friends over at the "university."
But the tweed jacket looked stupid over my favorite Lebanon Valley Dragway t-shirt and the elbow patches got ruined when I accidentally dunked them in some oily drool on the intake manifold of my pickup, while reaching in to set the choke.
The pipe turned out to be too much work to keep lit and nobody believed that I have any friends over at the "university." Especially considering I don't even know where the "university" is. But for your information, I once met a guy who taught autoshop at a community college.
As it turned out, it wasn't necessary to put on airs in order to get to know the Saab 9-3 anyway. It's a fun car with a lot more in common with regular folks than one might believe at first glance.
For 2003, Saab 9-3s come in four flavors: Linear, Arc, Vector, and Aero. Our tester was the base Linear machine with some optional goodies added to make it seem racier.
Among the stuff included:
-A 2-liter, 175-horse turbocharged engine based on GM's all-new L850 Ecotec;
-An electronic stability program;
-Power assisted rack and pinion steering;
-Four-link rear suspension;
-A five-speed automatic transmission ($1,200 option);
-Four wheel disc brakes with anti-lock;
-Front heated seats and headlight washers ($495 option);
-17-inch alloy wheels and sport chassis package
BASEBALL, HOT DOGS, APPLE PIE AND SAAB
The Saab 9-3 is definately the product of General Motors' complete takeover of Saab in 2000. (The General acquired 50 percent of the company back in 1989.) The 9-3's 2-liter engine is based on GM's four-cylinder L850 Ecotec family -- which can be found in 2.2-liter form in compact Chevrolets, Pontiacs and Saturns. And the 9-3 rides on GM's Epsilon platform, which it will eventually share with the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu, the Pontiac Grand Am and the 2005 Saturn L-Series.
Performance from the 175-horse Saab 2-liter -- which is topped with a Garrett GT 20 supercharger -- is brisk but not scary fast. We clocked an 8.31 second 0-to-60 mph dash and covered the quarter mile in 16.34 seconds at 91 mph -- which is comperable to four-cylinder turbo cars in the 9-3's class. Though turbo lag isn't extremely apparent, it is nonetheless present and the 2-liter works best when it's kept buzzing along in the upper rpm range. We were able to shave about a half-second off our acceleration times simply by power braking the 9-3 a little before launch. (The 0-to-60 mph time recorded includes no such trickery, however.)
The five-speed automatic transmission shifts crisply on its own and responds smoothly to driver input in its manual shift mode. But it's too slow on the up and down shifts for true performance driving. To get the most out of this engine, you really need a clutch and shifter. In models equipped with the 175-horse mill, drivers get a five speed manual. Move up to the 210-horse motor and Saab bolts in a six-speed.
Getting the most out of the 2-liter means you'll be working out the suspension, too. Up front, the 9-3 is equipped with McPherson struts and aluminum lower control arms attached to a hydroformed subframe. Out back, the old rigid beam is gone and in its place is a modern, four-link system. Saab says that its new suspension can deliver a fractional amount of passive rear steer -- in which the outside wheel toes out a little and the inside wheel toes in -- largely through the use of tuned bushings. The result is less understeer than you might expect and a chassis that feels better balanced than Saabs of yore.
On smooth pavement, the 9-3 feels like it's glued to the road. Dumb driver input at the wheel or throttle won't unsettle it, but a dip or a bump will. Over rough pavement, the 9-3's ride can be harsh and there is a tendency for it to bounce -- as if there's a little too much spring rebound and not enough dampening action from the shocks. Our tester was shod with a stiff set of 17-inch Pirelli low-profile tires which definitely helped in the corners, but offered the driver's butt little protection from the bumps.
Torque-steer is virtually non-existant in the new 9-3 and it's actually tough to tell which wheels are doing the driving. The rack-and-pinion steering feels responsive and offers sufficient feedback.
The brakes on the new 9-3 are absolutely astounding. In a 60-0 mph panic stop we were able to halu the Saab down in 113 feet, which puts in high atop the sport sedan heap in this category and in a class with cars like the Corvette. Pedal feel is good too and the clamping action is nice and linear. Push harder and you get more whoa. And don't forget to fasten your seatbelt.
