As an American, I was in college during the mid/late 80's. Being in a "residential/urban" campus I past a few 900's while walking to class and such. I was enamored. I still hope to find a decent enough one from that era to buy and fix up if need be. Such a unique and exceptional auto company. I was very sad when the recession took them out.
Yes, at 140 kilometers per hour. Once I was going to Nurburgring at night and went faster on the german autobahn and suddenly the speedometer lighted up. Scared me to death the first second. 🙂
Fun fact: Saab convertibles those days were actually manufactured in Finland. The only car factory in Finland was specialized in convertibles, makes full sense for a near-artic-circle car factory :D
Sorry Doug I'm a huge Saab nerd lol. - The first model year of the 9-3 was 1998, not 1999. - The 9-3 came as a 2D vert, 3D hatchback/coupé and a 5D hatchback. - Viggen doesn't mean thunderbolt in Swedish, that's just a myth. I have never heard anyone in Sweden say that. Viggen is simply just a name. - The Viggen didn't have distinctly bigger wheels, in Europe we also got an Aero trim that came with the rims shown on the Viggen in the video. So no those are not the Viggen rims, the Viggen was actually revealed with another rim design that that was scrapped last minute due to them being unstable at somewhere around 190km/h. So they just picked out an optional rim design for the 9-3 and made them the Viggen rims. The Viggen concept the 900 SVO still has those rims, and my dad's 99' Viggen rolled off the line on a set of those rims. - Doug there is a huge Viggen logo in the seats, and also those seats were originally Viggen only also they can be colored back/blue or black/orange the instrument panel is Viggen only. So there are lots of stuff that is special and the Viggen interior is very easy to tell apart from other trims. - The center ignition is also very effective at preventing car theft as you can't rip out the wires and just start it even if the ECM is switched out for one without an immo code. And if you could you would still be stuck in reverse... Saabs were famous before the 9-3 and 9-5 came for being the bank robber's favourite car in Sweden. So a bit of engineering went into stopping that lol. - Nightpanel is kinda dynamic if you exceed 140km/h the rest of the speedo lights up. And if you are low on gas the right side of the cluster lights up. The thought is that you see just what you need to see.
Thanks for saving me typing all of this. Except for Viggen, which does mean thunderbolt or refers to a tufted duck... But as they also called their fighter jet viggen, we can safely assume they meant the thunderbolt. Also, around here I have never seen a Viggen with the cupholder above the radio. But then the Viggen's also came with Saab's audio system that is missing from this car. So that might be why they put the cupholder in. And yes, those are Aero wheels, not Viggen wheels as they would come with 5-spoke wheels as standard.
As with many European cars, the model year intro is (or was at the time) often one year ahead of its introduction to the North American market. So what you might have had premiere in 1998, North America would get as a new model in 1999.
For most people, the 9-3 wasn't available until the 1999 model year. "2 door hatchback" and "3 door" are the same thing. One makes more sense than the other. Saab themselves said "Viggen" was chosen for their fighter jet because it means thunderbolt.
Viggen was the only 9-3 to have 17" rims from the start. The Aero in '00 had 16" and not until 2001, when the Aero got the Viggen body kit, it too got 17" rims.
If memory serves, if you set the gearbox to reverse and remove the key, the gearbox locks in reverse as an anti theft measure (comparable to steering wheel locking when the lock is on the column). This is why it beeps until shifted to reverse.
Correct. While most other manufacturers used steering wheel locks as an anti-theft measure Saab went with the gearbox version locking it in reverse. The thinking being who would ever want to steal a car you can only drive backwards or first have to break the gearbox. It also, like Doug pointed out, had the purpose of forcing you to put the car in gear when parking it to act as a safety if you ever to forgot use the parking break.
I drive 9-3 and yes this is correct, however you should not be able to even take out the key from the ignition unless gearbox is in reverse and ignition is in locked position. Ignition lock is busted in this one.
The primary reason for placing the key where it is, was a safety feature. In the event of a crash if thesteering coloumn goes into the cabin/driver, the key can go into your leg. Although you are correct in that it was also a highly effective security feature. This is why we loved Saab's attention to detail and engineering. Sorely missed.
Saab was all about safety, so they did not care that much about 0-100 km/h, instead they created an engine which has massive torque from 60 to 120 km/h. That is the most useful and most needed acceleration.
There is hidden cup holder in the front dash underneath the Night Panel button; you can see the little Cup pictogram 12:09. It's very nicely designed and slowly opens with a smooth spring action.
Called it 3 months ago! A 900 Aero or 99 Turbo should be next. or at least a 9000 Aero or 9-5 Aero. Its a bit of a shame Doug picked this particular example, being somewhat non-original and in pretty neglected condition but its nice to see Doug enjoying it nonetheless and I understand the struggle to find a great one. I'd bet he would've formed a better opinion having driven one for a longer period of time and having a better condition example, especially with the cupholder in the dash, which appears to be broken on this car. The ignition also appears to be broken on this car. The key shouldn't be able to come out unless the car is in reverse. The beeping without the key is a result of that and it should be fixed before things get worse. Just a couple corrections so people don't go around telling the wrong story on these: Literally everywhere in the promotional and historical material for this car, they mention the SAAB 37 Viggen fighter jet, which this car is inspired by. You see, SAAB was (and continues to be) primarily an aerospace and defense company. Also in the literature, these are referred to as "9-3" instead of using the superscript 3 (presumably because its a pain to teach lots of people how to type a superscript 3), not to be confused with the 93 model from the 1950s. These wheels are 9-3 SE/Aero "Double Y" wheels, not Viggen wheels. The Aero trim level was always around, even in this generation. It was a step below the Viggen, but had this same body kit. It was known as the SE Sport in some markets during this generation. The 90 was a low budget, low production, transitional model between the 99 and 900, which we did not get here in North America. Nowhere does Saab mention that 90+000 is 90,000 (or 9 cubed, equaling 729). The rear position for the dome light rocker switch is for the rear dome light. Not only is the ignition in the center console for knee protection, It's also there because legacy Saabs used it to lock the shifter as an alternative to having to lock the steering wheel. You can blame any torque steer this car has on the push to make Saabs more normal (as with the 9000 in 1984) and profitable to keep the brand from going under, which it almost did in 1989. That and the fact that, thanks to GM's 50% (1989) and subsequent 100% ownership (1998) of Saab, this car is loosely (and I mean very loosely) based on the GM2900 floorpan which included the transverse FWD layout. Some older Saab loyalists complained about this at the time, but we'll be thanking Saab for making these more normal as they age and have to be repaired. Older Saabs used a driveline that eliminated torque steer by placing the engine longitudinally in reverse (and slanted at about 45 degrees) with the output at the front of the car, going through a chain drive down and back into the transmission, centered under the engine, allowing for equal length drive shafts to the front wheels. These DOHC H series engines are some of the strongest gas 4cyl engines ever made. H series equipped Saabs have proven themselves as the easiest to own and maintain, while also being the most durable. You can approach 400hp in this car with stock internals and many people have. There are heavily modified versions out there making several hundred or more. Doug says this car will never play in the league with the M series and the AMG cars but I guarantee these are stronger in other ways. Having owned an E46 myself, I can confirm these are better made, and usually wont need the engine opened up til well over 200k miles. Something you can't say about most BMWs of the same era, as a certain C&B employee has proven.
It was a good car. I've always said it was good at everything, but excelled at nothing. Good snow car, good gas mileage, reliable, fast, fun, could haul stuff, etc. I corrupted a friend who still has two of them. I replaced mine with a '08 BMW M3, but still miss my Viggen. What sort of killed it was when I bought my '00 new, Saab was trying to compete with the euro's; so the service department really took care of you; Saab loaners, personal tech assigned, service agreements like free oil changes, winter tire storage, etc. By '03, GM really hit them hard on the service side and pushed you through like you bought a Chevy; like cattle being processed at a check-in counter. No longer remotely comparative to experience you'd get at Mercedes, Audi, or BMW.
@@MrJMS814 GM at the time gave an Opel to SAAB and told them to just rebadge it... The joke was that the Swedes weren´t happy with the looks of the Opel and stripped nearly everything away and build a completely new "Opel" to then rebadge it to SAAB...
This car is all messed up. Viggens key couldn’t be removed unless it was in reverse. Someone defeated that interlock. That probably had the side effect of making the alarm beep if it wasn’t in reverse. The Saab logo on the steering wheel is not correct for a Viggen. Night panel lights up the entire speedometer if you go over 100. The spring out cup holder above the radio is broken, as is typical in all Viggens. Rear ashtray is missing. Wheels are aftermarket. Viggens only came with a 5-spoke wheel that was specific to the Viggen (as seen on the blue one in the video).
