9-3 Aero woes

Inner motorways lanes often have deep groves from heavy lorries (M4, M25). They can catch your car like rails.

7 speed auto? Sounds like the auto doesn't suit this car.

It's only a 5 speed auto on the Aero's? A 6 speed auto is available on the 1.9 TiD's 150bhp version.

no, the auto is indeed a 7 speed (well, actually a 5 plus 2)...it has two more intermediate gears on the aero which is supposed to improve acceleration.

This may be the fault of the tires, not the car itself. My 9-5 Aero started traminling badly when I switched to Pirelli PZero Nero all-season radials. The original tires didn't do this at all.

Boy, does that sound familiar. If you've seen any of my rants on my

9-5 Aero, you've seen me complain about the 1.5-2.0 sec delay between gearchanges. But this is with a manual gearbox, not the 9-3's auto. At least on the 9-5 Aero, the problem is not the transmission, but the turbo. They use such a big turbo it takes forever to spin up. And for some reason when you shift and the engine spins down, they blow off the exhaust fumes in such a way that the turbo also spins down -- instantly. So after each shift you have the same 2 second delay.

I don't know if the 9-3 Aero has the same problem with the turbo, but it sure sounds like my 9-5 Aero.

Hell, I'm often left standing by cowboys in pickup trucks and sometimes even soccer moms in minivans. When your acceleration goes to near zero for 2 seconds, you fall waaaay behind. Once the turbo spins up, the car slams you into the seat, but you have a lot of catching up to do -- and then you have another 2sec pause after the next shift, etc.

Gary

this does concern me a little though, I'm picking up my TiD 150 vector in 5 days time...and it's an auto...hope I haven't made a mistake.

Can't find any info about this '7' speed trans, sounds like dealer speak for the torque convertor lockups?

The 7 speed auto is referred to as the "Sentronic +2" and is only available on the 9-3 Aero HOT. It has 2 paddles on the steering for use in semi auto mode. To quote the brochure " Two extra intermediate gears permit faster acceleration in automatic mode and provides even sportier driving." A LOAD OF RUBBISH!! The Aero HOT should have never been built with this box. If Saab wanted an auto box on the Aero they should have gone the same route as the Golf GTi DSG 6 speed automatic, I have driven one and the quick gear change makes my Aero feel like an old Mercedes taxi.

Luton_Lad

I don't think the delay in the gearchange is to do with the turbo as the 9-3 doesn't seem to suffer from turbo lag. I've noticed that the turbo gauge shows midrange most of the time which is indicative of the turbo being constantly on low boost which I believe is one method that Saab use to eliminate turbo lag on the 9-3.

Luton_Lad

beginning to sound worse and worse for me..

I'm going from a 325 sport auto BMW, which has a fantastic auto box, to what

*might* turn out to be a complete hunk of s**te in the shape of a saab...oh well...lessons learnt and all that..

It is possible that the car was voted Top Gear car of the year when it was tested with a manual transmission - not an automatic. I prefer a manual transmission in a car with a turbo - you can take full advantage of the turbo by keeping your rpms up because you choose when to shift.

advantage

shift.

Not with the 9-5 Aero, you can't. The instant you let off the gas and hit the clutch to shift, the turbo **instantly** spins down. No matter how fast I shift, I can't get it into the next gear before the turbo gauge drops. A Saab service person, who seemed to know what he was talking about, said this was done intentionally to reduce pollution. Don't know if that's true or not, but it sure destroys the car's performance in shifting situations.

Alistair, I don't know much about the 9-3. In the 9-5 world, only the Aero has the huge slow-to-spin-up turbo. The lower models have smaller turbos that deliver less steady-state horsepower, but they spin up much faster. Your Vector might not have the lag problem. Can't say how the automatic gearbox will perform, though.

Gary

it's a 5 speed for the petrol versions, a 6 speed for the diesel (150 only) and 7 speed for the aero

Not the US Aero. Mine is a 5 speed.

The UK Aero is definitely 7 speed, You can hear the engine and watch the revs drop on the rev counter on hard acceleration with a delay between changes.

Luton_lad

Can you select all 7 with the Sentronic?

Why did you buy a 9-3 Aero with an automatic? So far I am overall very impressed with the 9-3 Aero Manual.

Grippy tires will do this. Complain to your public works department.

Preload the shifter then execute a fast clutch/shift.

Road races are not won off the line.

Go buy a Honda Civic then.

If you are on a curvy road, take them in the corners.

Maybe you should have test drove tthe car before you bought. Either way, enjoy what you have; its a state of mind.