1994 SAAB 9000 CSE from UK and Ireland - Comments

New exhaust needed, direct ignition module needed, fractured elements on heated rear screen, faulty passenger side electric window.

Very good car, my second SAAB.

Reliable, starts every time.

Hirsch perfomance chip fitted (best £1000 ever spent) boosting power from 150bhp to 215.

Considering a stainless free flow exhaust, intercooler and CAT bypass pipe.

Should bring the power up to a barnstorming 250 bhp.

Good dealer relationship, relatively inexpensive for a main dealer.

Fast for such a large car, 0-60 7.1, top end 147mph (so I'm told).

Fast for such a large car, 0-60 7.1, top end 147mph Impreza Turbo beater - I think not! - Even if 147 mph is correct the Impreza would be so far into the distance you might as well not bother!

I also do not agree with the comments.

With that amount of power going to the front wheels on the standard saab was bad your car must be overkill.

SCRABBLE!

By this time a Subaru would have been and gone they have great traction and corner on rails so how dose a big FWD car possibly beat a sports car.

Hi :-)!

Want to know how we're doing in Sweden?

THIS is how we're doing :

Accelerations comparing

Tuned Saab 9000 2.3T 460+ Hp/600 Nm, vs.

Porsche 911 Turbo 540 Hp/750 Nm

Acceleration - Porsche 911 - Tuned Saab 9000

50-110 km/h ____ 3.03 s* ________ 3.31 s

70-110 km/h ____ 1.85 s _________ 1.88 s

100-150 km/h ___ 3.70 s _________ 3.40 s

120-160 km/h ___ 2.85 s _________ 2.40 s

120-190 km/h ___ 6.10 s* ________ 4.50 s

80-100 mph _____ 2.20 s _________ 1.95 s

80-120 mph _____ 5.43 s* ________ 4.29 s

Test equipment: Vericom VC3000

* = one gearshift in the interval.

These are hard facts, and I'm just quoting verified measurements.

I don't get a penny for writing this, or any favor of any kind. Also - it's all my own initiative to report to you Saab Turbo-lovers! ;-)

There are six major tuning companies in Sweden, all of which offer software tuning at spearhead level.

Not least concerning environmental aspects!

For example, one Trionic program delivers well above 300 BHP from the 9000 Aero, only requiring change of air filter and exhaust (!)

That 460+ hp Tuned Saab above, is used all year round (taking kids to school, driven by wife et.c.) and has stock engine block, crank, pistons, rods, et.c.

Not bad for a roomy family car (ranked as one of the safest in the world) ;-)!

There are plenty of other extremely powerful Saab 9000s here in Sweden : last documented reading I've seen was 475 BHP, but later runs in the test-bench indicates over 500 BHP with even more (!) to come for next season...

Personally, I had the pleasure of noting equal performance to the Impreza with MY completely stock Saab 9000 2,3T -94.

Off the line, a light, dedicated, 4WD - as the Impreza - would admittedly be hard to beat, but on the roll... you could be in for a BIG surprise!

Someone wrote : " the Impreza would be so far into the distance you might as well not bother! "

TRUE! Some Saab 9000s here in Sweden might not bother...

Others might stop for a cup of coffee, while waiting for the Impreza to catch up! =D!

I'm upgrading my 9000 2,3T (man) for the summer, and will easily surpass 320+ BHP. And that at no big expense!

As could every owner of this Swedish quality car . . .

CONCLUSION : if you drive a sporty car and find yourself up against a modest looking Saab 9000 - respect is advised.

There are lots of these versatile family cars here in Sweden.

- - - - - We call them "sleepers"... - - - - - -

(guess you understood that word ;-) )

Seasons Greetings!

Feel free to contact me if you want!

gunnar.bengtson@telia.com

Yeah I agree there is some saab`s with insane amounts of power and my standard 2.3 turbo beats wrx subaru`s from anything other than off the line they don't have enough torque compared to the saab even if its got the same bhp plus the subaru has to run all the drive train,

and if you think different you should try it before you dis it and not some of the silly 2.0 litres and 2.3 not turbos its not the same thing, the saab gets its power down very well for what it is I think because of how far the engine is forward and and the overhang of everything past the wheels.

I'd have to second the "Impreza Beater" comments. I've owned and driven heaps of different turbo "sports" cars, from the likes for the 2.7TT S4 (stock ones, chipped ones, and K04/RS ones), WRX (stock, chipped), 944 Turbos (stock, chipped, to a K-27/8 MAF car-wow!!), dozens of 9000 Turbos (2.0Ts, 2.3 non-trionic modified and unmodified, 2.3 Aeros stock), 300ZX-TT (heavily modified, eek!!), and so I think I have a decent frame of subjective reference.

I showed up to a dealership to drive my first WRX at the age of 19, and at the time it was in a 1987 9000 Turbo with a 3.0 BAR FPR and a modded APC; these are weak modifications at best. To say I was disappointed by the WRX would be and understatement. Going from my Saab the WRX felt like it had no torque, none of the "back in your seat" thrust that everyone who loves turbo cars revels in. I would have put my money, in fact, on the Saab I showed up in on a rolling start.