@@Wirldly the beep is a factory feature if you leave the key in. The ability to remove the key without the car in reverse is not. The ignition switch is broken. If the key comes out with the car out of reverse, the switch thinks the key is still in it and it beeps.
8:06 you can even see where someone had difficulty finding the ignition that isn't there, jabbing and scratching the key along the steering column housing
this cars reverse gear lock is broken, and that explains the beeping when you open the door. saab used a reverse gear locks as theft deterrence instead of steering wheel locks. the key is only supposed to come out of the ignition when reverse is engaged. the car beeps at you because the combination of being in neutral without the key shouldnt even be possible lol
The ignition is worn out, that's why he was able to take the key out without putting it in reverse. Notice when he did put it in reverse and take the key out you hear the ignition pop up and lock. Both my 9⁵s are somewhat like this. Not because my ignition is worn but because I removed the ignition pins.
The whole car is rough. The jacking point covers are missing, the petrol cap cover doesn’t match the colour of the car, there is a hole in the right headlight, the chrome has worn off the grill, the drivers seat is very worn and the tyres are flat…
@gordonyoul9515 Wow, I didn't notice all of that. Well I did notice the jacking point cover was missing. The rest I did not, probably because I was typing a small novel about things he missed or seem to not know or wasn't correct about.
@@gordonyoul9515 And when he shows the cup holder between the seats you clearly see that the rear seat vents are loose. And the cup holder in the dash is cracked.
Doug, the centre screen also told you to clean your tape heads and also when to change your wiperblades. The speedometer was designed to have the needle vertical at highway speeds so you glanced down and looked at position rather than read the numbers. The central ignition was also a thief preventer. You had to put the car on its side to hot wire it. Thanks for the memories.
The Saab 90 was actually the successor of the 99 (1968-1984), to be the cheapest car in the line-up and it was made between 1985-1987. It was a partsbin-special: 99 front-end and 2-door 900 rear. It was my first car. The Viggen name was borrowed from a Saab fighter jet. There were quite a few of the Viggens at the Saab Festival, by the Saab Museum in Trollhättan this year, many of them blue coupes.
I bought a new 07 Saab 9-3 Aero wagon 6spd using European Delivery. I picked it up July 2, 2007. It currently has 177K miles, but it hasn't been my daily driver since 2018.
Fun fact…. the Saab Viggen was also a Swedish fighter jet. It was also the only fighter jet to ever achieve missile lock on an SR-71 Blackbird. So yeah, quite an impressive name to live up to!
We swedes refuse to recognize the 9-2X and 9-7X as Saabs because they aren't. Every Saab model starting with the first gen 900 and the 9000 were available in the Aero trim level in Sweden. The lower spec models differed. S, SE, CSE, linear, Arc, Vector and such but the Aero was always the top trim level. Then there were the special editions like the 9-3 Viggen and 9-3 Turbo X, and 9-5 Griffin that was originally the V6 model but toward the final year models for the first gen 9-5 it was just another trim level. I know the US models have had different trim levels but I assumed the Aero would have been around for some time. Maybe the US had the Viggen instead of Aero? It sure wasn't the same spec as the swedish Viggen though, at least not the one in this video.
This one is not there because it has an aftermarket radio. The cup holder always gets removed in these when the radio gets changed for some reason, I have yet to figure out. My 9³ convertible still has the working factory radio, speakers are terrible though lol
@@TheChefChroniclesno that one still had it, I put a 2 din radio in mine and lost the cup holder unfortunately, and now the "infotainment" floats around lol
Lots of reminders of second cup holder, but there is one more Viggen specific quirk missing in the car interior review. The one more way to distinguish Viggen from regular 9-3 is the Viggen logo embossing located on the front seats. The regular 9-3 had the option to install Viggen seats, but those optional ones never had Viggen logo.
the "viggen" name actually comes from a fighter jet that saab also made. you can see the triangle logo next to the word viggen looks like a top down view of the jet
My dad does own an old NG 900 Turbo convertible. The ashtray in the back seat is missing, aftermarket stereo in this one of course. The little pocket above the radio IS surprisingly something that's stock in our old 900. What I like is the fact that this Viggen HAD a mug holder above the stereo (Which he didn't mention or showcase). Which we'd love because our mug holder is one that'll stand when it's standing still and you have to fold the basically nonexistent arm rest. And from what we've realized and probably many others Saab owners, these cars are amazing in third and fourth gears when accelerating. Then something that one of the owner has done is remove the lock for the reverse. Which is why it makes a noise when you open the door because it's supposed to be forcibly locked in Reverse before you can take your key out. The shifter isn't original either to my knowledge, which is probably why they also removed the reverse lock-out while changing the shifter.
Very cool to see a Saab reviewed! A bit frustrating how little effort seems to have been put in to understand the "quirks". Viggen is actually primarily a reference to the saab viggen fighter jet. The wheels are not from a viggen, they are from a 9-3 aero. The reason for having to leave the car in reverse is because it locks the gearbox in that gear as a theft prevention (you shouldn't even be able to take the key out of the ignition without doing that). The light button shows a small light because it keeps the small reading lights on. There is a cup holder that folds out right above the radio.
About the name 9-3, Saab already had the model 93 (1956-60), the first Saab model was the 92. Calling the new model the 9-3 was more of a connection to their heritage.
My first car was a 2004 saab 93. Miss it every day. The night panel is goated when you're driving at night, so nice. My dad worked at Saab in Trollhättan for 28 years until they shut down so I was basically raised in them, one of my favorite brands because they always wanted to do things their way even when GM told them not to, and in the end that is part of why they went under, but they died on their own terms
Doug has said that he doesn't like to review Saabs because they're too quirky and the Saab faithful will correct him about every little thing. I think Saabs are fascinating.
@@bwofficial1776 Couldn't agree more 🔥they just get more interesting. As a Saab fan and owner, I appreciate Doug for making this video as more attention to the brand is always great!
1:02 that disc brake rotor is massive, it fills the whole wheel! I remember around the mid-2000's on the motorway, one of these absolutely blasted past me (must have been doing 100+ MPH) in the overtaking lane, but we were just coming up to heavy traffic and it had to brake... the car slowed down the fastest I have ever seen a car slow down in my life, to the point I was braking normally (from driving at the limit) and had to brake maybe a little more sharply than normal, but this SAAB was another thing entirely and it ended up 50ft behind me because he must have hit the brakes a bit too much, overcompensating/panicking due to the traffic jam ahead, but the deceleration of the thing from like 100 MPH to 40 MPH was almost instantaneous and amazing to see the car could even do that. Looking at the brake rotor in this video I can see why! I don't know if it was a SAAB 93 I saw, it had a more boxy rear end (maybe a circa 2000 "9-5" model) but I am sure the front end was almost the same as the one in this video and it was like a saloon version of the 93. They were quite common back in the day. Also, these were one of the only cars back then car thieves avoided because there was some sort of (factory) lock on the gearstick and you just couldn't steal it without the key. In fact it was pretty much the only car that literally never got stolen back then - not without an ignition key.
Nice video, nice to see a Saab on this channel again! The dome light fact at 11:50, the 'off' switch is not off, it is the rear dome lights only. Plus, the Saab gives a lot of style and originality of choice - in my eyes
I'm sure you know this Doug, but those aren't the original Viggen wheels. Viggens came with 5-spoke gunmetal wheels that were famous for bending- hence, most of them have been replaced with the Triple-Y wheels you see here.
I was going to comment the same, but it’s actually better since the stock wheels were so soft. I had one for 6 years and replacing the wheels with same size Saab wheels from a 9-5 was a great change
Thank you, that I did not know about the wheels VIGGEN 5 spoke wheels. I was going to start looking for a set to put on my 9³ convertible SE to VIGGEN conversion. Now I guess I won't be. I have seats, a 2.3 AERO engine that I took out of a 9⁵ AERO I had to get rid of for body problems and I have the body kit... which I'm surprised he didn't talk about when talking about the differences.
@@TheChefChronicles Good thing you didn't do that! A lot of people consider the 3-piece BBS RK wheels that came on the '02 9-5 Aero to be the most desirable Saab wheels. Those would look great if you can find a set.
It finally came out! I remember this being mentioned in the car pod like 6 months ago where Doug just casually mentioned "I just filmed a video with the 9-3 Viggen" and I was like WHERE IS IT?! 😂
Yeah, but for about USD $600- you can buy a six point chassis brace and steering clamp from Taliaferro/Genuine SAAB that eliminates the torque steer and the cowl shake. The car becomes tighter than a drum and goes straight when you floor it.
