I am considering a two year old car and can't decide which to get, an A4 or a 900set. I have posted similar messages to both A4.org and SAABnet and am looking for convincing arguments from both. Thanks for your help.

is much more reliable. Also, get the A4 with Quattro. Much better handling car - for the real world than FWD which the SAAB is. (do you ever see any FWD race cars?). (It is true that a experience driver in a FWD A4 could beat a Quattro due to the weight difference - but again if you are not a flat out racer then quatto is better.)

Reggie

98.5 30vQMS

I have a 95 Saab 900 SE Turbo which has had way to many problems for a car with 55K miles on it. I am getting rid of it for an S4!

First off, I hate FWD, but they are raced...BTCC is mostly FWD cars, as are several other series. As for the FWD A4 beating a Quattro in the hands of a skilled driver due to weight reduction, simply not so. The A4 Quattro dominated BTCC racing (even when forced to add weight because they kept winning). When Quattro was banned from that series the FWD A4's did nowhere near as well (not sure if the FWD's even won a single race). Audi no longer competes in the BTCC (British Touring Car Championship I believe). The harder you push the car, the more tangible the benefits of Quattro.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

The Saab is a nice car with tons of room, but that's where its advantages end. I feel the A4 beats the Saab in every department except interior room. Drive them both and see for yourself. Personally I don't think the Saab 900 series handles anywhere near as well as the A4.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

I believe that the Saab engine is mounted in such a way that the left and right front drive shafts are not equal lengths (transverse mounting of the engine block).

Regardless of whether or not this is actually the case in the Saab model you're looking at, these cars all exhibit a scary and well-documented tendancy to manifest LOTS of torque steer. It's very disconcerting to have to fight to keep the car straight while accelerating. It's even more scary when you have to fight to hold a line through a power-on turn.

Unless you really like the styling and unique feature set, I'd go with something else. Even front drive A4's don't have anywhere NEAR as much torque steer as the Saabs do.

Philip M.
99.5 1.8tms

Having a transverse engine does not mean they have to have unequal length half shafts. If Saabs still do(which I find hard to believe), they are just stupid/cheap. My old Nissan SE-R had equal length half shafts and had a transverse engine(and still had torque steer).

Besides, equal length half shafts are only part of the solution. The other part is suspension and Audi/VW seem to have a very good one for eliminating torque steer.

At least part of the reason Saabs have(or seem to have) a lot of torque steer is that they use larger turbos that come on later and stronger. This aggravates the torque steer problem.

I wouldn't buy a Saab because it simply isn't as nice a car(solidity, material quality, driving experience) as an A4 or a Passat.

Like I said in my post, I'm not sure about the length of the drive shafts. I don't claim to be super knowledgeable about mechanical issues like this. Sorry if I sounded otherwise.

The Audi 4-link front suspension is a big part of the picture in terms of torque steer. From what I've heard, even chipped FWD A4's do not torque steer like the turbo Saabs. I drove a friend's Honda del Sol the other day and nearly wrecked it the first time I accelerated hard since the torque steer was so much stronger than my A4. And the del Sol doesn't have an engine as strong as the A4 (this wasn't a VTEC). Guess it's all in the engineering.

and he drives an Audi A4.

Took long look at the Saab 900's and kept having 2 problems with them. First was what seemed to me to be severe turbo lag. Secondly, being in Arizona, the a/c was a joke. Even the dealer made a joke about "swedish a/c being roll down the windows"

James G.

I hate FWD too. I was trying to be nice to those who believe in it on this forum. However BTCC is a nitch racing series. I was thinking in terms of Indy, F1, etc as to not using FWD.

country to a Detroit factory you need a truck to take it home.

I got rid of the car after 18 months due to it being in for service 14 times. Several times the car was down for over a week as they couldn't get parts. Problems were with the turbo, suspension, brakes, and poor fit (LOTS of rattles). If there was a lemon law where I live I would have used it.
Other than that the car was great.

Something else to consider. Re-sale value sucks. Particularly now that GM is offering deals on them to get sales numbers up. Hard to sell a used one when they give great deals and cheap financing on new ones.

There is torque steer, but it is not scary by any means. You really have to mash the throttle hard and basically squeal the tires to notice it. I found it to be a very minor issue, really.

I have a 94 900S V6 and just purchased a 99 A4 1.8Q Tip in April. They are several model years apart so take that into account. Here is my reaction.

900: With the V6, much more power (instant) than the 1.8T. Bigger inside. The seats sit up more, which I find more confortable on long trips. Very stiff suspension. Huge trunk. Controls better. I like the window controls and ignition in the console. Once you get use to it, it makes sense. Only major problem is right front bearing replaced at 65,000 miles. 82,000 now, with no major problems.

A4: A little under powered, but rides much better than the SAAB. I am going to chip it soon (have not decided on which yet). Trunk is ok, but opening is small. The interior is more refined and looks better. But, I hate the 30 buttons on the radio, it could be much simpler to operate. I hate the red on black instrument cluster (I know it can be replaced), it is very hard to see in bright sunlight. I don't like the cruise control. You have to take your hand off the wheel to push resume with your thumb. I also, don't like the little stick for the head lights (and the reviewers think the ignition in the console it wierd). 8,200 miles, and 6 minor services. Three factory defects on delivery (not good quallity control in my opinion).

Don't get me wrong, all in all I like the A4. I would have compared it more closely to the 9-3 before buying it, but we don't have a dealer. The A4 was the only choice in this class of car. ;-) Nothing else even came close. I drove them all.

I will mention, I drove a Passat before buying the A4 (why spend the extra money on the Audi) and would never by one because of the interior. It looks 1990. It needs to be updated. But then it might really compete with the A4. ;-)

Hope this helps.

I had a 900S from January to July this year and that's about as much as I could stand of it. In 6 months it cost me over a $1000 in repairs and when I sold it it needed a new clutch (don't get one without the hydralic clutch, it will cripple you) and a cylinder head gasket. Check then Saab forums the head gaskets expire at 80k like clockwork.

Back to VW/Audi for me.

Peter (A4 2.6QMS)