Cars


Events

Click here to add your car

Eduardo's 1995 9000 CSE 3.0 V6

What can I say.... I love it! I would prefer a an Aero or a 200hp turbo... I like turbo engines - one reason I'm a Saab lover. But this car, I hope I will have it my entire life. It was my father's car, and in 1999 they decided to change it and buy a 9-5 2.3t auto so I took the 9000 and now it's mine!

Because the 9000 has an auto gearbox it loses some "punch", but it's smoother and more comfortable. Sometimes to do a little sporty driving or overtaking I change the gears manually... the power and the "kick" of the car between 4000rpm and 6600rpm is incredible. Once a BMW 330 cabrio wasn't able to follow me as I started to overtake a truck. I started at 30km/h I selected first gear, pushed the accelerator hard and then "buuuuuuuummm" the sound of the V6 is incredible. The bad thing about the auto gearbox is that it always tries to go with the longest gear and sometimes, on a hill for example, you lose some flexibility - the car goes under 2000rpm and must change down. In this situation it's enough to change gear manually. I never imagined a non-turbo car could have this flexibility. Between 2000-3000 it hasn't the same power as my father's 9-5 2.3t, but it has no problem in accelerating very well. The best zone as I said is between 4000 and 6600rpm when the VIM (variable intake mainfold) opens all the valves and you can feel a kick in your ass similar to a turbo engine.

The car has 190000km and it's a reliable car, although we have had minor problems with it. At 170000km we had to change one of the timing guide rollers and the water pump. I drove more than 2000 km with the water pump "blocked" and the car didn't overheat at any time - it's incredible - and some days ago I changed the head lamp washer motor. I see in some photos that it's a common problem and the mechanic told me it can happen, as explained on this web site: "one evening when I switched on the ignition, the windscreen washer pump started running and wouldn't stop until I switched off the ignition. Pulling various fuses isolated the problem to the headlamp wipers (the windscreen washer pump stopped running when the headlamp wiper fuse was removed)."

About the interior and equipment.... It's the CSE version, but with similar equipment to the Grffin version, with heated electric-leather seats (beige), cruise control, computer.... it's a very comfortable car - one of the best things about the car - and has soft suspension, but it's a very safe car. I'm often surprised by how good the car feels in some situations. For example on wet roads, it feels safer than the 9-5. The color of the car is Eucalyptus Green, the wheels are the Aero92 6x15” wheels fitted with Michelin Pilot Primacy 195/65 R15 tires.