Saab tech for 10 years now general tech. These cars are very underappreicated. Many records, the 9-5 was also the safest car in the world by 5 different agencies. 9-5 production of 04 so from 04-14ish was highest safety rating streak. It had a perfect score. Cars beat it out as the saftey requirements increased, still a very safe car regardless. The really old saabs a guy known as mr. Saab use to race 99s and roll them on purpose to show the strength of the roof. Then push it over keep driving maybe roll it again. Great marketing back then imo. Or the fact the stig of top gear was another racing legend that use to race saabs. Every saab cost more to produce than it was sold for. The first saab owner to take his car to 1 million miles got a new saab for free from saab and they kept the tradition going.
Proud owner of a 2004 Espresso Black Aero, just like the one on the video. It laughs in the face of danger. Phenomenal overtaking acceleration, and hell, beyond that! What a wicked machine. A strong recommendation, an awesome daily. Sophisticated and calm at first glance but a terrifying, sensational experience when you wake the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries turbocharger up. What a masterpiece, by a manufacturer strugglung to survive. SAAB
The answer to "why do these people buy Saab" is very easy : it was because it was a Saab ! There were cars, and there were Saab... The first car I ever bought was a 900 turbo 16 S-line, it was more than 20 years ago, I never found anything like that car since then.
One of the only times Saab was ever featured on Top Gear and a pretty good summary of what its like to own a Saab. You can't understand why they're so good until you've driven one.
The only British cars today that is good is Jaguars,Bentleys, and Rolls Royce, and what about the rest? they are shit!!! When it comes to reliability, Im a Motorcycle guy, my first bike was a Matchless 500cc, it was a disaster, my second bike was also British a Triumph 650 cc Bonneville 1969, well it was also a disaster. My 3rd bike was a Harley Davidson 1942( a war machine), best ever, no problems. My next bike is 1947 Harley Davidson, been running since 1981 up to 2023, no problems at all. So what are you bragging about? british bikes? ha ha ha, the only good British bike was a Vincent, and the rest was shit!
Im a Sea Captain, and Had my first Saab 2003, I love the car, I had Audi, Oldsmobiles Volvos, and just 3 months ago, I found a 9-3 Sport Combi 1.8t linear, got it from an old lady who passed away. Its like new in and outside, its a 2011. I have done a sandblaster underneath, and its painted with 2 comp Zink paint, plus wax and oil, and its tuned up from 150hk, to 200hk gasoline. Today its also treated by cheramic pro, to conserve the paint. Today 2023, I have a laugh at Audis, Mercedes, and wolkswagen, my car are faster then the most of the others, and its still looks more modern than most of the other cars. So dont talk shit about the best car ever made!!!
What was the point of this ? Was it to show a sea harrier, which we no longer have, A saab, Or clarksons nasal whinings ? Lost interest in their childish stupidness years ago.
My dad drove me home from the hospital I was born at in his Saab. As I grew up, his car was a part of my life. I couldn’t stop pushing the button on that cool cup holder and watching it fold in and out. I didn’t know much about cars back then, and I still don’t, but at 27, I sure as hell know they were incredibly unique and were damn well engineered cars.
I bought my first Saab in 1989..driven them ever since..I've had two c900, three 9000cse and currently own 9-5 Areo, which I've had for 13 yrs and will never part with, and a 9-3 estate as my daily drive...
There's this weird thing about Saabs. If you don't like/understand them, a quick test drive isn't going to change your mind. However, live with a Saab for a few months and you start to get it. They are extremely well engineered and everything is propely designed. You can tell someone actually put their mind to it.
@@lukiux8406 Not really. It's from Isuzu and has problems with cylinder liners sinking. Although I guess any still running have either been fixed or never had that problem to start with.
I had a 2006 SAAB. Fast but the electric system was terrible. It cascaded with electric system failures. Replacement parts were sparse and expensive. The ride was mediocre. In the end, I gladly gave it away. Current owner parked it after a week and hasn't touched it since.
The SAAB-9000 Aero (1993-1996) was a fullminant cars. The engine-managment was 10-15 forwards to the rest the another cars-manufactorys. The trionic-engine-proxys of the saab was own on the world. A many technic-facts: 2,3l-4 Zyl. , 16 Valve, 350 Newtometer by 1.900 turns, liga, came chain, Mitschubischi -Turbo-ceramic water intercooler, front-loader = 1,1 - 1,6 pressure/Bar, 225 PS/HP, Sprint-Speed, 0-100 hk: 5,9 sec, highest speed in hk: 250 sealed off. Sprit wastage: 8,5-9,5 Liter on 100 kilometer. The security pagets is high-optimal. For a new prise from 46.500 Euro in the year 1993 was the Saab a really cheap care.
