In the 10 days since the MOT I have done over 700 miles, so some impressions:
Not as quick or responsive as the 2.0T. In a sense that was to be expected, but the TTiD does allegedly have 400 Nm compared to 350 Nm in the petrol car. Somewhat the reverse experience of the old 2.2 TiD tractor engine in the 9-5 where with a lowly 120HP she was remarkable quick, with loads of torque.
Speaking of torque, there really doesn't seem to be much below 1500 rpm, though in higher gears she will pull from those speeds, so perhaps this is a"by design" mapping feature. I don't think there is a problem as there are no DTC's registered. Wish these cars had OpenSID so I could see more of what is going on. Hooking a laptop up to see the live information on boost / torque isn't really a great idea for busy A roads.
The gear ratios seem quite sensible, 2nd may be a little low, and with 33mph / 1000 rpm in 6th I was hoping for good fuel economy. It seems at motorway speeds, I'm likely to see 37-38 mpg, which is less than hoped for and quite a lot less than the old 2.2 where on a run I could easily get above 45, so long as the speed wasn't too high.
Handling wise, this non Drivesense equipped 2011 car is quite different to the 2010 Drivesense Aero. Both are on H-arm suspension, AWD, 19" turbine rims and lowered suspension so should be comparable. I have read that Saab received feedback on the original cars and they responded to hard ride criticism by putting softer springs/dampers on. I have to say, I can feel it. The 2011 car provides much more traditional feedback of what the car is doing, whereas the 2010 car is certainly more sporty, suffers from very little roll, yet has high grip levels but fails to communicate with the driver what exactly is going on, except when it gets a bit twitchy, which it can do.
I have just had the front wheels balanced, fitted new front discs / pads to get rid of the braking vibration and andusted the front end wheel alignment so that the steering wheel is aligned and toe-in is correct. The latter adjustment is no doubt down to small differences in the dimensions / position of the subframe compared to the original. Wheel alignment went from 20' out to 10' in. We shall see this week if the new suspension settings make the handling any different.
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