1977 SAAB 99 GLI review from Australia and New Zealand

Water pump failed at 150,000 km.

Starter ring wore out at 200,000 km.

Brilliant car, ultra-reliable, superb handling, in its day, quite fuel-efficient although it took the corolla nearly 20 years to catch up.

Quite heavy for a "small" car, it steers very well at the time. This had non-assisted rack-and-pinion steering- very heavy in the car-park, but brilliant on the open road, or at any speed above 40kph.

The 99 series is hopelessly outdated now, but looking back on it, in its day it really was far ahead of nearly everything in many ways (SAAB used the fact that Stig Blomqvist won the world rally championship in the late 70's in a SAAB 99 in their advertising).

Electrically adjustable mirrors (via a little joy-stick) and heated seats were way ahead of anything else, as was its gear-lock- the ignition key was down by the handbrake and locked the auto transmission in "Park"- the vehicle could not be moved (stolen) without the key to unlock the transmission.

A very upright seating position and the wrap-around windscreen made it feel so unique- like a jet-fighter (or so I imagine).

By modern standards it is quite thirsty on fuel, but that is the price to pay for a heavy, strong (and safe) car. I traded it in on a Corolla for the fuel benefits (and cheaper spares) as the dealer was charging big dollars to maintain my investment.