chicagotribune.com's view

Saab was ugly even before the Beetle made it fashionable for a new car to look used.

Now, after 17 years at the old drawing board, Saab has introduced itsfirst all-new car since 1969, the front-wheel-drive 9000 Turbo. In one swellswoop, Saab has come up with a car on which you can tell the front end fromthe back without looking for the steering wheel.

To compliment the styling, there`s an abundant dose of performance.Powered by a 2-liter, fuel-injected 4-cylinder engine, the turbocharged 16-valve, twin-cam design delivers 160 horsepower and sends the needle from 0 to 60 m.p.h. in about eight seconds. Top speed is about 140 m.p.h.

Now Saab has the looks (and a new 900 convertible bows later this year)and the performance but needs to work on a few refinements.

The engine is powerful, but there`s so much low-end torque that the rearwheels tend to break into a little dance of their own when moving off theline, even on dry pavement. The too-narrow standard Pirelli tires don`t help. On the highway, punch the pedal to pass and the rear end behaves well, butfrom a standing start, the rear end fights for a toehold.

The 9000 comes only with a 5-speed manual transmission (an optionalautomatic arrives in spring), a smooth-shifting unit that sets all thosehorses into motion until you reach 5th, when it suddenly feels as if the chutejust opened.

The 9000 Turbo is a 4-door hatchback sedan that, to its credit, doesn`tlook like a Saab, thanks to the rear-end treatment and the large glass hatchlid. Unfortunately, not only is the glass lid big, it`s heavy and awkward toopen.

The car shares some components with the existing Saab 900, but not thedimensions. The 9000 is built on a 105.2-inch wheelbase, about 6 inches morethan the 900, while the length is 181.9 inches, or about 5 inches less thanthe 900.

Standard equipment includes air conditioning, cruise control, AM/FMstereo with cassette, sunroof, heated front seats and power steering, brakes, door locks and windows.

The 9000 has some novelties. The ventilation system has a filter toremove pollen, oil, soot and even some bacteria. If only it would keep theside and rear windows from fogging, as they quickly did.

The radio is programmed so that if disconnected–as in swiped–amicroprocessor scrambles any signal and renders it useless until a secret codeis entered. And, thankfully, Saab has moved the ignition lock off itstraditional floor location and onto the steering column.

The 9000 Turbo was introduced at $21,945 in November but went up by $200this month.

Styling and performance make the 9000 Turbo worth looking into. But aswith any limited-volume import, be aware that Saab`s low volume (38,000 sales in `85, up from 32,000 in `84), means you won`t find replacement parts andqualified mechanics on every corner, especially in the Midwest.