The clutch started to get real bad, fixed this quite easily tho.
Exhaust had a leak when I bought the car that got bigger and bigger. This was actually quite fun, as it somehow made the turbo-noise sound even bigger.
What a car this is. It's comfortable and fast, like probaBly no other car in this price-range.
These cars strongest sides are definitely the comfort they offer. They are extremely roomy, even for tall persons, offers good seats allaround the car, and has a good suspension.
The Steering is fine, quite light, but it works real fine in all situations. It has actually got one of the finest, powerassisted steerings of all cars I've ever driven! - You very seldom takes notice of this cars length when you drive it, still, you can feel quite a lot of what's going on under you.
The turbocharged engine is a real pearl, with a noticeable horsekick coming at you just below 3000 RPM, all the way up to 6000 RPM. Overtakings are never a problem. Sometimes you wish you had a bit more power at really low revs, but that's all. Other than that, the engine is gold. There are faster cars out there, but a very few of them can match the power this car gives you, with so little effort you put into it. Turbolag can be a bit of a problem for some people though. I on the other hand, enjoy it!
Fuelconsumption is real good too, for this type of big, luxuary car. It drinks about 0.8 liters of gas for every 100 KM, if you're not driving it too hard.
The suspension is, like I said, comfortable, but not sporty. This is not exactly the type of car you take out on small and windy roads, just for the fun of it, instead, this car is made for fast travelling on motorways, and that is noticeable in the suspension. It understeers quite a lot.
For fast driving on big roads on the other hand, it's perfect, the car stays in line real good, and very seldom feels sketchy on the road.
It also offers a lot of equipment and gadgets, such as an electrical roof, electrical windows, and airconditioning, they all worked for me, except the cruisecontrol.
One of the biggest downsides on the other hand of the 9000, is the quite expensive spareparts of it. Parts are often quite costly. On the other hand, a 9000 very seldom broke down, but it do have it's fair share of weak points, like the clutch, the gearbox, and most of all - the rust. Rust are a major problem on these early models of the 9000. This problem is solved on all models of 1992 and above though.
These, early models of the 9000 are really cheap to buy here in Sweden, and to be honest, I can't think of a more roomier, faster car, more suitable for longdistance journeys for this type of money.
The 9000 has character, a character that not everyone enjoys, but if you're after a big, speedy, and luxury car for those boring minutes it takes you to get to work in the morning, this is the car that most people should look for.
And ther's one last thing, the interior/dashboard is one the best interiors I've ever seen, so practical, and yet so much fun.
Your cruse-control problem is probably easily fixed, there is a cable that runs into the control unit under the dash. It is located ubove the brake pedal and the cable is often inadvertently kicked out by big feet! Take the cover off and check the cable 10 to 1 it's come out. Plug it back in and you should be fine!
For people reading this review, it seems highly unlikely that he's using only 0.8L of fuel for 100km of driving. That would make the 9000 about 10 times more efficient than most other cars out there!
My 89 9000 2.0L turbo (virtually the same car) gets 11L/100km on average in a long commute that combines stop start zero speed bumper to bumper deadlocked traffic with a few high speed races where I usually accelerate HARD with my turbo and have some fun. All in all quite good economy considering how I'm driving. I've gotten it down to 9L/100km without the hard acceleration bits, which is very good, although pretty dull ;-)
I think he meant 8L/100km personally, not 0.8L/100km. and that is definitely possible if you're very cautious and have fewer annoying deadlock moments than I do (my commute really is crappy). Either way this is almost as good as the little 86 jetta I drove to work before which is one of the most economical cars on the road, and the Saab 9000's fuel economy BLOWS AWAY the similarly performing BMW 6-cylinder based cars (which have similar performance overall).
PS - my 89 9000 (320,000 km / 190,000ish miles) has only 1 tiny spot of a rust/paint bubble that is hard to see, rust is definitely not a problem for these earlier 9000s unless they were in a salty climate IMHO, but your mileage may vary ;-)
Cheers.
I would like to know a 90's 9000 CSE can run how many mile or Km before the engine is dead and need to replace a new one. The gentlemen with 89 9000 have reached 320,000 Km. Which is pretty amazing.
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