Finally a SAAB review. I emailed Doug in his early days asking him to review a classic 900 Turbo SPG (Special Performance Group), and he writes back, "Of course the guy from New England wants me to review a SAAB LOL". Well Doug, THIIIIIIIIIS is a good car to review also. Thanks Bruh.
The name Viggen also come from the fact that Saab as well as a car manufacturer, is also an aircraft manufacturer and it pays hommage to it's Saab 37 Viggen multirole combat aircraft produced from 1971 to 1990
Some odd facts; The JA-37 Viggen was one of only two supersonic turbojet airplanes ever produced with thrust reverser included, so that the plane could maneuver itself completely even on the ground. The other was the Concorde. Furthermore, it's the only fighter which has been able to scramble and get up to speed in time and get up to such speed that it could get a solid lock on and feasibly take down the SR-71 Blackbird, which was "practically tested" due to a communications snag during an overpass over Swedish airspace. It has record-setting STOL capabilities, and is one of very few ASF planes - practically all others also being Swedish - capable of being refueled and re-munitioned in less than 10 minutes and being able to land on and take off from public highways. It was the first real series-produced fighter to incorporate canard wing planes and the first to carry an onboard IC central control computer and flight control system. True to type for Swedish planes, it was far from big, but the engine was the most specifically powerful for its size and weight of that whole era, and the airframe accomodated oodles of hardpoints and a practical overloading of weapons, continuing the typical characteristic of Swedish fighters of being basically "Hot Rods of the air."
SAAB-owners also frequently pay hommage to the JAS fighter jet crash-video, as they tend to use the same swearwords whenever the traditional gearbox failiure occurs.
I have owned three Saab 9-3s of this generation. Loved how unique and interesting it was once you got familiar with them. Plus with some simple mods and a tune, they could put out some good power. A couple things missed: -There is another cup holder under the center DIM screen. It folds out and is quite dainty. -The beep for reverse was there because the reverse gear is actually taller then 1st, which makes more resistant to roll if you parked on a steep hill. Mine actually locked the key in the ignition until the car was put in reverse when parked. -There is a "Shift Up" light that pops up in the tachometer to hep you get the best fuel economy. It also flashes right before you hit redline! -Fun fact about the night panel button: It works even if your lights are off! So you can freak out about a sudden electrical problem when you see your tach, temp, boost and fuel gauges just die! Until you realize you hit the night panel by accident...
It’s a shame this one isn’t finished in lightning blue (best viggen color) and doesn’t have the OEM viggen wheels. These “double Y” wheels were offered on the 9-5 and are a common upgrade on these 9-3’s. I’m glad he mentioned the structural rigidity from a handling perspective. The OG 9-3 convertibles are often referred to as the “wet noodle” chassis. Thankfully there are some aftermarket upgrades to improve that. The hatches are much better handling and definitely would have fared better on the Dougscore overall. I’m super excited to hear how much Doug enjoyed it overall!
Thanks for reviewing a Saab, Doug! I had a 1999 Saab 93 SE which was very similar. The cup holder in the dash another comment mentioned was a quirky thing. Another quirky thing was the way you had to lift up on the gear shift to put it in reverse. Stumped many a valet driver! You might have covered that on another Saab review but I thought I'd mention it.
I remember a couple years ago I was talking to one of the engineers at work and he mentioned he had a Saab convertible and I just took a shot in the dark and said oh is it a Viggen? And he lit up, like his expression changed. I think he was pretty surprised I even knew what it was. Feel like that one question made his day. I guess thats the type of person who owns a viggen though!
Except if you're 2 meters tall and you have an S40, but I still love my car. I just barely fit in, but I fit and doesn't make me uncomfortable, it's just shocking how little space you have when you realize it.
I miss the SAABs I’ve owned over the years. The 9-5 Aero wagon I had was equipped with heated and ventilated front seats and heated rear seats. They still worked perfectly 15 years later. I also had a blue coupe. BTW today is my birthday. How did you know?
He isn't as involved as he used to be, that's for sure... just the fact that he films his vids in his depressing concrete basement instead of outside like he used to (but he still films the outro outside to make appealing thumbnails)
I'm a former SAAB owner. I loved my silver 91' 9000 CD turbo with a blue leather interior. I'm so glad to see that this convertible has a proper manual transmission. I know that Mr. Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear complained about excess chassis flex in SAAB convertibles. Top Gear did a great send off to SAAB in a later episode. I really wish that SAAB was still in business. I would really love to own a SAAB again, just not a convertible. FYI: The fighter get company, and the car company were two different entity's. The SAAB fighter jet company is still in business. GM bought the rest of SAAB in 2000. All the SAAB SUV's ever made were just rebodied rebadged GM vehicles. The 92X shown at 7:17 was just a rebadged Subaru Impreza. Thank you.
I had a 1995 900s, drove a Viggen. I absolutely LOVE these cars. And yes... Something Almost Alway Breaks But the quirks and feeling of these cars is a ball of fun. The lightning blue 2 door Viggen is my dream car. Doug- your son would be so happy lol!
As someone who grew up with parents who owned SAABS, I love to see the genuine joy on Dougs face when he is driving it. Say what you want about SAAB, the AERO models were quick and fun as heck to drive. And the chicks digged it 😜
Doug has now officially reviewed every random quirky car that I've owned over the years with this review. I love how this one has the missing jack point covers too. Such a pain to source those things unless you want to buy some 3D printed ones off Etsy 😄
I’ve owned a Viggen in every configuration (currently own the rarest Monte Carlo Yellow 5-dr hatch). It’s a very underrated car. Unique, comfortable, and extremely rare (more so than an Integra type r) One thing Doug missed was the torque limited first 2 gears. The car really shines on the highway and the seats are exceptional. Thanks for reviewing!
This is the most reasonable, well thought out car dough has reviewed. Saab wasn't afraid to break from the industry norm if an alternative made more sense. It's literally the opposite of a ferrari.
My parents had two SAAB 9-3's in the mid 00's when I was around 20 years old and I remember those cars fondly. They were nice to drive and looked cool, in fact I still think it looks cool when I occasionally see one. I remember the key was this big full-plastic spaceship-looking thing that you put in the middle console and it felt cool to turn in that position.
Important fun fact you missed: The name Viggen comes from the SAAB 37 Viggen fighter jet, which first flew in 1967 and served the Swedish Air Force from 1971 to 2007. The word Viggen does indeed mean "Thunderbolt," but it also has a perfect homonym meaning "Tufted Duck," and the name of the fighter jet is recognized to refer to both meanings. Famously, the Viggen is the only aircraft acknowledged to have acquired a radar lock on the SR-71 Blackbird.
Yup, the Gripen started production in the mid-90ies and is still being produced and sold. The Viggen was in service from the 70ies iirc. The Viggen was a very iconic symbol of the innovative Swedish defense industry in the late cold war years.
I have had a number of Saabs. When my 900 SPG died, I bought a used 1996 900 Turbo. It was a fairly nice car to cruise in. I loved the night panel mode as I worked evenings. However you are 100% right on the torque issue. Where my SPG generally stayed straight while accelerating, the 900 Turbo would rapidly search for the nearest curb. It was a great car on the highway, but not as tossable as my old SPG. You also missed a quirk. When you had the trunk open, if you noticed the two straps that seemed to be supporting the convertible top mechanism, you could pull up on them and hook them into the D-rings. This would compress the top upwards, opening up more trunk room. Just remember to undo it before using the top again.
I bought a new Saab 9-3 in 2000, which was my first brand new car. I loved it so much and put about a 100 000 miles on it in ~6 years. The Night panel -feature was so great on dark, arctic Nordic roads during the winter, and so was the car in general. These days I drive new premium 100k cars, but the 9-3 still has a place in my heart. This review got me thinking that maybe I should look for a mint 9-3 Viggen convertible for a weekender... 🇸🇪
And have to add that these cars are ultra-rare: Only 1 305 Viggen convertibles were ever made, and a fun fact, all of them in Uusikaupunki, Finland instead of Trollhättän, Sweden. 🇸🇪
I had one of these in 1999. It only came in blue, 2 door version and came with a complimentary 2 driving course in Georgia. Learned skills I still use to this day. .
