Reviewed: 1993 SAAB 9000 CS 2.3

This will be the first, and certainly not the last, time I choose to expound my automotive feelings here. Today, I'll be talking about the SAAB 9000. Or, as I prefer to call it, the finest executive sedan ever that wasn't a BMW. The 9000 was launched in the mid-1980s. SAAB collaborated with Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Lancia on its development, and, as a result, the Swedish beast is a not-so-distant cousin of cars like the Alfa Romeo 164 and the Lancia Thema. The 9000 even looks a little like its Italian brethren, if viewed from the side. But don't get me wrong: this sedan is as Scandanavian as ABBA or a fjord.

The 9000 is an incredibly solid car on the road. I recently drove a 2007 Ford Fusion SEL and was astonished at how marshmallowy it first, especially at lower speeds. For a 4100-lb. sedan, the SAAB is also astonishingly agile. Tight corners are never a problem, and parallel parking is a task accomplished without a second thought (or Lexus' park assist technology.) Yes, I'm correct in saying that the SAAB weighs in on the more distant side of two tons. That makes it an extraordinarily heavy car, which would leave one to imagine that it'd be just a tad underpowered. The 2.3L naturally-aspirated model I drive, which is fitted (unfortunately) with an automatic gearbox, is incredibly energetic. At superhighway speeds, the 9000's 4-cylinder powerplant spins at about 2200 rpm. That's impressive: another car I drive often, a so-so 2002 Saturn L-Series wagon with a 2.2L inline-4 and a 5-speed manual gearbox, hits 2500 rpm at about 55 mph and runs just above 2600 at 60 mph. Of course, the Saturn is an economy car; the SAAB is a European sports sedan. But here's the thing: the SAAB is a 1993. And it performs better than almost any newer car I've ever driven! That's incredible, I should say, that a 16-year-old vehicle with 250,000 miles on the clock should handle the road as if it just rolled off the dealer's lot a few days back. Of course, there is one area in which Trollhatten's finest shows its age: when you start the 9000 (and this problem has only come up recently), the engine complains and shakes a little. Sometimes, it'll stall, like a 1990 Chrysler Daytona driven by a 16-year old would in the middle of an intersection. We think this happens because the fuel injectors are starting to fail. But hey, if a fuel injector goes at 250,000 miles, nobody's going to complain too much. Besides, it's a SAAB, not a Toyota. You buy a SAAB because it's exciting and fun to drive, yet also serious, restrained, and, usually, reliable. And, naturally, a touch suave.

Driving the 9000 is like eating a smooth Swiss chocolate. It's luxurious, yet it never gets boring and never offers the driver the same kind of vanilla experience that would be offered up by a Lexus or a Cadillac. Not that I have anything against Lexus or Cadillac, of course. The SAAB's interior was designed when Reagan was President, and yet it looks and feels modern and intuitive. The dashboard doesn't follow the old-money luxury feel that one would find in, say, a Jaguar XJ6, but it does give the driver the feeling that he or she is flying an airplane. The gentle curve of the relatively-plain black plastic control panel and the impressive (and deceptive) complexity of the wall of command switches can, if you squint really hard, fool you into thinking that you've not bought a car, but a fighter jet. The supportive and elegant seats, which in my car are face with Elmo (made for SAAB!) leather, wouldn't be out of place in a BMW or Audi. The backseat is about the same size as Maryland, which is nice if you have long-legged passengers, and the trunk is, well, commodious. A bicycle, with the front tire removed, can fit easily into the SAAB, providing the rear seats are folded down.

In short, the 9000 is a capable performance sedan that's not only fast and agile but luxurious and practical. It ages well too: I've had more than a few folks mistake it for a new car! Just for the sake of comparison, I think it's safe to say that, if you bought a mid '90s Seville, LHS, or Continental, nobody with seeing eyes would view it as a 2009 model. And the 9000 is cheap too, thanks to SAAB's unfortunate used resale values. The 9000 I drive was purchased in 2005 with 90,000 miles on the odometer. The price, at that time: $4,500 CDN. If you're interested in a used luxury sedan, but have a limited budget, I'd recommend looking for a well-equipped '96 or '97 9000. If you find an Aero model, with the turbo and 5-speed manual, go for it. Otherwise, the base CS (mine) or up-level CSE will be just fine. Sure, the SAAB lacks the cache or performance specs of an M5, but honestly, who really needs a V-10? And, more to the point, who can afford to run one? The SAAB's peppy I-4 returns fuel consumption figures in the mid-20s. Which, of course, calls us to raise one final question: why would you ever buy anything else?