The Saab 9000 and the heat. Does it prove itself?
The first heat wave of the year is behind us. A practical test for the 9000 CSE. Because he is the only Saab available this summer. So far he has used the hot season to hatch problems. Then the urge to drive to the workshop in Fechenheim was particularly pronounced. Will it be different this year?
33 degrees Celsius and more
Cars and heat, that's one of those things. My Saab Turbo X was generally unable to withstand temperatures above 30 degrees. Not particularly thermally resilient from birth, the V6 reached its limits in the tightness of the engine compartment. A larger charge air cooler brought relief. They were once able to do better at Saab.
It is always impressive how the unit designed by Per Gillbrand deals with the summer heat. No matter how warm it gets, the 9000 is stoic and takes its course. Loss of performance, poor acceleration, these words are not familiar to the old, hopelessly oversized Saab machine. It has enough space in the engine compartment, lots of air around the engine block and it is generally thermally healthy.
In any case, the heat is not impressive in any way, whether stop-and-go in city traffic or a traffic jam on the highway.
Climate control and the heat
The weak point in recent years has been the automatic climate control. Actually, this ancient system is still a piece of cake today, the engineers gave it everything that was technically possible back then. The sensor for the position of the sun is a Saab innovation, it controls the cooling particularly emphatically. In the modern car today you will certainly find more effective and sophisticated systems. But nothing that would make the antique Saab technology look old.
Hardware has been the weak point in recent summers. The Saab 9000 is built in 1998, of course, the age gnaws at him. Again and again one component caused trouble. Sometimes it was the air conditioning compressor, then a valve or a hose with a leak. That caused frustration, because whenever it was particularly hot, it came to a disaster.
And driving a 9000 with its large glass surfaces without air conditioning is torture and not fun. Everything is different this summer. The system works impressively effectively and reliably like a Swiss clockwork.
Has the persistence paid off, along with some nice workshop bills? It seems so. Driving a Saab 9000 is fun, even in extreme temperatures. Hats off to the designers who came up with this Saab. We shall see whether the peace is deceptive. Summer has only just begun, whether the 23-year-old Saab remains convinced remains open. In any case, the gut feeling is good. And that is seldom misleading.
Short, concerned question: Why is Anna the only Saab available this summer? Where have the sister, the beautiful dark blue 9000, the 9-3 I Aero and the gentleman gone? But hopefully not sold? Or currently only unnerreichbar due to construction on the way to the hangar? We haven't heard from the gentleman for a long time. I hope he continues to convince. Occasionally I would be interested in the riddle of the black foiled panes ... or did I miss the answer?
Happy Sunday to all Saab fans! 🙂
All park in the hangar, as described, where it is very tight. In autumn / winter the situation will (hopefully) relax.
Thanks, that calms me (us ;-)) to know!
Anna is sure to stoically cool off the passengers this summer. I have been driving a 3 Anniversary (AERO machine deer, manual switch) as a daily driver for a good 97 years. During this time I only had to replace the coolant once when it came to cooling and it has been cooling perfectly again in the hot season since then.
Driving the 9000 is and remains a real pleasure. The 9000 does exactly what it was built for, calmly and without any digital fuss: it brings the driver to their destination relaxed, if desired very quickly and safely, with a humane fuel consumption between 7.5 and 8.5 liters, depending on the use of the fun factor, i.e. turbo boost. Many an SUV driver can only dream of the driving performance and the moderate fuel consumption….
Keep Saabing!
The gas mileage is really amazing. Anna has now leveled off at 7,6 liters in the mix. My company car can't keep up, despite the latest technology.
Wow! My 9-5 SC with a 2.0t machine consumes more!
The 9000 is already a consumption miracle, especially with the 2,3 liter engine. Whereby: The first owner of my 9000 Anniversary with 2 liters and automatic was on the way with similar values. I have never been able to reach them.
So with air conditioning I can hardly get my 9-3 I Turbo with 185PS under 10l, but I usually drive short distances or rush hour traffic with traffic jams and a thousand traffic lights…
The 9-3 I has no chance against the 9000. It is intelligent lightweight construction, a completely different generation. 10 liters is normal for the 9-3 I, my aero machine is only at home with 10 liters if you drive very carefully. Normal is a liter more, easy.
With the profile you also get a small car with 85 hp to 10 liters.
The consumption is okay. But I wonder if your Saab isn't too good for this usage profile?
Smaller engines can cope better with short distances and reach operating temperature more quickly. In a traffic jam, an EV would theoretically be optimal 😉
Not to forget the large washer fluid “tank”, if that in the Aero is as big as in the 2.3i?
The biggest I've ever had in a car. Dust, pollen, insects. At this point, too, the 9K was ideally equipped for long, dry and hot days ...
It's huge. Those at Saab have thought along.