The top knob on the driver’s ventilation is so you can quickly de-fog/de-ice the driver’s window at the rear view mirror and still get some heat on yourself meanwhile. Very nice in our Swedish winter weather conditions :)
Thanks Doug! For a Swede and an enthusiast like me, i just love it. I own a OG9-5(-01, 30000 kilometers(18 641.1358 miles)), with custom e85 tune etc. It was sad to see GM handle that brand so bad. Again, thanks and love from Sweden you all! edit: The _Viggen_ is named after the Swedish airforce "fighter/combat aircraft" ; Saab 37 Viggen. There is also a _Gripen_ logo of some SAAB cars, came thru the merge with Scania(the truck brand), "inspired" by our combat aircraft ; Saab 39 Gripen.
I had a 95 900SE 3 door manual scarab green. Loved every second of it. So much character with these cars. Loved the review! Now do a review of my 8J TTRS!
The ignition in the center was such a great Saab feature. In 2006 I got into a car accident in my 95 Accord coupe and the keys dug into my knee pretty bad, causing me to require many stiches, among other injuries. Funnily enough, I got the car from a friend, who had moved on to driving a Saab 93.
Those wheels are not the original Viggen wheels. The original ones are notoriously soft and would bend out of round. Many Viggen owners replace them with other wheels (Saab or otherwise). I certainly did, as well as going to a wider 18” wheel.
Usually with Saab you cannot even pull the key out of the ignition unless you have it in reverse. Perhaps that is different for the US market? I notice that the ignition lock is rusty, it has probably been rained on (or flooded).
Dude!!! The 9-3s of this era are so cool. I had an 01 5 door (non viggen) but did a big turbo, intercooler, charge pipe, exhaust, etc. was the best sleeper and was the most comfortable car. Best $1000 I ever spent. Did do a lot of maintenance on it though 😭
Som of the designers did work for NEVS that bought the reminds of SAAB Automobile. They designed a electric car called Emily that är very much a SAAB and if we are lucky will be produced.
The door beeps with the key out because if its not put in reverse, then take the key out the ignition is not fully locked, same as not putting an auto in "P". It's called reverse lockout. Therefore, it can't be put in neutral and rolled away, as well as locking the transmission to keep it from rolling if the parking brake was not applied. If the key is coming out without being put in reverse it means your ignition is worn. The fasten belt sign is there to make it reminiscent of the fasten belt sign in planes and jets, it also resembles the fasten belts sign of planes and jets as SAABs slogan was once "born from jets". I myself own 2 of the first phase 9⁵s, a wagon and sedan, both AEROs and both manual. I also own this generation of 9³ convertible. I've also owned 4 9000s of various years all turbo 3 of them manual. Been driving these cars since I was 16, I'm now 42.
This was my dream car when I was ten. A guy in my condo had the previous model and then this. He had also curly hairs, wore sunglasses, and I tought he was the coolest guy in the world. I especially loved the fact it was a cabrio and that he had wipers on the headlights. Today no car manifacturer does cabrio: for a grown up kid this sucks.
I don't know about the 9-3 but in the 9-5 you couldn't get they key out of the ignition unless you had the gear selector in R. Also another strange Saab quirk
A decade ago I had an `01 E46 M3 cabriolet and my neighbor, a dentist, had a 9-3 Viggen convertible (in that amazing blue) and we would talk about how comparable they were. So I got the idea that we should swap cars for a day and we did, and while I did like it, the turbo 4 was a little laggy and I really wasn't a fan of it being FWD. My neighbor OTOH fell in love with the M3 and within a few months he traded his Viggen for a nice used cabrio, the same year as mine.
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As a Swede, it always makes me happy to see a saab being talked about, they're highly underrated
As a dane, I so want a SAAB! I always get so excited, and snap a pic, when a see one in the wild!
swedish car brands are overrated
Ive always been into Honda's but ive been looking at 93's a whole lot recently
As an American, I was in college during the mid/late 80's. Being in a "residential/urban" campus I past a few 900's while walking to class and such.
I was enamored. I still hope to find a decent enough one from that era to buy and fix up if need be. Such a unique and exceptional auto company.
I was very sad when the recession took them out.
Nah
Fun fact: When in nightpanel mode, the rest of the speedometer actually lights up if you reach a high enough speed.
Also, if fuel gets low, the fuel gauge illuminates. Same with others like engine temp. Clever system.
Yes, at 140 kilometers per hour. Once I was going to Nurburgring at night and went faster on the german autobahn and suddenly the speedometer lighted up. Scared me to death the first second. 🙂
@@mok244 of course you do
The same goes for the tachometer, fuel guage, turbo and engine temp. Tested it on a 9-5.
@@rengan turbo won't light up on the viggen, except at high altitude. The needle sits at the end of the yellow at normal altitude.
Fun fact: The 9-3 Viggen got its name from the fighter jet produced by Saab called the "Saab 37 Viggen"
Ah no wonder, when you looked at its logo it also kinda resembles the jet's delta wing design 😮
And on Metalstorm it's like a cheat code for its long ranged guns.
What is a missle?
should have been mentionned in the video, as well as the round gauge cluster style is derived from fighter jets
@@retrocompaq5212 yes i cant believe Doug havent realised that
I was expecting Canards and a Mach 2 top speed from the car, because I knew about the jet first😂.
Fun fact: Saab convertibles those days were actually manufactured in Finland. The only car factory in Finland was specialized in convertibles, makes full sense for a near-artic-circle car factory :D
Also all Viggen models were made in Finland.
Fun Fact: Early Porsche Boxsters were built on the same line as these Saabs in Finland.
Assembled by Valmet in Finland, both Saab convertibles and Porsche Boxster.
Oot muuten vitun nolo. Lopeta. Sinunlaisten takia häpeän kotimaatani.
If it's built in Finland, it lasts longer because the Finns do it properly compared to some German manufacturers...
I miss Saab. They were such unique cars
I only miss the awd saab, like the 9-3x
I had a NA 9000, 5spd so much fun.
If you'd miss them, you'd buy one.
Agreed. 😢 They were quick with a turbo and had a very driver-focused cockpit.
Got a 2006 9-5 2.0T BioPower, not really a OG SAAB, better quality interior in my previous 2001. Miss my 1987 900.
Sorry Doug I'm a huge Saab nerd lol.
- The first model year of the 9-3 was 1998, not 1999.
- The 9-3 came as a 2D vert, 3D hatchback/coupé and a 5D hatchback.
- Viggen doesn't mean thunderbolt in Swedish, that's just a myth. I have never heard anyone in Sweden say that. Viggen is simply just a name.
- The Viggen didn't have distinctly bigger wheels, in Europe we also got an Aero trim that came with the rims shown on the Viggen in the video. So no those are not the Viggen rims, the Viggen was actually revealed with another rim design that that was scrapped last minute due to them being unstable at somewhere around 190km/h. So they just picked out an optional rim design for the 9-3 and made them the Viggen rims. The Viggen concept the 900 SVO still has those rims, and my dad's 99' Viggen rolled off the line on a set of those rims.
- Doug there is a huge Viggen logo in the seats, and also those seats were originally Viggen only also they can be colored back/blue or black/orange the instrument panel is Viggen only. So there are lots of stuff that is special and the Viggen interior is very easy to tell apart from other trims.
- The center ignition is also very effective at preventing car theft as you can't rip out the wires and just start it even if the ECM is switched out for one without an immo code. And if you could you would still be stuck in reverse... Saabs were famous before the 9-3 and 9-5 came for being the bank robber's favourite car in Sweden. So a bit of engineering went into stopping that lol.
- Nightpanel is kinda dynamic if you exceed 140km/h the rest of the speedo lights up. And if you are low on gas the right side of the cluster lights up. The thought is that you see just what you need to see.
On the contrary, the name really is an older word for lightning, ”vigg”, here in the definite form ”viggen”.
Thanks for saving me typing all of this. Except for Viggen, which does mean thunderbolt or refers to a tufted duck... But as they also called their fighter jet viggen, we can safely assume they meant the thunderbolt.
Also, around here I have never seen a Viggen with the cupholder above the radio. But then the Viggen's also came with Saab's audio system that is missing from this car. So that might be why they put the cupholder in.
And yes, those are Aero wheels, not Viggen wheels as they would come with 5-spoke wheels as standard.
As with many European cars, the model year intro is (or was at the time) often one year ahead of its introduction to the North American market. So what you might have had premiere in 1998, North America would get as a new model in 1999.
For most people, the 9-3 wasn't available until the 1999 model year. "2 door hatchback" and "3 door" are the same thing. One makes more sense than the other. Saab themselves said "Viggen" was chosen for their fighter jet because it means thunderbolt.
Viggen was the only 9-3 to have 17" rims from the start. The Aero in '00 had 16" and not until 2001, when the Aero got the Viggen body kit, it too got 17" rims.
