Where each one leads
Saab 900
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Volkswagen Scirocco
- Against cars of the same age, the Volkswagen Scirocco comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 2% more often than average) than the Saab 900 (passes 7% less often than average).
- Fewer Volkswagen Scirocco cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (11.8% against 16.2%).
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Saab 900 | Volkswagen Scirocco | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1981–2000 | 1981–1991 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 126,784 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 1,579 | 44,756 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 4,472 | 5,922 |
| In traffic in Finland | 1,391 | 654 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Saab 900 | Volkswagen Scirocco | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 63% | 70% |
| … against cars of the same age | −7% | +2% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.6% | — |
| … against cars of the same year | +26% | — |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 16.2% | 11.8% |
| US owner complaints | 358 | 14 |
| Most complaints about | Electrical system | Fuel system, gasoline |
| Model year with most complaints | 1995 (100) | 1987 (9) |
| US recall campaigns | 25 | 5 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 224 | 17 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 24 | — |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Saab 900 | Volkswagen Scirocco | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 11.1 l/100 km (1998) | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 164 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 137 kW (183 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,370 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €67,482 | €34,739 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 256,000 km | 203,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).