1996 SAAB 9000 CDE review from UK and Ireland

Nearside headlamp washer nozzle became completely blocked. New one was £8.

Starter motor was very tired so I had this replaced before it failed. £100.

No other faults.

My second Saab 9000 and yet another superb quality car. The last one was a 2.3 full pressure turbo, this one is a 2.0 light pressure turbo.

I have found the Saab 9000 to be one of the most reliable and consistently excellent cars, with no breakdowns, no undue component failure and faultless reliability and dependability.

Build quality is better than almost every other car I've owned (including a seven series) and I would not consider any other manufacturer.

I bought this 2.0 CDE Eco Auto with an intention to increase the power from the engine. The stock output being only 150bhp (which is actually quite adequate), but with a change of ECU, a new dump valve & actuator and a couple of other modifications, power now stands at 262bhp making it a very quick car indeed.

And still the reliability continues!!!

Only one minor gripe, and that is the non-electric front seats in this 9000 are not as comfortable as the electric seats in my previous 9000.

It just went through another MOT and only needed new wiper blades. That's an eight year old 91,000 mile car.

The automatic climate control works astoundingly quickly, and on the 'LO' setting I can only equate it to a domestic refrigerator.

Top marks to Saab for the ingenious sun position sensor which actively increases cooling to the side of the car which has the sun on it.

The auto box is the smoothest I've ever known and changes briskly and without fuss.

When on the move, all is quiet and the controls are all placed intelligently and EVERYTHING in the car still works superbly.

If you're in the market for a large saloon or hatchback car, with a touch of idiosyncracism, and you don't want to be constantly taking it to your mechanic - look no further!