The SAAB 99 Is A Quirky Swedish Sensation! (1980 GL Super Automatic Road Test)

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When we think SAAB, we generally think of solid, safe, dependable saloon cars with an understated class. The 99 arguably cemented that reputation in the late 1970s and despite a shaky start with questionable reliability from the Triumph engine, the later SAAB 2-litre lump, hot Turbo model and remarkable rally success soon put the 99 on the map and made it a Swedish alternative to Mercedes or Audi. These days, it makes the perfect daily driver classic, with rarity on its side to turn heads at classic car shows, yet the 99 also makes us a bit sad that SAAB are no longer with us…
Thanks to Kim Cairns Classic Cars for loan of this car: www.kimcairnsclassics.co.uk/
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13 май 2023

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Комментарии : 68

@nigelbond4056 Год назад

Beautiful cars, Saabs. Such a shame the company was run into the ground. 😢

@Brimstoneandfire Год назад

If only they hadn’t been eventually forced to use so much Vauxhall engineering!

@ngauruhoezodiac3143 8 месяцев назад

Yes, screw GM.

@patrikpatrik421 Месяц назад

Nobody buy them

@gaufrid1956 Год назад

I've always loved Saabs. I never owned a 99, but I did own a two-door five-speed manual 900, and it was a joy to drive.

@nickwebb9290 3 месяца назад

I had two. First a 1.85 and later an EMS. Excellent cars. My wife’s first car was a 96 which we still remember with fondness. It was tragic that Saab got into a pickle in later times. Still believe it wasn’t helped by their attempt to chase the ‘executive market’ with the 9000.

@jasonbernard1277 Год назад

Gorgeous car, timeless design, Turbo is smoking hot, probably my favourite classic. Great review :)

@ClassicsWorldUK Год назад

Thanks Jason!

@thomasfrancis5747 Год назад

Safety - at the Saab dealership I worked at we had a 900 5 door which hit a kerb at 90mph and rolled. All doors opened perfectly - police said anyone in a car other than a Saab (or Volvo) would not have survived. Also worth mentioning the huge space in the rear of a hatchback 99. They do rust though, eg door bottoms.

@djgoldthing7166 Год назад

My dad had a dark green GL in 1986, he part exed his Granada Coupe 3.0 ghia for it ( 2 tone bronze and beige) because the diff was going. The Saab was the first car I drove after I passed my test 1987. Remember my dad was impressed that all the brake lines were internal. Great, solid car.

@CathodeRayNipplez Год назад

The world is a lesser place without the bonkersness of the lunatics at SAAB. 😔

@adamlee3772 Год назад

Big Saab fan here. Even the newer ones.

@-DC- Год назад

We miss SAAB ❤️

@TheBTG88 Год назад

Loved my first car - a 1980 99 GLi 4-speed. It was a wonderful car.

@noahman27 5 месяцев назад

Here I am 4 months later watching SAAB videos...again :)

@jamescoe764 Год назад

I used to have one years ago when I was 18. It was a superb car. Well worth the £200 I paid for it. I just couldn't afford to run it at the time. Would love another SAAB

@Blutnase 10 месяцев назад

Finally! Someone who gets it. Understanding about what's so awesome about this car. Would love to have seen a more in-depth look into this particular here.

@roygardiner2229 Год назад

I always like the styling of this car. Thanks for the technical information and your explanation of the design philosophy.

@amigachris Год назад

was a serial 99/900 purchaser, mainly as they were a bit different and great value used at the time.

@jaguarrroman Год назад

My cousin used to drive a 9-3 aero. It was a plane of a car.

@friedrichkertoja 7 месяцев назад

Back in 1974 my father purchased modell 99L with manual 4-speed transmission and later 1978 he bought a brand new modell GLS with 5-speed manual transmission and 110hp. The were both very good cars indeed, better than the average those times.

@tadantoniak7121 Год назад

We had old 900s growing up, which cemented my love of Saabs. I'd love a 99 Turbo as a modern classic tho

@johncarlton6689 Год назад

Lovely video. I had quite a few Saab 99s. My 1st was a 99 Gl. Then my friend asked if he could park his 99 Turbo on my mums drive while he went on holiday. So, of coarse I thought I would have a little sneaky drive round the block. So, I ended up buying that car when he got back. I sold it for a 99 combi coupe, missed the turbo too much, so bought another. I had 11 Saabs, but the 99 Turbo left the best memories. I tried a 90, which had a 900 front end, with a 99 rear. Havnt seen one for so many years. Thankyou for making this, so enjoyable. John.

