[SidewaysD]

So, i came across some reviews for the Vauxhall Vectra..

It is a pretty fast car for a Vectra, but it handles very very very poorly.

I can proably get away with another "very" to make a clear point in it.

Now, after listening to Jermemy Clarkson off BBC's topgear totally SLANT the vectras handling and pretty much call it ****, it raised huge concern to me.

Cause, saab 9-3 is built on the Vectra platform, and the chassis was highly criticiszed as well.

How close, is the suspension compnets to the Vectra, to the Saab? I hope to God, that the Chassis was strengthened and the susenpsion was upped or replaced by something better then the Vectra...

I hope someone can clear this up for me

 

[Jubilee Vert]

The SAAB 9-3SS uses the GM Epsilon 1 platform which has many different variants including something even more mundane like the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6 to name a few.

However, the platform name Epsilon 1 is the biggest thing SAAB has in common with its brethren. SAAB felt that they had a better way to make the Epsilon 1 and they went ahead and did what they felt like with the platform. It is also 95% of the reason that SAAB is barely profitable today despite rising sales as they share very little with their platform brothers. Something a small brand manufacturer can ill afford these days.

It is also why the 9-3 has an excellent driving dynamic where as all the others fall flat on their faces. Sadly it is also the resaon why so many of us have had electronic gremlins whereas the other Ep1 vehicles enjoy a blissful electronic gremlin free life. With the good comes the bad I guess. If you have ever driven any of the other Epsilon 1 vehicles though, you will know that they are nothing at all like a SAAB 9-3SS.

The next generation SAAB 9-3SS is to be based on the Epsilon 2 platform. If GM has its way, it will use a very common platform and not allow SAAB to go it alone which will help profitability but may damage driving dynamic. However, given SAABs increasing role within GM, AKA the AWD, I would think that Epsilon 2 will be allright.

 

[jayarekay338]

Now, after listening to Jermemy Clarkson off BBC's topgear totally SLANT the vectras handling and pretty much call it ****, it raised huge concern to me.
I hope someone can clear this up for me

If you are talking about the VXR, Clarkson liked it for a while(when he realized it was something like the 5th fastest sedan) but hated that when you turned the wheel the car wouldn't turn due to the horrible amounts of understeer.

With that being said....Vauxhall makes 11 trim levels for this model: I'm sure you could find a decent set of features in one of these cars, they certainly look good.....Plus Clarkson doesn't particularly like Saab in general and that doesn't stop up from loving ours.

 

[SMHarman]

What they said +

Theoretically Epsilon means production line transferability. The E1 platform for the Saab is so modified it cannot be constructed anywhere else. Things like the ReaXis rear suspension and also just the whole suspension construction which is different to most other E1 autos.

I've driven the 175hp back to back with a C180, a 325i and a SType back around launch day in 2002. Now all 4 have moved on a lot and some are now different models entirely, but the BM and the Saab both had great driving dynamic and for daily driving the stuff you can do legally on the road the difference is pretty marginal.

I've driven rental Vectras and G6s and the difference is noticable, the sort of thing when a corner you can take at 80 in the Saab you feel safe doing at 50 in either of them.

 

[gjdavies]

What they said +

Theoretically Epsilon means production line transferability. The E1 platform for the Saab is so modified it cannot be constructed anywhere else. Things like the ReaXis rear suspension and also just the whole suspension construction which is different to most other E1 autos.

An interesting thing that ReAxs system.................

Opel/Vauxhall have a passive rear wheel steering system, that they do not market the vehicles with............ Obviously didn't want the similarities to be too obvious. In fact, it only appears in the TIS system (Vauxhall/Opel Technical data).

As for the general differences in handling, the Saab wins hands down.

The only Vectra I have driven that came anywhere near the Saab's handling is my wife's. It's a bit of a special beast though as it is an ex-Vauxhall Police demonstration vehicle, which is equipped with the Bad Roads pack, uprated brakes, xenon headlamps and of course is white!

This suspension setup is well suited to the car, although the ride height is a little higher. It does however grip almost as well as the Saab and easily outhandles the VXR Vectra, at the expense of eating through front tyres on the inner edges.

At the end of the day though, what clinches it for me is that TopGear magazine rated it as handling almost as well as the BMW 3 series.

The 9-3 ain't no Vectra.

 

[edusaab]

Take a look at the BBC Top Gear videos of the 9-5 Aero and the 9-3ss.

Then take a look at timesonline.co.uk where jeremy do reviews of the cars that test in Top Gear.

In the website there is a review of the 9-3 Aero SH 2.8

It’s good this. I really did fear when Saab was bought by the huge pensions and healthcare company called General Motors that some of the turbo individuality would be lost. And I was really scared when I found they were putting the 9-3 on a Vauxhall Vectra platform, but I’m happy to report that silent forced-induction kick in the back is still there. And some.

Speed, however, is only part of the Saab’s appeal. Style’s another and I have to say this is a good-looking car, in the same way that Benicio Del Toro is a good-looking man. It’s an especially nice place to sit. The seats are stunning, the dash works like a dream, especially if you know your way around the ****pit of an F-15, and the steering wheel’s half silver.

..............


The handling’s pretty good, too, considering that under the floor it’s a Vauxhall Vectra. But the best thing is the price. The range starts at less than £18,000. And even the 2.8 litre Aero model I tested, which comes with pretty well all the toys, is less than £29,000. You’d struggle to put a similarly sized, similarly fast German car on the road for less.

And what if you succeeded? What if you did end up with a BMW or an Audi estate car? You’d be constantly aware that no ****ometer was fitted because if it was it’d be constantly hovering around Defcon 1. It’d be constantly reminding you that you’d been a sheep.

The Saab has no ****ometer because it doesn’t need one. You’ve deliberately gone your own way, deliberately bought something that isn’t a BMW or a Merc or an Audi. And in the process you’ve ended up with something that’s not only a little bit different, but also rather good.




In top Gear it was selected as the best midsized premium car and the best car to be choosen in his category.