Volvo or Saab - Which Do You Prefer?

[Melrosgirl]

If you had to choose between a Volvo S60 and a Saab 95 which would you choose? (DH is looking at new cars and these are the two he's choosing from.) I've only ever bought American pretty much, so I'm not familiar with these.

I've test drove both and I prefer the Saab slightly over the Volvo which surprises me.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[JESW]

We are a volvo family here! have never driven a saab so I can't tell you.

Jill

 

[BedKnobbery2]

Another Volvo family here. My mom was so impressed with mine, she went out and bought one. LOL Mine's a 1994 940 Wagon with 181,000+ miles on it. Only problems I've ever had with it were my gaskets leaking--my own fault for not replacing them in a timely manner--and now the struts I had Midas put on last year are acting up. One is a lack-of-maintenance problem, the other a manufacturing problem (IMO). The car has been great. I plan to drive it into the ground before getting a new one....which i'm guessing will probably take another 10 years or so!

 

[Boo'sMom]

another Volvo family here. We have a 98 S70, and it is my dream car...although now I stay at home, DH gets to drive it mostly.
No experience with Saab. Although...it's a stretch, but Volvo is now owned by Ford..so "technically" I guess that would make it an american car?????

LOL...

 

[Lynn CC]

Another Volvo Family Here!

We have a 99 S70 AWD and LOVE IT
DH is looking into getting the New Volvo SUV

I'd vote for the Volvo

 

[swanmom]

Volvo made a loyal buyer out of me after a bad accident. Woman in a Lincoln Navigator (yes, that rolling apartment building of an SUV) hit me at the drivers side door. She was doing about 45 mph (and talking on her cell phone ) My Volvo wagon absorbed the impact like those barrels on the side of a race track! The car shook a little but distributed the force throughout the the frame like it is supposed to. Side and front airbags deployed and DD & I got out of the car (through the passenger side door) unscathed. I am convinced that had we been in a car without the emphasis on safety of a Volvo, we would have been seriously injured or worse.

 

[SPAGo 98]

Volvo all the way. our volvos each have nearly 200,000 miles on them, and they're going strong.

 

[Lanshark]

Volvo

 

[Mascara Snake]

Mom is a Volvo driver, but she says the car has no pick up. I like Volvo for safety, Saab for looks.

 

[snoopy]

My only experience has been with a Volvo. My mother had one, which she drove over 300,000 miles without ever having had one major problem. They are very durable cars.

 

[ucralum]

Never driven a Saab, but I love my Volvo ('96 960.)

 

[Melrosgirl]

thanks! I just checked Consumer Reports and suprisingly, they are giving better ratings to Saab. That really surprises me. They even gave it a recommend rating. so confusing!

 

[SPAGo 98]

honestly, volvos have a history of having minor problems. for example, in one of ours, the fabric on the sunroof slidey-thing got loose, and then came off completely. my dad's had problems with his stereo, etc. even though these problems can get annoying and cost a bit of $$ to repair, i would still happily choose Volvo over Saab for a host of reasons, not the least of them being style and safety. i think of the S60 as safe sex. it looks absolutely stunning, while keeping you completely protected.

 

[Jenzebelle]

My Father has an S60 (both my parents have Volvo's- it's disgustingly Baby Boomer-ish )

He loves the S60 and how it handles. His only complaint is that it hydroplanes a bit in the rain.
My Mother has a wagon. She hates the thing. Loves the way it drives, but hates the fact it's so hard to see out of it.

 

[olena]

We have a Volvo S60 and we have truly enjoyed it....

 

[Mary Ellen]

We have a Volvo 850 and our neighbors have a Saab. I prefer riding in our Volvo as it seems more spacious. Not having driven the Saab I can't comment on driving it, but I do agree that the Volvo (at least my 850) does have some good size blind spots.

One of the things I'd consider is the dealer. Do you have a better feeling at one than the other? The main reason we're considering something other than a Volvo next time, is that we don't like our Volvo dealership.

 

[EROS]

I have a '94 VOLVO 850 and hope to get over 200,000 miles on it. Repairs and maintenance can be expensive. They're clearly not as reliable as many Japanese cars; I've owned Nissans before without any problems. However, their safety features mean a great deal to me.

 

[Music Mole]

We have 92 Volvo 240 Wagon with 160K on it and still going strong with regular maintenance. I love it - I keep swearing that I will drive it at least 300K miles. We also have a 97 Volvo 850 GLT that we bought used 2 years ago and it has been great as well.

We rented a Saab 9.5 on vacation last year - I actually preferred it's acceleration (smoother, less jumpy) to that of my father-in-law's Volvo S80 that he had at the time. That had me thinking my next car might be a Saab.

We love the Volvos that were made when it was a Swedish company - now that it's Ford (please, no offense to Ford lovers out there) owned, we probably won't buy any others. That's why we were thinking Saab, then found out at an Epcot Innoventions exhibit that they are now owned by someone else too (GM?).

I agree with the poster that how you feel about the dealer is an important factor. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Melrosgirl]

wow! you guys are very helpful. Yes, as someone pointed out (post above this one) Saab is now part of GM. Saab has some really nice features too which the volvo we test drove did not. Saab is a bit more money, but right now they are offering incentives that bring the price much closer.

aaah, decisions, decisions!

 

[ncligs]

I would prefer neither(since I work fr GM).I would rather buy "American" made autos. Just bought a Cadillac CTS for my wife.