1984 Saab 900s Review - The Line Between Sporty & Luxury

[@chrisharding8770]

This is my car! She's actually for sale as I'm moving out of state soon, if anyone's interested. Glad to see you "get" the charm Zack; a comfortable car that it's easy to have fun with in a moment's notice. :)

[@lawtowngirl85]

Saab is that friend one who call you for the last time not knowing that was the last time. RIP Saab

[@losingmyfavoritegame8752]

😅 I shouldn't be laughing, but that was hilarious and kind of sad at the same time!

[@lawtowngirl85]

@@losingmyfavoritegame8752 🤣 i see it

[@TheoPhilpot]

I'm so thrilled to see people appreciating Saabs and recognizing how unique and timeless by design. Despite the classic 900 having its roots in the 60s the design was so well constructed and thought through it kept selling well and protecting families until the early 90s. The Turbo revolutionized the way we construct internal combustion cars nowadays -- I mean: how many 2.0T 4cyl turbocharged cars are there now? From the Chevy Malibu to a Porsche Macan. The Saab is all the car that anyone needs.

[@kjuddnelson5426]

Growing up in southern New England, these cars were everywhere in the 80's and 90's. Very popular here. FWD was great in the winter and the hatchback was very practical. They were also a blast to drive on the winding roads.

[@cardiffchris]

The fact that not everyone sees how cool Saab 900's are, is exactly why they are cool.
You have to be in on the joke.

[@ForeverDownByLaw]

A friend's family had one of these back in the day and I really loved being a passenger in it. So solid feeling, just a quality feel compared to the American cars I had been accustomed to. My friend Bart took me to art supply stores in one very similar to this, but in a dark green color. These trips were part of my inspiration to continue on to design school, along with Bart's encouragement. Unfortunately Bart was killed in a car accident a short time later, but I will always have fond memories of those drives. RIP Bart. I'd love to have one of these for nostalgia's sake.

[@drewzero1]

I'm so glad you got to do an 80s SAAB too, and on top of it a four-door like mine! One thing I noticed is that the parcel shelf seems to be missing behind the back seat, so the "pass-through" to the trunk wasn't originally a feature. The rear seat does fold completely flat though, and despite not having a hatch on this version the cargo area is pretty roomy with the seat folded down.

[@Doctor_Robert]

What impressed me (and being a dork that loves old over new, it would) about this particular 900 (being the only Saab I've driven) is how old and VW Bug-like the interior was. Like... this was an 80s car and the interior feels very 60s. The doors and windshield are very Bug-like. The climate controls look painfully like an afterthought... and I freakin' love it. Volvo was also guilty of this (the 240 having a dash design dating to the early-70s and its predecessor), but the Saab looks extra dated for the 1980s. It's absolutely charming.
Also, that engine is basically a Triumph engine. Saab was nuts.

[@drewzero1]

That's a big part of why I bought my Saab. It was like my '66 Beetle and my wife's Saturn had a weird baby, but it also has room in the back for a car seat. The Saab is extremely forward-thinking, along a timeline all its own. It's a fascinating automotive dead end and I love it to bits.

[@Doctor_Robert]

@@drewzero1 They absolutely had their own way of doing things. The tales of them tweaking GM's platforms for their own purposes and pissing off corporate are legend.

[@Ramcharger85]

❤ Saabs. Wish they were still around. Great review of a timeless classic. 😊

[@dashiznit89]

I need to show you my SAAB 99 if your in the NW.

[@TheoPhilpot]

I love love love the 900. Will be my next car.

[@Emppu_T.]

You didn't really say how precise the steering is and how rigid the chassis is. It's unbelievable how well they got it from the start. It's a full on quirk the whole car.

[@johneli495]

Someone gave me a Saab 900 when I used to live in the UK. Fond memories of that old car. Too bad the brand is no more

[@davidp2888]

I rode in one back in the 80's. Nice cars and it got up and moved.

[@jgg02]

I would love to see you do a pull in these tests, just to get a feel of the engine sound. Not racing or thrashing the cars, just a normal acceleration though the first gears. Love the selection of cars in this channel

[@MikeTdog_Yo]

Love the channel. My new favourite on RUclips for sure! Doug became too much if you know what I mean…
I used to work on the Saab 900 25 years ago. Wish Zack would have mentioned the engine is installed backwards, that was the most interesting thing about this car to me. Pause the video on the engine, you’ll see it

[@doug6191]

2:44 - How cruel. There's no little arrow to indicate which side the fuel filler is on. Drivers had to remember which side it was on. The 80s were crazy! 😂

[@drewzero1]

I've seen videos of European market 900s with the filler on the left, but mine has it on the right.

