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Classic Saab 900 - Miscellaneous

The Golden Goose

Reproduced from the Dec 99/Jan 00 SOC 'Driver' by kind permission of David Baughan.

In the aftermath of the destruction of my Saab 900 (see Death of a Saab previous 'Driver' issue) I was at a loss with what to replace my previous car. I had patiently waited for over two years for my father to pass the car to me and suffered the traumatising experience of a Vauxhall Belmont as my main car for most of this period. I was in a period of mourning, sounds silly but it was true.

I decided to test drive a variety of competitors and spent a miserable days leave trudging around the main dealerships of Tunbridge Wells test driving an assortment of 'bores on wheels'. Some were plain bad e.g., Vauxhall Vectra as I discovered the barge like handling of my Belmont lived on! Others, in fact the vast majority were competent, well-designed cars but to put it simply, boring. The Peugeot 406 was excellent; a well designed spacious car with superb fluid handling and a refined ride to boot. For twenty-four hours I wavered. Here was a car, which represented a clear generational step forward over the 900, but my heart would not be ruled and I walked away from 'the sensible choice'.

I realised that my replacement had to be a Saab, yet I could not face a return to my old shape 900. I tried the Saab 9000, nice car but far too big for a single man without family plans. I then resolved to buy the new generation 900, surely an ideal compromise between head and heart, an evolutionary step forward with a Saab badge. I learnt all there was to know about these cars, prices, road tests and buyers guide. From memory I drove at least four examples some were good and others more poorly maintained despite alleged full service history had been badly treated and were awful. Finally I found one which was an excellent well cared for example no 'toys' but nonetheless good value and a faultless service history. But to all you readers who may own one of 'these compromises' I've got bad news, the Peugeot 406 is better.

The new 900 was cursed from birth with being endowed with that horrible Vauxhall chassis which makes the Vectra so bad. Saab's engineers had tried their hardest to disguise this curse. I'm sure the 9-3 was a considerable step forward but in the 900 the grating ride and sloppy front wheel drive over steer conspired to produce a car which was no better than the anonymous bores I'd spoken of earlier. Against the BMW's and Audi's of this world it must have been horribly outclassed.

I was very depressed, four weeks car hunting on and no nearer even choosing what type of car let alone finding the right car. In a fit of boredom I drove a ruin of a 'Classic 900 Turbo' it was plagued with rust and mechanical faults, but for the first tine in weeks when behind the wheel of anything but my 99T I smiled. I realised that the common theme of all my previous test-drives was each time I had completed the half-hour torture, I had sunk back into DAN (my 99T) and relished with renewed vigour the qualities of my faithful car. That was why I had loved my original 900 because it represented part of the Saab evolutionary progress, which characterised this motor company for so long. They simply took what was good about the 99 and improved it. Of course this developmental process in today's motoring world is sadly no longer practical but it has robbed the public of genuine cars of character. It takes more than a retro styled chrome radiator grille to endow a car with true character.

I was back where I started. Over the next four weeks I toured the South East in search of a worthy purchase. This did not prove easy. The 'Classic 900' has been out of production for nearly six years and, time, use and abuse are taking their toll.

Eventually my patience was rewarded by finding a superb L registered 900 finished in ruby red, it drove with the familiar effortless gait of my old car with a full Saab service history (essential) and a variety of 'toys' to boot. It even had a name, as I noted that the Saab badge designer clearly did not have a great grasp of English as 900 and SE combine to produce the word goose!

So I found my golden goose but along the way I discovered that Saab seem to have lost theirs and joined the ranks of the 'faceless ones'. It may be the only way to sell cars today but it is surely bad news for tomorrow's Saab enthusiast.

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