If memory serves, if you set the gearbox to reverse and remove the key, the gearbox locks in reverse as an anti theft measure (comparable to steering wheel locking when the lock is on the column). This is why it beeps until shifted to reverse.
This is correct.
Correct. While most other manufacturers used steering wheel locks as an anti-theft measure Saab went with the gearbox version locking it in reverse. The thinking being who would ever want to steal a car you can only drive backwards or first have to break the gearbox. It also, like Doug pointed out, had the purpose of forcing you to put the car in gear when parking it to act as a safety if you ever to forgot use the parking break.
I drive 9-3 and yes this is correct, however you should not be able to even take out the key from the ignition unless gearbox is in reverse and ignition is in locked position. Ignition lock is busted in this one.
When I was younger, I was a valet parker. I can tell you if you don’t know how to work a SAAB you weren’t gonna move it.
The primary reason for placing the key where it is, was a safety feature. In the event of a crash if thesteering coloumn goes into the cabin/driver, the key can go into your leg. Although you are correct in that it was also a highly effective security feature. This is why we loved Saab's attention to detail and engineering. Sorely missed.
Saab was all about safety, so they did not care that much about 0-100 km/h, instead they created an engine which has massive torque from 60 to 120 km/h. That is the most useful and most needed acceleration.
@@RoyalMela their overtake speed could trounce any bmw/audi/jag
I used to have ng 900 with 2.0 N/A engine, it always felt way faster than 130hp, because the power was at the right range.
@@Drew-zr2fu I dunno I have 1999 Audi A4 with the 2.8 V6 and it's pretty beefy. Plenty of mid range power and being naturally aspirated it revs quick
No one knows how powerful these engines are.
Yep, it actually accelerated faster than some Ferrari models within that speed range, which was the most important when passing other cars.
There is hidden cup holder in the front dash underneath the Night Panel button; you can see the little Cup pictogram 12:09. It's very nicely designed and slowly opens with a smooth spring action.
@@moravetz I was just about to type this as well haha
@@amadeusj.macleodora.j8939 Me to :)
I was about to post this exact comment!!!
It's probably broken too, just like the 9-5
If it’s broken Doug should disclose it.
Called it 3 months ago! A 900 Aero or 99 Turbo should be next. or at least a 9000 Aero or 9-5 Aero. Its a bit of a shame Doug picked this particular example, being somewhat non-original and in pretty neglected condition but its nice to see Doug enjoying it nonetheless and I understand the struggle to find a great one. I'd bet he would've formed a better opinion having driven one for a longer period of time and having a better condition example, especially with the cupholder in the dash, which appears to be broken on this car. The ignition also appears to be broken on this car. The key shouldn't be able to come out unless the car is in reverse. The beeping without the key is a result of that and it should be fixed before things get worse.
Just a couple corrections so people don't go around telling the wrong story on these: Literally everywhere in the promotional and historical material for this car, they mention the SAAB 37 Viggen fighter jet, which this car is inspired by. You see, SAAB was (and continues to be) primarily an aerospace and defense company. Also in the literature, these are referred to as "9-3" instead of using the superscript 3 (presumably because its a pain to teach lots of people how to type a superscript 3), not to be confused with the 93 model from the 1950s. These wheels are 9-3 SE/Aero "Double Y" wheels, not Viggen wheels. The Aero trim level was always around, even in this generation. It was a step below the Viggen, but had this same body kit. It was known as the SE Sport in some markets during this generation. The 90 was a low budget, low production, transitional model between the 99 and 900, which we did not get here in North America. Nowhere does Saab mention that 90+000 is 90,000 (or 9 cubed, equaling 729). The rear position for the dome light rocker switch is for the rear dome light. Not only is the ignition in the center console for knee protection, It's also there because legacy Saabs used it to lock the shifter as an alternative to having to lock the steering wheel. You can blame any torque steer this car has on the push to make Saabs more normal (as with the 9000 in 1984) and profitable to keep the brand from going under, which it almost did in 1989. That and the fact that, thanks to GM's 50% (1989) and subsequent 100% ownership (1998) of Saab, this car is loosely (and I mean very loosely) based on the GM2900 floorpan which included the transverse FWD layout. Some older Saab loyalists complained about this at the time, but we'll be thanking Saab for making these more normal as they age and have to be repaired. Older Saabs used a driveline that eliminated torque steer by placing the engine longitudinally in reverse (and slanted at about 45 degrees) with the output at the front of the car, going through a chain drive down and back into the transmission, centered under the engine, allowing for equal length drive shafts to the front wheels. These DOHC H series engines are some of the strongest gas 4cyl engines ever made. H series equipped Saabs have proven themselves as the easiest to own and maintain, while also being the most durable. You can approach 400hp in this car with stock internals and many people have. There are heavily modified versions out there making several hundred or more. Doug says this car will never play in the league with the M series and the AMG cars but I guarantee these are stronger in other ways. Having owned an E46 myself, I can confirm these are better made, and usually wont need the engine opened up til well over 200k miles. Something you can't say about most BMWs of the same era, as a certain C&B employee has proven.
It was a good car. I've always said it was good at everything, but excelled at nothing. Good snow car, good gas mileage, reliable, fast, fun, could haul stuff, etc. I corrupted a friend who still has two of them. I replaced mine with a '08 BMW M3, but still miss my Viggen. What sort of killed it was when I bought my '00 new, Saab was trying to compete with the euro's; so the service department really took care of you; Saab loaners, personal tech assigned, service agreements like free oil changes, winter tire storage, etc. By '03, GM really hit them hard on the service side and pushed you through like you bought a Chevy; like cattle being processed at a check-in counter. No longer remotely comparative to experience you'd get at Mercedes, Audi, or BMW.
Truth! This not a SAAB! This is an Opal. 1992 for two door and four door, 1993 for the convertible, was the last true 900 was seen in the US
@@scottbeverly1804 Its Opel, first of all. This car has almost nothing to do with Opel other than the heavily modified floor pan.
@@MrJMS814 GM at the time gave an Opel to SAAB and told them to just rebadge it... The joke was that the Swedes weren´t happy with the looks of the Opel and stripped nearly everything away and build a completely new "Opel" to then rebadge it to SAAB...
@@MrJMS814 wow, thanks for the info, I never knew this 🙌
Doug is the type of guy to review a swedish car on 4th of july
it was during their GM period
As someone who has a Swedish fiance, I see both coountries as my home...perfect timing
And?
The type of guy is indeed Doug.
@@fortheloveofnoiseUSA and sweden are the best coountries
This car is all messed up. Viggens key couldn’t be removed unless it was in reverse. Someone defeated that interlock. That probably had the side effect of making the alarm beep if it wasn’t in reverse.
The Saab logo on the steering wheel is not correct for a Viggen.
Night panel lights up the entire speedometer if you go over 100.
The spring out cup holder above the radio is broken, as is typical in all Viggens.
Rear ashtray is missing.
Wheels are aftermarket. Viggens only came with a 5-spoke wheel that was specific to the Viggen (as seen on the blue one in the video).
the beep is a factory feature, wheels are from a different saab.
@@Wirldly the beep is a factory feature if you leave the key in. The ability to remove the key without the car in reverse is not. The ignition switch is broken. If the key comes out with the car out of reverse, the switch thinks the key is still in it and it beeps.
8:06 you can even see where someone had difficulty finding the ignition that isn't there, jabbing and scratching the key along the steering column housing
Thought the same thing 😂
I was laughing when I saw the scratches!!
Having owned a Saab 9-3 from this era, can confirm every Saab has those scratches from people who didn't know where to put the key
All the normal cars I drive have those same marks in the center console, where the ignition SHOULD be.
Old habits die hard.
That poor viggen is beat. Wrong wheels, missing jack covers, and beat up inside. Need to drive one kept up in maintenance to push that Doug score up!
True. We have a 9-3 SE convertible of the same age in the family and it looks MUCH better inside...
this cars reverse gear lock is broken, and that explains the beeping when you open the door. saab used a reverse gear locks as theft deterrence instead of steering wheel locks.
the key is only supposed to come out of the ignition when reverse is engaged. the car beeps at you because the combination of being in neutral without the key shouldnt even be possible lol
The ignition is worn out, that's why he was able to take the key out without putting it in reverse. Notice when he did put it in reverse and take the key out you hear the ignition pop up and lock. Both my 9⁵s are somewhat like this. Not because my ignition is worn but because I removed the ignition pins.
