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Compare any two cars and get our Virtual Adviser™ opinion
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2.0 Z20NET
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Virtual Adviser's™ opinion
We are here considering two somewhat similar cars, but we can't deny some of the obvious differences. For a start, they are not even classified under the same segment, with the SAAB being a large family car and the Alfa Romeo representing luxury car vehicle class. The first one has a Opel-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 175hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 150hp engine designed by Alfa Romeo.
SafetyThe fact that the SAAB got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, puts it sky-high safety-wise, in my eyes at least. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. The second vehicle is a luxury car and that gives it a marginal advantage over the large family car competitor, at least that's what statistics show. On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the Italian car offers a marginal difference of 1% more metal.
ReliabilityReliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that SAAB as a brand displays somewhat better results, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of SAAB with an average rating of 4.1, and models under the Alfa Romeo badge with 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank 9-3 as average reliability-wise, and 166 is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the Swedish car rank it on average as 4.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 5.0 out of 5.
Performance & Fuel economySAAB is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.3 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 225 kilometers per hour, 14km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Swedish car, averaging around 8.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (33 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 14% difference compared to the Italian car.
Verdict
Alfa Romeo appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the Swedish car beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with SAAB being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but SAAB. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.