@Bikeaddict4235 Год назад

Great review, my first car was a 99 Gl , it was built like a tank and so so comfortable. The water injected turbos were bonkers

@jimmyquinn9639 Год назад

Lovely car and another good video 🚘🚙🚗⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️👍👍👍👍👍👍

@AdurianJ 6 месяцев назад

The Revised SAAB 99 is just gorgeous

@ChrisPinCornwall Год назад

Why, oh why did they let Saab die? My wife has an ancient 9-3 and it's still wonderful and the most comfortable car I've ever been in.

@ngauruhoezodiac3143 8 месяцев назад

I had a 1978 99 EMS Combi Coupe. It originally had a Borg Warner 3 speed automatic transmission. I replaced it with a Saab 900 5 speed manual transmission and the r <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="295">4:55</a> <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="295">4:55</a> esult was great. The maximum speed went from 155 km/h to 170 km/h. ( 97 mph to 107 mph ) and the fuel consumption fell from 12 litres/100km to 9 litres. ( 19 mpg to 26 mpg ) it was a really good car and my friend who bought it was also very satisfied with it.

@kennethzullick6897 4 месяца назад

I had a 78 Saab 99 L and later a 79 Saab 900 EMS, both were great cars.the 79 EMS finally dies with 266,000 miles on it.

@thomascatford2627 9 месяцев назад

Good accurate video, thats an Edinburgh car , i have probably worked on it as i worked for the Saab main dealer back then .

@vibingwithvinyl Год назад

My dad taught me to drive in an '84 Saab 99. It was a 5-speed, two door car with beige interior and red extrerior. I miss that car.

@baldwizard1 Год назад

My first car a Saab 99! Fab. 🙂

@noahman27 9 месяцев назад

The 99 was one of the most handsome models SAAB made...IMO. Two of our favorites - the 77 EMS 2 dr and the 79 Turbo 5 dr hatchback.

@ClassicsWorldUK 9 месяцев назад

A great car!

@richardshiggins704 Год назад

My father had this car in 1978 , a 99GLS of the same colour . A beautiful car and very distinctive in looks . It's main problem was the paintwork . The car was assembled in Belgium with obviously a poor paint shop setup . Within a year of purchase blisters appeared which eventually required an on the house respray .The next car was a 900 GLS . The GLE was very well finished with sunroof and fuel injection .

@howard51723 7 месяцев назад

The 99 was a stunningly beautiful car, im privileged to have owned one, my regret was i sold it

@bbggttry 8 месяцев назад

I still have a saab 99GL from 1983 and i use it as my summer car. My other Saab is a 9-5 from 07

@simonhodgetts6530 Год назад

I’ve always admired SAABs, the original 900 series in particular. I loved the design, the brilliant interiors, the durability and the thoughtful safety features. I believed Quentin Wilson’s Top Gear features when he waxed lyrical about the reliability. Then I bought one. Admittedly, a later GM financed model, a 9-3 5 door hatch, bought from a main dealer. The styling was brilliant, as was the interior. The safety features were still there. Sadly, everything else that had made a SAAB a well regarded, quality brand, was gone. The diesel engine was crude, old fashioned and smoky (this wasn’t an old car by SAAB standards - around 80k on the clock). It handled like a Bedford bus, it wasn’t that quick, and then it started to break down. A lot. And it was very expensive to fix. I finally got it sorted, then traded it in for an Alfa 156 Sportwagon - which was the one car I regret selling. I still love the classic SAABs, and often look at classics for sale and think ‘that would be nice’ - but my experience with the brand was poor (I also had a later 9-3 Sportwagon as a company car, and that was unreliable too). Nevertheless, I’m still sad that SAAB has gone - the cars were genuinely different and interesting, but what GM did to the brand was nothing short of scandalous!

@Wilantonjakov 8 месяцев назад

Love Saabs but also love old BMWs and after owning an E12 let me tell you they have loads of character. Just a completely different kind.