I THOUGHT YOU SAID THIS THING IS TURBOCHARGED?
Saab says it has worked hard to isolate passengers from unpleasant noises while accentuating those sounds which improve the driving experience. The engine sounds in the cabin of our tester were great -- not too loud, but you're definitely aware that the motor is doing its thing. The turbo, on the other hand, is completely quiet and the only indication that you're driving a turbocharged car comes from the little gauge on the dash.
Bumps in the road are sometimes accompanied by a thud from the stiff suspension, however, and the Pirelli tires on our tester were a little noisy.
The overall look of the interior is very sophisticated and modern. The climate and radio controls were a little too complicated to pass the dumb-guy test, though, and I would've appreciated seats with a little more lateral support and a less slick surface. The back seat offers room enough for two adults and head room was not a problem.
Outside -- though I've heard whining from Saab types about the loss of the hatchback and the old quirky styling -- the 9-3 is gorgeous. Of any of the small sport sedans on the market, the 9-3 is hands down my pick for best looking, particularly in tricked-out, top-of-the-line Aero form.
A SWEDE PIECE OF MACHINERY TO BE SURE
In the compact sport sedan segment, the competition is brutal and the new 9-3 has made it even tougher. Saab has not built a car that will knock the Germans out of the top spots, but it has built a car that is vastly better than anything it has built previously -- for a number of reasons.
For my money, great styling, amazing brakes, and a gutsy engine add up to a sport sedan definitely worth considering.
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Sidebar #1:
PERFORMANCE
0 to 60 mph: 8.31 seconds
Quarter-mile: 16.34 seconds at 91 mph
60 to 0 mph: 113 feet
Fuel mileage: 21 mpg observed; 22/31 estimated
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Sidebar #2:
WE CAN'T WAIT TO GET ONE JUST SO WE CAN CALL IT A SAABARU
by Jim Mateja
Chicago Tribune
Saab used the New York Auto Show to announce a pair of all-wheel-drive hatchback sedans will be added for 2005 based on the Subaru Impreza RS and high-performance Impreza WRX. Chariman Peter Augustsson said Saab is bringing out the 9-2 models because "to get more customers, we needed more models."
Augustsson must have stayed awake during Economics 101, don't you think?
If more models bring in more customers, that suggests the Saab lineup that now consists of the 9-5, 9-3 and soon 9-2 may add smaller 9-1 models.
We asked Bob Lutz, vice chairman of advance product development for Saab's parent, General Motors, about a smaller lower-cost Saab.
"It's not in the plans, but I wouldn't rule it out," he replied at the 9-2 unveiling.
"We have no plans for one (9-1), but the numerical sequence does go in that order, doesn't it?" said Gary Cowger, president of GM's North American Automotive operations.
So make that a maybe.
What about reports Saab will soon offer a derivative of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer sport-utility, a vehicle that will be designated a 9-7 or a 9-8?
"We arent ready to discuss that at this time," Lutz said.
Make a Saab SUV a definite maybe.
While Saab gets an all-wheel-drive derivative from Subaru, the plan originally called for GM to get an AWD Outback-type sport-ute after it purchased a stake in the Japanese automaker.
"Two years ago, we looked at an AWD Subaru derivative for a car at Pontiac, but we couldn't work it out," Lutz said.
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Ok, it's me (IrieTom) again. I corrected any obvious typos in the article- like extra parenthesis, but might have created some of my own. I left the word "supercharger" in instead of "turbocharger" because it looked more like an actual vocabulary mistake than a typographical error.
When I first read the article (the cover story of the the "automotive weekly" setion, by the way), I thought the author might actually make it all the way through the article without using the "Q"-word. Oh, well... Maybe someday...
Overall, I think he shined plenty of positive light on the car, but I wish he'd have mentioned the performance enhancements of the aero model when describing the performance statistics of the linear. He could also have mentioned the price range of the "Germans" topping the compact sport sedan class. Hopefully, people with no opinion or experience with Saabs will be more likely to consider trying Saabs after reading this.
posted by 24.195.58...
, Thu, 8 May 2003 11:07:11 <-- Viewing This Message, Thu, 8 May 2003 23:56:06
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