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Hey folks! Some of you may have seen mention on the General BB that I bought a new car a couple weeks ago, to replace my aging '87 9000T (well thrice resurrected would be more accurate). Now it's really no fault of the Saab... I still love the way it drives, the power, the comfort, and of course the room. All the little things were getting to me though, interior falling apart, no A/C to keep cool in summer and windows defogged the other 9 months of the year, minor repairs popping up all over the place that aren't so minor to the wallet, etc... All said, it still would have been quite a bit cheaper to keep the Saab going, even if I had the entire interior redone (needed all interior fabric replaced), the exterior could have used a paint job too, though not bad for a 19 year old car. But, with no A/C and seemingly endless sources of rattles and squeaks, plus a repair shop on the other side of some of the worst traffic in the country, I thought I would spend a little more and give this new car thing a try. All the cars I have owned have been used, all with fairly high mileage, and quite frankly, after 15 years, I am tired of working on them or having them worked on all the time. So, I began the search for a suitable replacement, my requirements being four doors, hatchback or cool looking wagon, manual transmission, and fuel economy at least as good as the Saab, better would be a bonus. Should be under $16k. So that gave me the following options:
- Ford Focus ZX5 or ZXW (bit pricey, but big discounts available on 2005)
- Hyundai Elantra hatchback
- Kia Spectra5
- Scion xB (xA too small)
- Suzuki Reno
- Suzuki Aerio SX
I'll give a brief rundown of the runner-ups and why they were ruled out:
Ford Focus - Loved these, but couldn't get one in the body style and/or transmission I wanted unless I ordered a 2006, which would have been ~$2500 more than the Aerio SX. Also not crazy about the seat fabric or seat comfort.
Hyundai Elantra - Similar problems finding body style/transmission wanted. Folding rear seat very cheaply done, cargo floor not flat when folded, 3" or so lip from trunk to folded seatback. Felt ok, but nothing really stood out, so-so manual transmission. Power ok but not as good as Focus.
Kia Spectra5 - Yet again, very tough to find a manual transmission (see a pattern here?). Supposedly this is essentially the Elantra with a different body. Not surprisingly, it felt much the same. More upscale inside, back seat folds totally flat. Still, didn't feel anything special, even though nothing was seriously wrong, either.
Scion xB - Surprisingly fun car to drive with only 108 HP, but not surprisingly, quite slow, especially on the freeway. Handling just felt wrong on the freeway, though could have been they screwed it up with the 17" or 18" wide wheels and rubberband tires (but they were Pirelli P-Zero Rosso). Have read same on other reviews with stock rubber/wheels. No cruise control available, didn't like center placement of intruments at base of windshield, also lack of some instruments (engine temperature gauge!!). Great sounding stereo though. Gotta have CC! On the plus, dealer will order any color/transmission/etc you want, have it in 7-14 days, then if you don't want it, no problem. What a concept. Did I mention 108 HP?
Suzuki Reno - Fun car to drive, surprisingly roomy passenger compartment looking at exterior size (could say the same of Focus ZX5). Great stereo. However, worst fuel economy of the bunch at only 22/30, tiny trunk, styling just doesn't do it for me, looks like any other small car on the road. Power ok at 126 HP, nothing special.
and of course for the winner...
Suzuki Aerio SX! So here are the reasons I chose it over the others:
- 155 HP 2.3l, by far best performing of the bunch
- 152 lb-ft. of torque at very usable 3000 rpm (same as my 9000).
- Great feeling transmission, second only to Focus, precise, short throw.
- Automatic climate control, sweet! Just a tiny bit harder to use than the 9000, but not by much. Seems to work well. Is this the cheapest car with ACC?
- Timing chain on engine (also on Scion xB, all others had belts). Saves me a few bucks in the long term.
- By far the nicest looking cloth interior I have seen, particularly the seats, which by the way are no Saab seats, but fairly comfortable. No aches after 5+ hours driving in a day (so far only about 2.5 non-stop though).
- Second best rear seat legroom of the bunch (killed by Scion xB).
- Highest quality mechanism by far for back seat folding, and speaking of back seat, it reclines! Put another way, it has two positions, the reclined one is the more comfortable. Cargo area totally flat with seats folded.
- Enormous amount of storage space in plastic segmented trays under trunk
floor. One may ask why this space wasn't used for a deeper trunk? Beats me, other than not having the sill be several inches higher than the floor, but it's cool since you can put all manner of stuff under there and not worry about it rolling around or leaking onto your carpet.
- Fog lights, power doors/windows/mirrors, cruise control, and alloy wheels, all standard. Excellent pattern and uniformity on both the fogs and headlights, by the way.
- In dash 6-disc changer, stereo controls on steering wheel. I would mention the subwoofer under the driver seat, but it's a real misnomer, being a 4" woofer while the front and rear are 6.5". :)
- Love the exterior styling. Perhaps not quite as much as when I saw my 9000, but nevertheless, this grabs me way more than any of the other choices. Seems even more rare than the 9000... probably not a good thing for the aftermarket, suits me though.
- 2nd cheapest car of the bunch (cheapest was the Reno).
Anyhow, I'm loving the new car more and more. It's really fun to drive, though ultimate handling is not quite up to the 9000 standards, but the excellent transmission makes up for some of that. I am sure it will improve with better rubber, since the OE tires pretty much suck - what else is new. Except for tire roar, it's nearly as quiet at 60-75 as the Saab, but I'll still probably add some sound insulation in various places. But honestly, for less than 1/2 the price of the Saab, I'm impressed. The controls all have a very high quality feel to them and are completely intuitive. Love the keyless entry, though if the transmitter fails, it's central locking works exactly the same as the 9000 with the key in the driver's door. The steering wheel feels great wrapped in leather (standard), not too fat not too thin, nice three spoke like the Saab.
I can run down my list of gripes if anyone is interested, but this post is way too long already... I will probably still be hanging out here now and again, even though I probably won't officially be a Saab owner for much longer.
Cheers!
Aaron Gilbert
1987 Saab 9000T 329k miles
2005 Suzuki Aerio SX 0.834k miles
posted by 64.40.5...
, Mon, 3 Oct 2005 10:28:48
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