After test driving several crossover SUV's we went a different direction and found a 2008 Saab 9-3 SportCombi Aero XWD. Strangely long name, but it's a great car. It had 13k miles on it. 2.8L V6 turbo good for 280 bhp with awd and a 6-speed manual. It's a great compromise being a useful family car that is still quite fun to drive. It's not necessarily agile, but the XWD gets it through curves pretty well. And it's a rocket once the torque limiter lets go at around 25mph.

Second pic is after some dirt road navigation trying to find a scenic vista in Michigan.

 

Wonder why there's a torque limiter on an AWD car.
Is it to preserve drivetrain components?

 

sweet. I actually love me some euro wagons and saabs. I have a friend who is a huge Saab collector.

 

I'd have to imagine it's to protect some component... But it seems like those would have to be relatively weak components for that rated power to be an issue. I know, for my car (audi S4), you need to upgrade the rods on cars making 500+ awhp because the low end torque can be enough to bend them. That said, if it's right around 500 hp but the set up doesn't boost as early, then it's less likely to be an issue. Maybe it's something similar... the low end torque might stress another component too much, but it seems odd that they would choose to build in a torque limiter instead of just using stronger components.

 

Audi S4. Yumm.
Hey, what do you mean by rods? The axle half shafts (likely the fronts, no)?

In my Speed6, the weak component is the rear diff mount.

 

I wonder if the torque limiter is temperature controlled? I can it helping in cold environments to protect the transfer case (center diff, etc.).

 

I'm sure we could figure out how to bump it up to 400 hp... a v6 turbo? Hell yeah.

 

Really nice! There are a lot of low-mileage Saab's out there for good prices too.

 

I was looking at getting one a while back. Saabs are a little pricey new in my opinion but used they are a bargain.

 

Nice Saab.

 

The connecting rods, actually. After that, you should start considering pistons above 600 hp. The drive shafts and axles are generally fine, depending on how much grip you get with the tire set up. My car is only set up for a "modest" 400-425 hp, so I don't know all of the requirements for higher hp upgrades. I know I've seen discussions generally saying that you'll break traction before you start twisting the shafts. It seems to really only be an issue during hard launches. This is a bit off topic lol...

 

I'm not exactly sure about the reason for the torque limiter, but I think it may just be for driveability and traction. There is a version of this wagon called the TurboX that does not have the torque limiter and has some upgraded suspension components.

Overall we're quite happy with it so far. Took a few long road trips this summer, and it was quite comfortable while still being fun to drive. Gas mileage isn't very good, but it still beats my 8, unsurprisingly.