@ronaldderooij1774 Год назад

I owned a 1981 99GL and my father drove (for work) a 900 Turbo from the same era. I also had a 1981 900 GLs sedan. I have mixed feelings about all of them. The driving was indeed superb, maybe the best I ever had. I drove the 99 from Stockholm to Amsterdam in one go (with pauses) and was not even tired at arrival. How that was possible with only 4 gears, I will never understand. But, the 99 was completely worn at 250.000 km. Everything was worn. Engine used a lot of oil, we fell through the front seat, the roof padding was coming loose, the cooling system leaked, the gearbox went out, so it was scrapped. As for the 900 turbo, it blew an engine and then another one before being sold. I heard that Saab almost broke because of the warranty claims on the engine and I spoke with several 900 turbo owners that said they would never, ever buy a Saab again. As for the 900GL, I only had it for four weeks before somebody crashed into my rear end, totalling it. But it never ran properly and it rusted a lot. So. I do not agree with the durability and reliability of your assessment, sadly. And oh beware that it can run on lead free petrol. I think it needs the 2 liter H engine for that.

@badstep7637 Год назад

your Modelyears where realy hardly not the best / 99 finish SAAB-VALMET Production with H-Engine 82-84 and SAAB 90 (85-87)were high quality products and better than swedish 900s same years. 900 was always a problem with rust around the front axle tunnels and rear wheel arches and doors bottom halves.

@bediluhabtmichale2961 8 месяцев назад

Very good comfortable, but in my country, I can not find spear part saab GL 1982 model sedan car

@venenareligioest410 7 месяцев назад

Let’s hope hell is full of the decision makers from General Motors 😊

@paulc9588 Год назад

Great video, lovely car. To me the 99 and the 1st generation 900 (1978-1994, particularly the pre-facelift model built up to 1987) were the best of Saab. They should have concentrated on cars of this size and smaller rather than trying to play out of their league with the unsuccessful 9000/9-5. A 'C' segment Saab to compete with cars like the Golf/A3, Rover 200 and small Volvos would have been a better move.

@amigachris Год назад

The original 9000 was a good car, id have another...

@badstep7637 Год назад

Drive a 9000 turbo and u will see -> this was the car they wanted to be in all kinds a quality jump against the last 900s and a success at all And I love my 99s also !!

@davidevans4089 Год назад

One of my motoring regrets is that I have never owned a Saab.

@howard51723 7 месяцев назад

You have got to get one

@fasthracing Год назад

What's that slightly annoying tapping noise in the background? Very off putting.

@trinitronxx779 Год назад

Any reason for the 'wonky steering wheel'?

@procarpetcleaners1505 7 месяцев назад

Who works on them and where do you find parts these days?

@president_leo_hewingtion Год назад

i like saab 99

@Richard-Bullock Год назад

I want one! I find it is difficult to find an automatic classic that isn't a Merc or a Beemer, or some such similar expensive car.

@thomascatford2627 9 месяцев назад

Saab fitted bw35 auto to 99 models and bw 37 to 900 models all very low geared both 3 speed

@billoddiea 7 месяцев назад

Doing a James May knock off

@andystephenson7157 Год назад

nice car but the train running in the background was annoying.

@thenotanclan Год назад

I got 99 problems but a Saab ain’t one

@lewis72 Год назад

IMO, Saab were the Apple of the 1970s & 1980s. IMO, the 99 & 900 were better engineered that the E21 & E30 BMs.

@johncarlton6689 Год назад

My comment may have been wrong, i think the 90 had a 99 front and 900 rear. John.

@adamkeys1548 Год назад

You are right, it was a 99 front and 900 saloon back end, I had one, not SAAB’s best but competent enough

@welshwizard645 Год назад

V4 was NOT 2-stroke. it replaced it.

@fasthracing Год назад

As driven by nearly all architect's.

@stephenmcclean7500 Год назад

Old man had 3 Saabs in his time , two 96’S and a 900 GLS , still to this day , I cannot understand what he seen in them , I’m still traumatised

@zsdrumchannel6672 Год назад

🤍

@Nakkisampyla 2 месяца назад

Suappi

@clangerbasher Год назад

The 92 was sketchy. Really? Gosh.............

@iliketobathify 7 месяцев назад

After all these years, I still can't decide whether Volvo 264 or Saab 96 is the ugliest car ever. 99 isn't far away though, scarily ugly appeal to millennials. Edit: Old Audis also had longitudal engines, regardless if FWD or AWD.