The whole car is rough. The jacking point covers are missing, the petrol cap cover doesn’t match the colour of the car, there is a hole in the right headlight, the chrome has worn off the grill, the drivers seat is very worn and the tyres are flat…
@gordonyoul9515 Wow, I didn't notice all of that. Well I did notice the jacking point cover was missing. The rest I did not, probably because I was typing a small novel about things he missed or seem to not know or wasn't correct about.
@@gordonyoul9515also the ciggarette holder in the back is gone.
@@gordonyoul9515 And when he shows the cup holder between the seats you clearly see that the rear seat vents are loose. And the cup holder in the dash is cracked.
Doug, the centre screen also told you to clean your tape heads and also when to change your wiperblades. The speedometer was designed to have the needle vertical at highway speeds so you glanced down and looked at position rather than read the numbers. The central ignition was also a thief preventer. You had to put the car on its side to hot wire it. Thanks for the memories.
People who hasn't floored one of these don't understand the mid range torque. It's bananas.
Only to Saab owners who don’t know how to change gears….
@@jesperwall839wauw, so much positivity🎉
Yes, I was quite surprised when I tested mine before buying it, just told my friend "its not very powerful" then I hit 2,3k rpm and wauw
yep my friend has a 9-3 stage 1 with roughly 230hp and it feels like a rocket
The Saab 90 was actually the successor of the 99 (1968-1984), to be the cheapest car in the line-up and it was made between 1985-1987. It was a partsbin-special: 99 front-end and 2-door 900 rear. It was my first car. The Viggen name was borrowed from a Saab fighter jet. There were quite a few of the Viggens at the Saab Festival, by the Saab Museum in Trollhättan this year, many of them blue coupes.
I bought a new 07 Saab 9-3 Aero wagon 6spd using European Delivery. I picked it up July 2, 2007. It currently has 177K miles, but it hasn't been my daily driver since 2018.
Fun fact…. the Saab Viggen was also a Swedish fighter jet. It was also the only fighter jet to ever achieve missile lock on an SR-71 Blackbird. So yeah, quite an impressive name to live up to!
DOUG FINALLY REVIEWED ANOTHER SAAB 🇸🇪🤩
Wow it's the SAAB guy! Love the vids
I’d love to see him review a first gen 9-5 Aero, first gen 900 Aero and 9000 Aero, or whatever the equivalent trim models in the US were at the time.
@@ErikN1 The SUV models were sold in the US, the 92X etc, the Aero and the Sedan 93 in Sweden.
We swedes refuse to recognize the 9-2X and 9-7X as Saabs because they aren't. Every Saab model starting with the first gen 900 and the 9000 were available in the Aero trim level in Sweden. The lower spec models differed. S, SE, CSE, linear, Arc, Vector and such but the Aero was always the top trim level. Then there were the special editions like the 9-3 Viggen and 9-3 Turbo X, and 9-5 Griffin that was originally the V6 model but toward the final year models for the first gen 9-5 it was just another trim level.
I know the US models have had different trim levels but I assumed the Aero would have been around for some time. Maybe the US had the Viggen instead of Aero? It sure wasn't the same spec as the swedish Viggen though, at least not the one in this video.
It’s the Saab goat
You missed that the straps on the top bag in the trunk can be used to collapse the bag upwards, creating more trunk space when the roof is up.
Did he miss the cup holder under the "night vision" button? their so classic and great.
This one is not there because it has an aftermarket radio. The cup holder always gets removed in these when the radio gets changed for some reason, I have yet to figure out. My 9³ convertible still has the working factory radio, speakers are terrible though lol
@@TheChefChroniclesno that one still had it, I put a 2 din radio in mine and lost the cup holder unfortunately, and now the "infotainment" floats around lol
@@TheChefChronicles It is there, but I bet it's broken, they usually is. Mine is.
i love how theres scratches on the steering column from people attempting to put the key in
Lots of reminders of second cup holder, but there is one more Viggen specific quirk missing in the car interior review. The one more way to distinguish Viggen from regular 9-3 is the Viggen logo embossing located on the front seats. The regular 9-3 had the option to install Viggen seats, but those optional ones never had Viggen logo.
He also missed the Viggen-specific (until 2003) bumper trim and side lower body cladding. 🤷
Nice to see a SAAB finally on this channel, glad you liked it !. Paul @ The SAAB Clinic.
the "viggen" name actually comes from a fighter jet that saab also made. you can see the triangle logo next to the word viggen looks like a top down view of the jet
It actually refers to the fact that this vehicle doesn't eat eggs, honey or milk. 😂
My dad does own an old NG 900 Turbo convertible. The ashtray in the back seat is missing, aftermarket stereo in this one of course. The little pocket above the radio IS surprisingly something that's stock in our old 900. What I like is the fact that this Viggen HAD a mug holder above the stereo (Which he didn't mention or showcase). Which we'd love because our mug holder is one that'll stand when it's standing still and you have to fold the basically nonexistent arm rest. And from what we've realized and probably many others Saab owners, these cars are amazing in third and fourth gears when accelerating. Then something that one of the owner has done is remove the lock for the reverse. Which is why it makes a noise when you open the door because it's supposed to be forcibly locked in Reverse before you can take your key out. The shifter isn't original either to my knowledge, which is probably why they also removed the reverse lock-out while changing the shifter.
I love how underrated Saabs are, the past 4 9-3’s of mine I’ve gotten for less than 5k and all drive fun
Very cool to see a Saab reviewed! A bit frustrating how little effort seems to have been put in to understand the "quirks". Viggen is actually primarily a reference to the saab viggen fighter jet. The wheels are not from a viggen, they are from a 9-3 aero. The reason for having to leave the car in reverse is because it locks the gearbox in that gear as a theft prevention (you shouldn't even be able to take the key out of the ignition without doing that). The light button shows a small light because it keeps the small reading lights on. There is a cup holder that folds out right above the radio.
About the name 9-3, Saab already had the model 93 (1956-60), the first Saab model was the 92.
Calling the new model the 9-3 was more of a connection to their heritage.
@@fredric3385 And I don't know how he got to 5 zeros if they would continue to 90000 from 9000...
My first car was a 2004 saab 93. Miss it every day. The night panel is goated when you're driving at night, so nice. My dad worked at Saab in Trollhättan for 28 years until they shut down so I was basically raised in them, one of my favorite brands because they always wanted to do things their way even when GM told them not to, and in the end that is part of why they went under, but they died on their own terms
A Saab video??!! Love it! I've always wanted a Viggen, but I love my SE convertible
I miss mine thanks to this video, sold it last year. Interior was in much better shape than this one.
@@simonpoko4274I'll miss mine too when the time comes to sell... Great cars
Doug has said that he doesn't like to review Saabs because they're too quirky and the Saab faithful will correct him about every little thing. I think Saabs are fascinating.
@@bwofficial1776 Couldn't agree more 🔥they just get more interesting. As a Saab fan and owner, I appreciate Doug for making this video as more attention to the brand is always great!
1:02 that disc brake rotor is massive, it fills the whole wheel!
I remember around the mid-2000's on the motorway, one of these absolutely blasted past me (must have been doing 100+ MPH) in the overtaking lane, but we were just coming up to heavy traffic and it had to brake... the car slowed down the fastest I have ever seen a car slow down in my life, to the point I was braking normally (from driving at the limit) and had to brake maybe a little more sharply than normal, but this SAAB was another thing entirely and it ended up 50ft behind me because he must have hit the brakes a bit too much, overcompensating/panicking due to the traffic jam ahead, but the deceleration of the thing from like 100 MPH to 40 MPH was almost instantaneous and amazing to see the car could even do that.
Looking at the brake rotor in this video I can see why! I don't know if it was a SAAB 93 I saw, it had a more boxy rear end (maybe a circa 2000 "9-5" model) but I am sure the front end was almost the same as the one in this video and it was like a saloon version of the 93. They were quite common back in the day.
Also, these were one of the only cars back then car thieves avoided because there was some sort of (factory) lock on the gearstick and you just couldn't steal it without the key. In fact it was pretty much the only car that literally never got stolen back then - not without an ignition key.
Need to get your hands on a '96-98 9000 Aero, Similar/better performance, lighter & No TCS, pre GM era. Absolutely fantastic cars
Nice video, nice to see a Saab on this channel again!
The dome light fact at 11:50, the 'off' switch is not off, it is the rear dome lights only. Plus, the Saab gives a lot of style and originality of choice - in my eyes
I'm sure you know this Doug, but those aren't the original Viggen wheels. Viggens came with 5-spoke gunmetal wheels that were famous for bending- hence, most of them have been replaced with the Triple-Y wheels you see here.
Spoiler: he doesn't know.
