Difference in ARC and AERO

Eagle,

The 9-3 received a major update in 2003 in the form of the 9-3 Sport Sedan. The convertibles did not change to the newer platform until a years later (MY2004).

The current incarnation is leaps and bounds better in all regards than the prior version 9-3 and (same body) "New Generation" 900s.

1> Yes, it is a mechanically stable car. It is also very highly rated from a safety standpoint, though the sedan certainly more so than the convertible.

2> You can read up on the 2004 9-3's here:

Bonus answer> Are you 100% certain that you want to hand over a ~$25k car to a 16 year old? I certainly would not.

Or is this really just a troll?

Hi Fred, Thanks for the reply and the link to saabnet. I can assure you that I'm not a troll and my question was legitimate. I bought my older daughter a new Toyota Corolla (2005 model) when she was 16 and my wife and I drove it for a year before she we handed it over to her. We plan on doing the same with this car with daughter number 2.

My insurance carrier advised if we had the car registered for at least one year prior to giving to new drivers in the family, it would help our rates go down, and its proven itself to be correct so that's what I'm doing here. Daughter number 2 saw one of these cars at the beach a few weeks ago and liked it so now I'm starting to look seriously at them and for them.

I'm going to go test drive an 04 AERO conv w/ 28k miles on it this weekend.

Thanks again for the reply.

eaglewing

in article 45edadb2$0$28119$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com, eaglewing at eaglewing wrote on 06/03/2007 18:06:

While it is a very safe car, my concern would be giving a car that powerful to a new/young driver. That said, with the right parental input, it'll make a fantastic first car.

I don't think you'll be disappointed.

On the test drive, you'll find the power delivery to be very smooth, but do try to find some hard corners and really put the power down _into_ the corners - I bet you love how that feels :)

SAAB got the handling right again after many years! You can be sure that dangerous understeer/oversteer situations for a young driver are handled very well by this breed of car.

Paul

1989 900 Turbo S

Thanks Paul, Good feedback. I'm looking forward to getting behind the wheel and checking it out first hand.

Eaglewing

I would not give a car this powerful and with the turbo whoosh to a 16 yo. Turbos come on fast and somewhat unexpectedly. You need to be good with the throttle. They are also slow when pulling out into traffic or across a couple lanes unless you are good with the throttle and the clutch.

It's not the kind of challenge I would give to a new driver. A car with a more traditional engine and more linear and predictable power would be much better.

MHO, Bob

Bob, Point well taken. I'm going to test drive one this week-end still but after discussing further with our insurance carrier and daughter, we've come to the conclusion that she's better suited for a VW bug or Chrysler Sebring convertible, so that's where we will concentrate our efforts for her.

However, after driving the Aero this coming Saturday, I might choose to get it for myself. Not sure yet but looking forward to it.

Thanks for the concern and input.

eaglew>

Have you drive one of these newer 9-3's Bob? The turbo lag is almost not present (at least compared to prior models).

Being that the OP is writing from the Yoo Ess I'm guessing he would be looking for only (steptronic) automatic equipped cars. With the auto box it takes about 3 minutes to get used to the turbo lag.

Eagle, you know the Chrysler makes a lot of sense to me. You will get the car at a much better price point. Yes it is a ho-hum car, but that's a good thing for a new driver. ;-)

I'd advise that you drive a sedan and skip the convertible. The sedan is considerably lighter and better handling than the convertible. You also get much better visibility (for safety). Oh and find one with a 6 speed if you can. That increases the fun quotient greatly, assuming that you have a commute that would be conducive to a standard transmission. If not, at least all the automatics have "steptronic", which means that you can put it in a manually operated mode and choose when it shifts (somewhat).

I have an '03 9-3 Vector with 6 speed manual. For one year (in '03) they called their top of the line model Vector and then switched back to the SAAB traditional "Aero" moniker. Something about a trademark violation?

Anyway, it is a seriously beautiful car for people that want to have some fun, but are also fairly serious about their cars. It is the best handling Front Wheel drive car that I've ever driven, bar none. Plenty of pop with the high output turbo boost. And get this... you get 32-34 mpg on the highway running at ~ 75-80mph. Oh and if you decide that the

210Hp, 221 lb-ft. powerplant is not quite enough, there are chip reprogramming devices out that can raise the power output to 245Hp & 288lb-ft with the push of a button. No other mods required.

Sporty, fun, serious...

If he drives it on a Summer day, he will buy the convertible. :-)

As for the handling, you can tweak it to where it doesn't matter even if you drive aggressively. Admittedly, the sedan is a more stable car (the vert even changes with the top up or down) but I think the fun factor outweighs any minor handling differences. Driving should be fun.

When the top is up, yes. But visibility with the top down is 100%. So, as long as you keep the 'vert top down a lot in the warm weather,

*average* visibility will be better in the 'vert.

I agree. Don't buy an automatic in a car like this.

But, drive the 'vert on a warm day... or a Summer night. There's nothing like a drive on an 80 degree night with the top down.

Bob

I have to confess I have not. But, there has to still be lag - it's a law of engineering. That motor is just not big enough in NA mode to pull a car that heavy into traffic with any speed. The turbo has to wind up.

Yea, I'd think the automatic would just accentuate the problem.

Don't get me wrong - I know I can pull into traffic faster that most other cars on the road and have more fun doing it - but I don't think it's the kind of challenge a new driver should face.

Personally, for a new driver, I see a small V6 with an auto as the ideal combination. Reasonable, predictable power, and no shifting to worry about. New drivers have enough worries.