Faults:

Second day after the purchase, Ceck ENGINE came out, something was wrong with turbo charger, repaired under warranty.

After few months, noise like driving with winter tires, car was at garage for 5 weeks, the culprit was rear right wheel bearing. I find that a way too early - all of my previous cars/trucks went way over 200000kms without any wheel bearing failure.

Constant rattle (drives me crazy) inside cabin - might be a rear window shelf or something, could not figure it out.

When windows are down (front doors), they rattle when doors are opened or closed. I was told by dealership that this is "design fault".

Cooling hose punctured, awaiting for a part to come, was told that it will cost over 300 CAD to repair... never in my life I have seen a hose with such a price tag... it should last a 100 years then, not only 4...

Wheel bolts very very rusted... for comparison the wheel bolts on my Isuzu 1995 are still like new, and the car was not treated any better.

The SAAB ensign on the front hood (bonnet) chipped and peeled-of...

The paint on the trim around outside mirrors is peeling of and it looks as corroded aluminum...

General Comments:

All together this is a nice car to drive... I had few other Saabs in my life, first one from 1971 model 99EMS.

I feel that quality of components that are used to put the car together is in a constant decline... not sure if this is the result of trying to cut cost down, or influence of GM ownership, or... it does paint a bad picture and contributes to ever declining value of the car.

As most of the people agree, this car is a pleasure to drive, but it could be a very costly 'love' affair...

This could be very easily my last Saab, if these annoying problems keep appearing.

Faults:

Rain auto-sensor wipers packed up at 1,000 miles - fixed under warranty, although I'd have to say the sensing mechanism doesn't seem too sensible, and not responsive enough!

General Comments:

This is the first SAAB I've had and it has been wonderful.

Performance is simply stunning, even for an automatic, away from lights, throughout the whole range - max I've done on autobahn is 140mph, and it was still going. Felt as safe as houses. And for REALLY quick overtaking, the SPORT mode feels like you'll take off, as it kicks in a richer mix as well as changing up later, so no need to hold in any one gear.

You pretty soon get to realise torque steer is a limitation, but what do expect from front-wheel-drive? So it is advisable to be a bit slower in the wet, which everyone should do anyway. I've heard there's a 310bhp version on the way, and I can't wait to test drive it - hope they do an estate version as I'll never go back to a saloon or hatch-back.

Quality build fantastic - my wife didn't think she'd like it, but now sold on it - less costly than BMW, Merc or Audi for similar performance and much better equipped, with heated / leather seats all round - very comfortable either long-distance or sitting it out in incessant M25 jams.

Some nice safety touches, such as what other car has 3 sets of washer jets? Reactive Head restraints also very reassuring.

Climate Control in both zones very effective, and I like the recirculate option at low speed and other nice little touches.

Front tyre wear bit higher than I hoped, but again it's the front wheel drive, whereas the rears are negligible.

Lastly, the carrying capacity amazing - dragging daughter's stuff back and forth to uni etc, and performance still unaffected even with flat-pack IKEA-wardrobes and all.

Very good quality audio, with great bass and depth, even on AS/2 (ie basic system) with 6-CD changer.

To sum up, I can quite see why SAAB owners get obsessed with them.

Faults:

Brake job.

Remotes not working properly, fixed once under warranty will have to be done again soon.

Seats rock slightly on hard acceleration and braking.

Seat belt retracters not pulling belt all the way back when unbuckling.

Misc. dash lights.

General Comments:

Overall this car is wonderful for all seasons. it handles well and overs a high level of luxury and sportiness. being the fifth Saab we have owned we are quite content with this Swedish machine. We purchased this car eight months old with a certified Preowned warranty until 100,000 miles which is good to have. Our Linear came with the premium package (more luxury features) and has been great so far.