“Softies”. Our Viggens wheels were so out of round that it became undrivable. Was lucky to find a perfect set. Made all the difference in the world!
I was going to comment the same, but it’s actually better since the stock wheels were so soft. I had one for 6 years and replacing the wheels with same size Saab wheels from a 9-5 was a great change
Thank you, that I did not know about the wheels VIGGEN 5 spoke wheels. I was going to start looking for a set to put on my 9³ convertible SE to VIGGEN conversion. Now I guess I won't be. I have seats, a 2.3 AERO engine that I took out of a 9⁵ AERO I had to get rid of for body problems and I have the body kit... which I'm surprised he didn't talk about when talking about the differences.
@@TheChefChronicles Good thing you didn't do that! A lot of people consider the 3-piece BBS RK wheels that came on the '02 9-5 Aero to be the most desirable Saab wheels. Those would look great if you can find a set.
It finally came out! I remember this being mentioned in the car pod like 6 months ago where Doug just casually mentioned "I just filmed a video with the 9-3 Viggen" and I was like WHERE IS IT?! 😂
Saab was such an underrated car company.
Every car needs Night Panel.
Cruise control on the turn signal stalk not quirky. It was common in cars pre 90’s.
I had one of these and the scuttle shake over uneven roads was diabolical. Chopping off the roof turned it into jelly...
Yeah, but for about USD $600- you can buy a six point chassis brace and steering clamp from Taliaferro/Genuine SAAB that eliminates the torque steer and the cowl shake. The car becomes tighter than a drum and goes straight when you floor it.
Finally a SAAB review. I emailed Doug in his early days asking him to review a classic 900 Turbo SPG (Special Performance Group), and he writes back, "Of course the guy from New England wants me to review a SAAB LOL". Well Doug, THIIIIIIIIIS is a good car to review also. Thanks Bruh.
The name Viggen also come from the fact that Saab as well as a car manufacturer, is also an aircraft manufacturer and it pays hommage to it's Saab 37 Viggen multirole combat aircraft produced from 1971 to 1990
Some odd facts; The JA-37 Viggen was one of only two supersonic turbojet airplanes ever produced with thrust reverser included, so that the plane could maneuver itself completely even on the ground. The other was the Concorde. Furthermore, it's the only fighter which has been able to scramble and get up to speed in time and get up to such speed that it could get a solid lock on and feasibly take down the SR-71 Blackbird, which was "practically tested" due to a communications snag during an overpass over Swedish airspace. It has record-setting STOL capabilities, and is one of very few ASF planes - practically all others also being Swedish - capable of being refueled and re-munitioned in less than 10 minutes and being able to land on and take off from public highways. It was the first real series-produced fighter to incorporate canard wing planes and the first to carry an onboard IC central control computer and flight control system. True to type for Swedish planes, it was far from big, but the engine was the most specifically powerful for its size and weight of that whole era, and the airframe accomodated oodles of hardpoints and a practical overloading of weapons, continuing the typical characteristic of Swedish fighters of being basically "Hot Rods of the air."
SAAB-owners also frequently pay hommage to the JAS fighter jet crash-video, as they tend to use the same swearwords whenever the traditional gearbox failiure occurs.
@@LloydBraun11 You relative with Eva Braun?🇩🇪
I have owned three Saab 9-3s of this generation. Loved how unique and interesting it was once you got familiar with them. Plus with some simple mods and a tune, they could put out some good power.
A couple things missed:
-There is another cup holder under the center DIM screen. It folds out and is quite dainty.
-The beep for reverse was there because the reverse gear is actually taller then 1st, which makes more resistant to roll if you parked on a steep hill. Mine actually locked the key in the ignition until the car was put in reverse when parked.
-There is a "Shift Up" light that pops up in the tachometer to hep you get the best fuel economy. It also flashes right before you hit redline!
-Fun fact about the night panel button: It works even if your lights are off! So you can freak out about a sudden electrical problem when you see your tach, temp, boost and fuel gauges just die! Until you realize you hit the night panel by accident...
It’s a shame this one isn’t finished in lightning blue (best viggen color) and doesn’t have the OEM viggen wheels. These “double Y” wheels were offered on the 9-5 and are a common upgrade on these 9-3’s.
I’m glad he mentioned the structural rigidity from a handling perspective. The OG 9-3 convertibles are often referred to as the “wet noodle” chassis. Thankfully there are some aftermarket upgrades to improve that. The hatches are much better handling and definitely would have fared better on the Dougscore overall.
I’m super excited to hear how much Doug enjoyed it overall!
@@AutoAutopsy I’ve been watching you for like 5 yrs now, love your stuff keep it up
I think MCY was the best colour but nobody seems to agree
@@robertmcgregor8389definitely a close second imo. Cannot go wrong with MCY!
@@ravensmedley2525thanks so much for the support. I appreciate it!
Should also have the Viggen logo embossed in to all four of the seat backs.
Thanks for reviewing a Saab, Doug! I had a 1999 Saab 93 SE which was very similar. The cup holder in the dash another comment mentioned was a quirky thing. Another quirky thing was the way you had to lift up on the gear shift to put it in reverse. Stumped many a valet driver! You might have covered that on another Saab review but I thought I'd mention it.
Not a lot of power, but tons of torque! I loved those mid-90s turbo Saabs. Such a unique and fun car.
I remember a couple years ago I was talking to one of the engineers at work and he mentioned he had a Saab convertible and I just took a shot in the dark and said oh is it a Viggen? And he lit up, like his expression changed. I think he was pretty surprised I even knew what it was. Feel like that one question made his day. I guess thats the type of person who owns a viggen though!
Volvo and Saab had theeeeee most comfortable driver's seats ever
Agreed.
Except if you're 2 meters tall and you have an S40, but I still love my car. I just barely fit in, but I fit and doesn't make me uncomfortable, it's just shocking how little space you have when you realize it.
I miss the SAABs I’ve owned over the years. The 9-5 Aero wagon I had was equipped with heated and ventilated front seats and heated rear seats. They still worked perfectly 15 years later. I also had a blue coupe.
BTW today is my birthday. How did you know?
Doug didn't climb into the back seats
unacceptable!
Get this to the top
He is above this kind of content now. He forgot were he came from 😅😂😂
He doesn't care anymore.
He isn't as involved as he used to be, that's for sure... just the fact that he films his vids in his depressing concrete basement instead of outside like he used to (but he still films the outro outside to make appealing thumbnails)
I'm a former SAAB owner. I loved my silver 91' 9000 CD turbo with a blue leather interior. I'm so glad to see that this convertible has a proper manual transmission. I know that Mr. Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear complained about excess chassis flex in SAAB convertibles. Top Gear did a great send off to SAAB in a later episode. I really wish that SAAB was still in business. I would really love to own a SAAB again, just not a convertible. FYI: The fighter get company, and the car company were two different entity's. The SAAB fighter jet company is still in business. GM bought the rest of SAAB in 2000. All the SAAB SUV's ever made were just rebodied rebadged GM vehicles. The 92X shown at 7:17 was just a rebadged Subaru Impreza. Thank you.
Love all the key damage where the ignition usually is on most cars from mechanics and test drivers looking for it 😂
I had a 1995 900s, drove a Viggen. I absolutely LOVE these cars.
And yes...
Something
Almost
Alway
Breaks
But the quirks and feeling of these cars is a ball of fun. The lightning blue 2 door Viggen is my dream car. Doug- your son would be so happy lol!
The scratches on the steering collumn tell a lot about this car's history.
As someone who grew up with parents who owned SAABS, I love to see the genuine joy on Dougs face when he is driving it. Say what you want about SAAB, the AERO models were quick and fun as heck to drive. And the chicks digged it 😜
Doug has now officially reviewed every random quirky car that I've owned over the years with this review. I love how this one has the missing jack point covers too. Such a pain to source those things unless you want to buy some 3D printed ones off Etsy 😄
I’ve owned a Viggen in every configuration (currently own the rarest Monte Carlo Yellow 5-dr hatch). It’s a very underrated car. Unique, comfortable, and extremely rare (more so than an Integra type r)
One thing Doug missed was the torque limited first 2 gears. The car really shines on the highway and the seats are exceptional.
Thanks for reviewing!
One of my favorite Saabs of all time. Thanks for posting!
This is the most reasonable, well thought out car dough has reviewed. Saab wasn't afraid to break from the industry norm if an alternative made more sense. It's literally the opposite of a ferrari.
FINALLY ANOTHER SAAB!!