They absolutely were great cars in that era. On top of you what you've mentioned, the interior was also great and looked awesome! Practically with the lift back boot and plenty of room for passengers. 9000 was the beginning of the 9-5 Aero 🙂
After owning half a dozen NG9-3's, an 89 SPG and an 01 Viggen, there is definitely something very cool about them. Hilariously quick in all instances, with the st1 SPG and st3 Viggen downright brutal. SAAB was awesome
@@Has7DCT mine is a 2.2 liter turbo diesel I haven't got much time driving it cuz i don't have a licence yet but in my thought the seats are comfy as f and reliability I'm not pretty sure yet mine has a few problems but I'm fixing them
Bought a 2004 Saab 9-5 Aero (manual transmission) as my first car and I'm absolutely in love! She's pretty well taken care of, but some little things need to be fixed (O2 sensor is out, missing the center grill piece, a lot of the panel lighting is out, the shift boot has nothing to keep it in place, wiring to one of the rear lights is out) just little things like that, easy fixes once i have the time and money, But everything about it, all the little quirks, the way she drives. I know it's my first car, but honestly I don't think I'll want anything other than a Saab for my next car, hope to keep this one going for another 100k miles at least.
As someone who owns not just one but two Saabs I can say that Saab is the nicest all around daily driver you can have. It's comfortable, economical, and luxurious without being flashy enough to draw attention of thieves, vandals, and law enforcement.
Throwing a Saab around a racetrack is like going shopping in a tractor. It's trying to do something that it's not designed for. That mid-range punch is what it was designed for and - as the gorilla stated - it does it better than anything else.
I drive a saab 9-3 2.0t from 2002, and it's the best car ever made. If you've never driven a saab, it's very hard to imagine the pleasure you get when you drive it.
I owned a 03' 95 Aero Turbo, which was probably the most powerful and comfortable car I have ever had - much better than today's Audis and BMW's etc. The interior feels like a spaceship - wide, quiet, and futuristic; leather was real and extremely comfortable; the acoustics was great and the sound system was supreme; acceleration on the motorway was breathtaking - 40-70mph was unbeatable. You feel like driving a fast Tank. Sadly the repair costs were too high from 6-7th tear onwards - rear light fault? £350 bespoke Saab chip; boot can't open? another £400 for a tiny computer chip; frequent engine faults warnings ...... I probably spent £2-3k a year on repairs over the last few years and the engineer blamed the limited numbers and said it really cost more than a Porche. Had to sell it in 2012 because we had only one garage. I might have kept it if we had more parking spaces. You can't find that leather quality these days unless in a RR!
Clarkson always loved SAAB deep down but was too British to admit it. Especially on camera. Can't wait to head out tomorrow morning in my 300hp '03 9-3 SS. Lol
I really miss the Saab brand ,but the Top gear team from that period must bee the best that have ever been made...Thank you for sharing these fantastic clips of the real Top Gear...Great people and great show...please come back
For some reason they never liked sweden/swedes or swedish cars... jelousy comes to mind. But without hating openly they try to make fun of them and ignore good facts etc. And even if Saab masturbate the "jet commercials" it was a perfect thing to make fum of... if they look at any fukken commercial for any shitty brand or car they soon see hollow clichees without ANY facts or common with the cars... A bit childish approach as carknowledge show. "If you go too fast into a corner you just go into a world of smoke and...blabla" Well... if you go TOO FAST into a corner, you obviously go TOO fast into a corner.. silly :)
I bought into the whole saab hype, and tried one. It was possibly the worse car I have ever owned. Everything rattled in the interior, it was slow, it went wrong (a lot), it handled like a boat, it was fecking awful.
Why saab? Because it's a everlasting funmachine! My 9-5 aero is 20 years old with 265 000km or 165 000 miles and still running perfect and is a lot of fun to drive, and it's a real country-road-machine made for long-driving. I still love it. Sure, it's comes with issues, but 20 year? Which car, that old, with that mileage, doesn't? 😄😄👍👍👍saab will live forever..