That 5.4 0-60 times they advertise? A friend of mine with a black '04 WRX achieved it... of course it involved side-stepping the clutch at redline. One must account for the fact that an AWD car can grip so well from a standstill that the engines free-spinning kinetic energy and first gear powerband can be much better utilized. Get rolling, however, and things change a bit.

Interesting chain of comments comparing a WRX to a 9000 Turbo. I have been fortunate to own modified versions of both; 1987 9000 Turbo (auto), increased boost pressure, Remus 2.5inch exhaust, lowered Koni springs. 1998 Subaru WRX (manual), stock boost, 4 inch exhaust, custom exhaust manifold.

Observations: Saab would not come close to WRX off the line (i.e. 0-60). Previous comments re advantages of 4WD are true - the WRX simply grips and goes. Over 60mph though Saab has amazing kick down and would easily out accelerate the WRX from rolling starts.

Conclusion: depends what kind of car you are looking for. For city drag races, would take the WRX every time. Also, handling of stock WRX is simply phenomenal. Hardened springs on Saab certainly improved handling, but nothing can remove the understeer into corners. Torque steer is also a major problem in the Saab which isn't apparent in the WRX.

Saab is still a million times more comfortable to drive and cruise in the WRX. I would always get out of the WRX with a sore back after a long drive, compared to feeling refreshed in the Saab. My wife also hated going in the WRX, but loved driving the Saab.

I have owned both the impreza and a string of Saab's including 2 9000's of different vintages. The Subaru is a great car in many ways, but I do think it's overrated. Subaru owners go on and on about the 4wd and it's advantages, but I raelly don't think it amounts to all the hype. Yes a 4wd will accelerate better due to power transfer, and are usally better a powering through corners. Subaru has been making 4wd's & H motors for 20 years, they can no longer claim this as leading edge technology! I'm sick of people calling the WRX a sports car, it's not, it a worked, medium sized sedan (worked very well), no manufacturer would build a 4 - door sports car! The 9000 offers a fantastic well balanced solid package, once its up and running few cars can match it. My 9000 were both slower then my WRX off the line, but I'm confident they would have both reeled it back in quite quickly. Having owned both I went back to Saab and probably will do so next time.

Just been reading through some of the comments, interesting. I have a 2004 WRX with PPP (260 BHP 257 lbs) but the cars I've had trouble with are not the big engined big torque cars like the saabs or BMWs its been the smaller high revin cars like integra type Rs or clio 182's, oh it beat them alright, but not as easy as it sailed past big engined saabs from a rolling start, about 50 MPH in 3rd BMW's too, although the gap stopped widening by 120 MPH I was quite far in front. And AWD usefulness goes beyond 1st gear, I've had cars with less power than this WRX and it would easily spin the front wheels in 2nd (just when you don't want it to!) and occasionally in 3rd, AWD cars may loose some power in the drive train, but FWD cars loose it in loss of grip, even at higher speeds you may not realise.

I Agree with the above comment.

I own a Volvo T5 Auto, which is also a front-wheel drive, it is running a chip but even with the automatic box you can still make it wheel-spin at 50mph on any kind of damp road.

The Saab is a seriously fast car and can easily be modified to produce 300+ BHP (which is why I am thinking of getting one), but the problem is getting all that power down, especially on anything other than smooth, dry roads.

Just bin reading through these comments, and do agree that the subaru is a capable car, i currently own a 9000 2.3t running 250 bhp, and have proved on road that it is quicker than my brothers uk spec impreza turbo 2000.his car managed a 15.3 s 1/4 mile at 92 mph beating a wrx who ran a 15.8,which strangely is the same time as my old astra gte 16v.i paid 300 pound for my saab, my brother paid 3500 pound for his subaru. subarus are good but id rather have my faster much cheaper saab.

Hi guys, I've owned a Saab for most of my life (sad I know, but I don't care).

I don't mean to insult anyone who owns the likes of the Subaru or the Evo, but one day I was in my 1989 Saab 900 special ^^ only 165 hp, cleanly serviced, top air filter and platinum plugs, but with age I'd say was maybe 155 hp tops.

I was at the lights when a Evo 8 came to the right hand side. The youths looked and laughed as my car had the whale tale and turbo on the side of the bonnet (I lip read him). When the lights dropped from amber to green I dumped the clutch and gave a little throttle, then quickly went to second at 3000 rpm, then at 3.4/5000 rpm third, then 4th, same rpm, always change at 3.5000 ;-)

By that time the Evo was 3/400 meters behind me, so I slowed down for him, and he then came tear up behind me, so I squeezed the throttle again in 4th and promptly equaled the gap, then pulled again until the next lights junction where the Evo turned off embarrassed.

I used to play with Scoobies and Evos all the time in the 9000 I got for my brother. It's not the HP with Saabs, it's the torque and the way they CAN put it all down.

OK with the old 900ds above 300 hp, and it's hard to, but the 9000 and 93 or 95 can do it with far more power than the old ones, and I'd put my 9-3 Aero against ANY Scooby, Evo or even Skyline, and that's before I get in contact with the swedish boys who I'm sure have something I don't know over there ;-)

I hope this was enjoyable. If not then you don't own a Saab (or you do but it needs an air filter and good plugs, maybe 3 turns on your actuator bar) ;-).

Steve.