This morning arrived with a bit of a conundrum here in The Garage. With a huge blast of winter forecast for this evening, what will my weapon of choice be for the drive into the big smoke. Let’s see now: old Nissan Xterra with some sort of generic snows, 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Crew Cab 4×4 or the 2009 Saab 93 Aero Xwd. Hmmm.
The Xterra was the best choice For Mamma G to cart snow covered kids around town for the day, so that left the big honkin’ pick me up (no snows) or the Saab with brand new Hankook snows. As much as I’m really enjoying my time with the Ram, the Saab was the flavour of the day given the more appropriate contact devices.
Its pretty common for reviewers to compare any Saab to a fighter jet given Saab’s other product line. I suppose that’s a fair comparison, as the 93′s interior feels like it means business. Completely free of squeaks and rattles, with absolutely no outside noise to detract from my enjoyment of the Charlie Brown Christmas tunes I loaded on my iPod last night. No noise other than the surprisingly aggressive growl from the turbo V6 motivating all 4 wheels through a sweet 6 speed autobox.
We’ll spend more time talking about the 93 over the next couple of weeks, but tonight it is all about the evil side of Saab. The machine that seems like it was built to fight the snow. Unlike some of the heavier SUV’s we tested in the snow last year, the 93 feels very nimble through the deep ruts we found on rural roads. While the Hankooks don’t offer stunning grip off the line, they offer serious lateral grip and bite hard for stopping. Coupled with the Xwd, this combo makes for a really fun ride out in the sticks. The Saab dances over the deep ruts and will kick out the tail on hard acceleration out of corners but only when asked to. The abs and traction control are nicely tuned so that they only become evident when truly required, allowing the driver to take a more active role in driving.
Imagine that, a modern car that lets the driver have some fun!
Related posts:
Gary-As a two time owner of GM-Saab’s (’96 900S, ’01 9-5 SE), I have often been critical of the brand. As FWD cars they were almost unbeatable in the snow here in CT. But I could easily see where GM’s cost-cutting was most obvious (the interior-the materials, NOT the design). And those Saab’s seemed to lack the spark and character of the older Saab 900 Turbos.
I look forward to your further impressions to see where the 9-3 Xwd fits into Saab’s lineage.