The Morning Call and Mcall.com's view

In 1949 the Swedish Aircraft Corporation built its first car, the Saab 92. That it didn’t look like any other car on the market was probably its most distinguishing styling feature.

While it was almost too different for the American market, beginning in the mid-50s it began appearing in more and more numbers. Despite its odd looks it was soon beginning to be appreciated for what it had to offer – mainly front-wheel drive, certainly a good selling point in the snowbelt.

Over the years the Saab just kept improving with age; while its styling could never be called conventional, it began blending in a little more. The latest model, the 9000 (test car supplied by Scott Saab, 3333 Lehigh St.), is perhaps the most conventional looking of all Saabs.

But a Saab is more than styling. To prove the durability and performance of the Saab 9000 Turbo, the company took three production cars to the Alabama International Speedway in October 1986 and set 21 international and two world records for speed and distance. The cars ran at an average 132 mph, 20 days and nights, for 100,000 kilometers (60,000 miles) and all three cars finished the run.

I’m sure most 9000 drivers aren’t going to run their cars to this extreme, but it is impressive.

In addition to being able to run, the 9000 is comfortable and roomy. It is the only non-American car qualifying as a large car under EPA guidelines. The 9000 Turbo, which has a wheelbase of 105.2 inches, length of 181.9 inches, width of 69.4 inches, height of 55.9 inches and curb weight of 3,096 pounds, outwardly appears to be a compact.

But with an EPA volume index of 127 cubic feet, it definitely is a large car with room for five to sit in spacious comfort. The front-wheel drive, with its accompanying flat flooring, contributes to the roominess.

The front seats have high bolsters to hold driver and passenger in place and manual adjustments to provide the best seating position. The Turbo comes standard with leather upholstery.

Rear seat passengers have plenty of leg room even if the front seats are extended fully aft. The outboard passengers have formed seating similar to the front seats. The middle passenger has to settle for somewhat flat seating. The back seat has a center armrest, individual reading lamps, courtesy lights and map pockets.

The 9000 has plenty of storage space for either long weekends of cross-country trips. The storage area measures 21 cubic feet. Since the 9000 is a hatchback it’s possible to vastly increase the storage space to 56.5 cubic feet by folding down the rear seat. Another option is to fold down just one side of the rear seat to provide additional cargo room and still retain seating for a passenger.

New this year for the 9000 is an Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS).

The braking system was developed by Saab and Germany’s Alfred Teves GmbH and is known as ABS+3, with the ‘3’ noting a th ird generation. According to Saab it offers three big advantages over conventional brake systems: Its anti- lock function is fully integrated into the brake system; it has two independent electronic control units within the microprocessor, and three hydraulic brake circuits.

What does it mean to the driver? The system is just a little more ”refined.” If you lay on the brake hard enough to activate the system, there is a different pedal feel. Instead of a hard pulsating pedal (almost like the pedal is fighting you), the 9000’s system has a gentler pulse, just enough to tell the driver everything is working.

Regardless of feel, the system works like other ABSs: It allows the car to be steered during emergency or panic braking by preventing wheel lockup, thus cutting braking distance on most surfaces and compensate for varying road conditions. It works even when one wheel is on a slippery surface and the other on a dry surface.

The many speed records of the 9000 Turbo hint at its good performance , surprisingly from an engine displacing two liters (1985cc/121 cubic inches).It features a double overhead camshaft and four valves per cylinder, water-cooled turbocharger with intercooler, Bosch LH fuel injection, and a rather high (for a turbo engine) 9.0:1 compression ratio.

The bottom line is an engine rated at 160 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 188 foot pounds torque at 3,000. Performance from the bottom to the top is impressive, and as long as the rpm’s are kept up there is no detectable turbo lag.

Keeping those revs up wasn’t hard with the test car’s five-speed manual transmission: The clutch operated smoothly, the transmission shifted neatly and the gear pattern was easily defined. This transmission can definitely bring out the sport in a driver. For those who prefer the transmission to do the thinking, a four-speed automatic is available.

Fuel mileage was impressive, with the test car averaging 16 miles per gallon for city driving and 26 mpg over the highway. Unleaded premium must be used.

Since the 9000 Turbo is a performance sedan, handling is excellent. The front-wheel drive system features equal length drive shafts which just about eliminate torque steer. Fast acceleration is straight ahead and there is no need to fight the wheel.

The suspension features MacPherson struts, gas-filled shock absorbers and a stabilizer bar up front. In the rear is a lightweight, rigid axle, panhard rod, coil springs and stabilizer bar. The rack-and-pinion steering goes from lock-to-lock in 3.2 turns of the wheel. It’s responsive but not sensitive. Completing the package are 205/ 55VR15 Perelli 600s mounted on light alloy wheels.

The car offers a lot, but you do pay a lot for it. The Saab 9000 Turbo is a one-price car: Everything, including the destination charge of $338, is included in the price tag of $29,323. Other standard equipment includes Automatic Climate Control, an 80-watt AM-FM stereo/cassette, power sliding sunroof, speed control, power steering, power door locks, power windows, rear defogger and many other items.

The car is protected by a 3-year/36,000 warranty and a 6-year rust perforation warranty.