My parents had two SAAB 9-3's in the mid 00's when I was around 20 years old and I remember those cars fondly. They were nice to drive and looked cool, in fact I still think it looks cool when I occasionally see one. I remember the key was this big full-plastic spaceship-looking thing that you put in the middle console and it felt cool to turn in that position.
Doug is back to reviewing the old quirky cars!
5:33 Hi Doug, these are actually the aero wheels. The viggen wheels were 5 spoke 17” alloys
Fun fact: The viggen motor was from the 9-5 Aero at the time which had the B235R
But they have No overboost function from the factoy...... Like the 9-5 aero
@@docsaaab true
@@lando0861 vice versa, the 9-5 Aero came in MY2000...
Important fun fact you missed: The name Viggen comes from the SAAB 37 Viggen fighter jet, which first flew in 1967 and served the Swedish Air Force from 1971 to 2007. The word Viggen does indeed mean "Thunderbolt," but it also has a perfect homonym meaning "Tufted Duck," and the name of the fighter jet is recognized to refer to both meanings. Famously, the Viggen is the only aircraft acknowledged to have acquired a radar lock on the SR-71 Blackbird.
Viggen was a name of the fighter jet that Saab also made at the time
Yes thats true,they used it in the commercial
Well out of production by then, but yes, more or less.
@@GoldenCroc oh, ok they were building Gripens ilready?
Yup, the Gripen started production in the mid-90ies and is still being produced and sold. The Viggen was in service from the 70ies iirc. The Viggen was a very iconic symbol of the innovative Swedish defense industry in the late cold war years.
@@karolj2510 @dhmacher has given the correct answer above.
I have had a number of Saabs. When my 900 SPG died, I bought a used 1996 900 Turbo. It was a fairly nice car to cruise in. I loved the night panel mode as I worked evenings. However you are 100% right on the torque issue. Where my SPG generally stayed straight while accelerating, the 900 Turbo would rapidly search for the nearest curb. It was a great car on the highway, but not as tossable as my old SPG.
You also missed a quirk. When you had the trunk open, if you noticed the two straps that seemed to be supporting the convertible top mechanism, you could pull up on them and hook them into the D-rings. This would compress the top upwards, opening up more trunk room. Just remember to undo it before using the top again.
Doug the guy who makes uncomfortably long eye contact with you over a crowded bar.
Like @9:10
😂
I bought a new Saab 9-3 in 2000, which was my first brand new car. I loved it so much and put about a 100 000 miles on it in ~6 years. The Night panel -feature was so great on dark, arctic Nordic roads during the winter, and so was the car in general. These days I drive new premium 100k cars, but the 9-3 still has a place in my heart.
This review got me thinking that maybe I should look for a mint 9-3 Viggen convertible for a weekender... 🇸🇪
And have to add that these cars are ultra-rare: Only 1 305 Viggen convertibles were ever made, and a fun fact, all of them in Uusikaupunki, Finland instead of Trollhättän, Sweden. 🇸🇪
I actually had that car bought it with 29,000 miles on it back in 2012 same as that color same interior
Yay! I love seeing SAABs featured, best car brand to ever exist!
The Saab 9-3 Viggen was actually named after the Saab JA 37 Viggen Fighter Jet, that's pretty cool.
My first car was a '99 9-3 5-door. I absolutely adored it, and lusted after one of these for years
I had one of these in 1999. It only came in blue, 2 door version and came with a complimentary 2 driving course in Georgia. Learned skills I still use to this day.
.
You wouldn’t happen to still have any photos from the Flight Academy would you? I actually own one of the flight academy (non-sunroof) Viggens!
This is such an awesome vehicle!!! I wish I would’ve bought one back in 2010s when they were affordable!!
Saab for life!
The top knob on the driver’s ventilation is so you can quickly de-fog/de-ice the driver’s window at the rear view mirror and still get some heat on yourself meanwhile. Very nice in our Swedish winter weather conditions :)
For 900NG models you had to have the shifter in reverse to remove the key.
Propably on this one too, but it has been disabled/broken because people don't know how to get the key out.
Thanks Doug! For a Swede and an enthusiast like me, i just love it. I own a OG9-5(-01, 30000 kilometers(18 641.1358 miles)), with custom e85 tune etc. It was sad to see GM handle that brand so bad. Again, thanks and love from Sweden you all!
edit: The _Viggen_ is named after the Swedish airforce "fighter/combat aircraft" ; Saab 37 Viggen.
There is also a _Gripen_ logo of some SAAB cars, came thru the merge with Scania(the truck brand), "inspired" by our combat aircraft ; Saab 39 Gripen.
Totally forgot the cup holder under the infotainment display
Came here to mention this.
I had a 95 900SE 3 door manual scarab green. Loved every second of it. So much character with these cars. Loved the review! Now do a review of my 8J TTRS!
Reminds me of the great Black Saab Maroon Golf War of 1998.
The ignition in the center was such a great Saab feature. In 2006 I got into a car accident in my 95 Accord coupe and the keys dug into my knee pretty bad, causing me to require many stiches, among other injuries. Funnily enough, I got the car from a friend, who had moved on to driving a Saab 93.
Doug was wrong. Saab 90 was made 1985-1987. It was a mix of Saab 99 and 900.
This car saved my life! Top down cruising in the city without my seat belt some idiot came out of his parking space without looking.
Those wheels are not the original Viggen wheels. The original ones are notoriously soft and would bend out of round. Many Viggen owners replace them with other wheels (Saab or otherwise). I certainly did, as well as going to a wider 18” wheel.
I like it when Doug reviews this type of cars.
Usually with Saab you cannot even pull the key out of the ignition unless you have it in reverse. Perhaps that is different for the US market? I notice that the ignition lock is rusty, it has probably been rained on (or flooded).
This lock is most likely broken or sb removed the mechanism so they could Park in another gear or sth.
Yeah most likely. The car probably keeps beeping because it thinks the key is still in the car.
Dude!!! The 9-3s of this era are so cool. I had an 01 5 door (non viggen) but did a big turbo, intercooler, charge pipe, exhaust, etc. was the best sleeper and was the most comfortable car. Best $1000 I ever spent. Did do a lot of maintenance on it though 😭
The Viggen is almost comparable to the Dodge SRT4. But questionably better quality and more quarks that come with a Saab.
8:06 You can clearly see that the valets didn't get the memo that the ignition is not where it should be
Imagine if Saab came back and made new cars
Most likely they'll go bankrupt a second time
Som of the designers did work for NEVS that bought the reminds of SAAB Automobile. They designed a electric car called Emily that är very much a SAAB and if we are lucky will be produced.
@@FifyKaqiqiPain I thought they may actually be owned by a Chinese company thinking of bringing them back as Evs. But could just be a rumor.
The door beeps with the key out because if its not put in reverse, then take the key out the ignition is not fully locked, same as not putting an auto in "P". It's called reverse lockout. Therefore, it can't be put in neutral and rolled away, as well as locking the transmission to keep it from rolling if the parking brake was not applied. If the key is coming out without being put in reverse it means your ignition is worn. The fasten belt sign is there to make it reminiscent of the fasten belt sign in planes and jets, it also resembles the fasten belts sign of planes and jets as SAABs slogan was once "born from jets". I myself own 2 of the first phase 9⁵s, a wagon and sedan, both AEROs and both manual. I also own this generation of 9³ convertible. I've also owned 4 9000s of various years all turbo 3 of them manual. Been driving these cars since I was 16, I'm now 42.
Doug the kind of guy who describes himself as the Pee-wee Herman of car reviewers.
This was my dream car when I was ten. A guy in my condo had the previous model and then this. He had also curly hairs, wore sunglasses, and I tought he was the coolest guy in the world.
I especially loved the fact it was a cabrio and that he had wipers on the headlights.
Today no car manifacturer does cabrio: for a grown up kid this sucks.
I don't know about the 9-3 but in the 9-5 you couldn't get they key out of the ignition unless you had the gear selector in R. Also another strange Saab quirk
Because there is no steering lock
@@gabrielgomez2483 They have steering locks
I chuckled at the scratches on the steering column; more than one attempt to find the ignition.
A decade ago I had an `01 E46 M3 cabriolet and my neighbor, a dentist, had a 9-3 Viggen convertible (in that amazing blue) and we would talk about how comparable they were. So I got the idea that we should swap cars for a day and we did, and while I did like it, the turbo 4 was a little laggy and I really wasn't a fan of it being FWD. My neighbor OTOH fell in love with the M3 and within a few months he traded his Viggen for a nice used cabrio, the same year as mine.
Sounds about right. It all depends on what one wants to use the car for.
FINALLY! Love Saabs, and this is the coolest one. Thanks Doug!