[@dave11686]

Oooh a Saab story!

[@zdravshoto3423]

One of the best Saabs ever!❤❤❤

[@4yules]

these cars are fun to drive

[@nathanielcouey3486]

You absolutely NEED to find a 2008 Saab 9-3 TurboX to review. It's a one year only special edition model that received a turbocharged V6 engine and a choice between a 5 speed automatic or a 6 speed manual transmission. It is a Saab made deep into GM's ownership of Saab, but it's one of the best in my opinion.

[@OmarDenarzi]

Oh yeah baby, Another Saab

[@vincentgraffeo9030]

Zach, as always great review and I appreciate your humor!!

[@Nakkisampyla]

900 OG with an AC, rare in Europe. Only top of the line turbos might have it, I think under 5 % had total. Did you know that there was a strethed model called Finlandia and later CD.

[@barenekid9695]

Welll having owned this Same car from New and kept it for 15 yrs. It was a solid abeit not overly reliable Car
It gave same as an early 80's VW Rabbit performance

[@markhealey9409]

Cool! Always loved quirky Saabs! Are the white lights beside the headlights the high beams,or fog lights in an unusual place?

[@doug6191]

This era of Saab reminds me of the movie "Moving" with Richard Pryor.

[@Dankcatvacs]

raining like horse piss today in the valley. nice you got such a nice beautiful day
how long did it take to get there?

[@Doctor_Robert]

Hey! I know that car!!

[@blue_lancer_es]

Iirc these have the transmission under the engine and the clutch is in front instead of the rear. Weird.

[@doug6191]

You recall correctly. 🙂

[@blue_lancer_es]

@@doug6191 wasn't sure if it was older saabs. But thanks.

[@kc9scott]

There’s a place in the video where you can see the accesory belt(s) near the firewall.

[@drewzero1]

Correct, the accessories are up against the firewall. They didn't have _quite_ enough clearance with the firewall to get the alternator bolt out and replace the alternator, so you had to pull the mounting bracket too... which was hidden behind the AC compressor on cars that were so equipped. (Guess how I know!)
But on the plus side I'm told it's possible to replace the clutch in half an hour!

[@savageislife5352]

🐐

[@gafrers]

SAAB FTW

[@vladgladkov237]

Nice saab story

[@James-mw6se]

❤ cool car look great 👍

[@vladgladkov237]

Nice saab

[@gman0724]

saabs are cool, which there were still in america

[@gman0724]

@@Brian_Eugene_Lee of course its Chinas fault

[@tigerfan8244]

My Dad bought my Mom a brand new 1985 900 3-door for their anniversary. For 8 years it carried our family of 5 and a dog safely thru life, pulled our pop up camper, and got us safely around during the harsh New England winters. After that, Mom got a new car and Dad drove the Saab for 3 more years until he passed away and the Saab was sold to a family member who drove it for a while before selling it off to someone else. It was still running good, had no visible rust on the body. It was truly a great car and Mom always said she felt safe like she was driving a tank. Sad what eventually happened to Saab, but these cars will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@KINSEY1956]

Let's all count how many times this guy says, very very..... winner-take-all

[@normalizedaudio2481]

I bet they spent a bundle to get that thing running.

[@vladgladkov237]

I have 9000 1992 and 9.5 2091

[@bwofficial1776]

Saabs are cool. They're unconventional-looking, even ugly but when you look into their engineering they were ahead of their time. Saabs are some of those cars that you appreciate once you understand them. It's a shame the pre-GM ones aren't that reliable and the GM ones have their quirkiness diluted. Saab needed GM's cash to stay alive for as long as they did but it GM sucked the life out of them through platform sharing and neglect. If Saab had survived they'd probably be like Polestar today, making quirky EVs with a token spicy 9-3 gas.

[@davinp]

That's odd that they didn't put the things to roll down the window on the door

[@doug6191]

That was pretty common back then. Even Pontiac was doing that on some models.

[@bwofficial1776]

Easier to build the car as left hand drive or right hand drive when you don't need side-specific door panel controls.

[@drewzero1]

​@@bwofficial1776Safety too... If you lean your head out the window it's harder to accidentally press on the button and close it on your neck. This was before force sensors were available in electric window mechanisms. Saab had a lot of little quirks based on safety without marketing it as hard as Volvo did.

[@michaelcoffey7362]

Nice 😊

[@Attack-fb5rj]

I guess those front lights are na spec? They are hidious

[@ronaldderooij1774]

I drove the 99GL and the 900S. Sorry to say, the 99 beats the 900. The 900 in comparison was sluggish in changing direction, slow and used 10% more gas. I loved the 99, I had no love for the 900.