Saab 95 and Saab 900

Saab 95By spring of 1998, there'll be a brand-new Saab prowling the roads of America. Spun off the European Opel Vectra platform, the Saab 95 offers more room, superior handling, and multiple safety advances relative to the 9000 sedan, which it will eventually replace. The 95's spacious cabin has more rear seat room than the 9000, and even has the ignition switch placed on the console, true to Saab tradition. A pair of new engines supply the power: The basic powerplant is a 170-horsepower Light Pressure Turbo (LPT) 2.3-liter inline four. It's lighter and more fuel efficient than the current 2.3 used elsewhere in the Saab line. The upgrade is to a 3.0-liter/200-horsepower LPT V-6.

Saab 900By the spring of 1998, the '98 Saab 900 will be replaced by a more extensively reworked version with more styling and content updates. In the meantime, the 900 has a sprinkling of changes. The top-level 2.5-liter/170-horsepower V-6 has been dropped, so the car returns with a 2.3-liter/150-horsepower inline four as the base engine, and a 2.0-liter/185-horsepower turbo four as the upgrade (it's standard in the $24,500 S Turbo Coupe. The front and rear bumpers have been restyled, and there's a new four-spoke steering wheel. Four new Mica-metallic colors have been added, too. Three body styles are offered: a convertible and practical hatchbacks in two- and four-door formats.