Top Gear - Alfa 164 vs Lancia Thema vs Saab 9000

[Annihilator1111]

the 1987-1998 Alfa Romeo 164 was assembled in

Arese, Milan, Italy

[Dutchboi85]

I own a Saab 9000CD and a Lancia Thema series 1, but they are different. Saab is strong, safe and can drive a lot of miles! But the Thema is a weekend car, just for sunny summer days, drives fantastic but needs a lot of care, but that´s not a bad point. Saab can stand cold winters, the Thema not. It´s a summer hobby car^^

[Sagr1987]

crazy how the guy says the interior "comes together beautifully"...crazy no one would buy a car with an interior like that today. Watching old top gear gives me a strong sense of time and change

[SaabChrysler52]

SAAB FOREVER

[89tdriver]

io ho avuto una lancia thema 2.0 16 valvole i.e 157cv e vi dico che provando una 164 nn mi è sembrato affatto che l'alfa sia meglio della lancia anzi il contrario

[mirkinoPDL]

e un peccato che a causa della pessima reputazione della lancia in gran bretagna, la thema non abbia avuto successo come da noi, bella macchina ma la 164 e stato un incredibile esempio di stile avanguardistico italiano, sia interno che esterno.

[nielslernou]

alfa romeo is the best

[paperinik77pk]

Con quello che costano adesso...io mi prenderei sia la Thema sia la 164. E dato che stiamo parlando sempre dello stesso pianale...mi prenderei anche la Croma (meno pretenziosa e più votata alla famiglia) e la Renault 25. La Saab è carina, ma è una Croma col culone (fino al montante posteriore i lamierati sono identici a quelli fiat), esteticamente credo sia la peggiore (ma è solo un mio parere), pur rimanendo una gran bella macchina!

[simoneislanda]

La Lancia Thema, l'auto dei grandi signori per antonomasia.

[salvito82]

100 volte meglio La Thema.

Non c'è paragone con la 164.

[MrAntotiger]

Assolutamente la migliore è la 164.! fino a 5 anni fa faceva ancora la sua bella figura.. con il restyling!!!

[reggello15]

@MrAntotiger La Lancia Thema no ? L'alfa romeo 164 è leggermente più veloce della Lancia Thema, ma la Lancia ha un lusso esagerato infatti il presidente della repubbica aveva una Lancia Thema non un'alfa.

p.s. La thema (la 8.32 poi non ne parliamo fa sempre la sua bella figura ancora oggi.

[cloverleaf164166]

Had an alfa 164 cloverleaf 24v a few years ago and i'm after another one now, beautiful car, although the earlier 12v with the extra torque is meant to be even better. Love the way those rear seats move and the self closing passenger door (5.40) very clever, mine never did that!

[reggello15]

go Lancia Thema (go italy)

[iammabbella]

Saab forever, my 9000: 18 years flawless...!!!

[jspro6]

worst car revoew ever/ no mention of style of passion. I am a pipe smoker myself, but as such despise lack of taste, flavor, and passion. We need a new breed of carmakers fixed on both quality as well as life threatening enthusiasm. We NEED alfa romeo!

[WarpedNut]

Lancia thema had a version made with a Ferrari V8 and old top gear sucked balls shit was boring

[viggoM35]

LoL ...he's get confused over the climate control buttons in the Alfa. Is he implying that most European executives are either drunk, blind, or compete morons? Though this is the 90s, were they doing much cocaine back then. ;)

[IC559Rossini]

non dimentichiamo che su questo pianale fu costruita anche la croma... perchèe non viene mai presa in considerazione?

[isaac49710]

alfa rules

[jataxirijssen]

We own a Saab 9000 CSE 2.3 Turbo and we love it. A superb car!

[ScandinaviaUnite]

@jataxirijssen

Superb car indeed, got the same model myself. 200 bhp, leather seats, ACC, Electric windows all around and splendid comfort for £1500! Not much to complain about, is there?

[jasnbl]

As if a SAAB 9000 cost nearly £30k, be worth about £50.00 now.

[killenmac]

hehe.. i got a saab 9000CD MGray :D that saab look like mean!

[EgoJoel]

If you are smart you go with the saab cause of the safety. The cars are much alike else just that Saab wanted the car to be safer. They were going to sell it in the USA.

[jjintheuk]

I'd choose an Alfa or Lancia over a Saab any day!

[Turbotrips]

Now you go ahead and do that, thats just fine by me.

[jjintheuk]

I will in the future, unfortunatley, currently my age (18) and only 1yr no claims means I'd have to burn a wad of cash to drive an Alfa or a Lancia, therefore I'm stuck with my little 106.

[blos90]

la lancia è la migliore andatevi a studiare tutta la storia e poi ne riparliamo

[giuliettomane]

@ablos90 La 164 ha una gamma molto più completa e motori più raffinati. La Thema è più lussuosa dentro . Quanto alla storia la Lancia ha avuto una storia tra le più gloriose ma da qui a dire che fu la migliore ce ne passa ..

[MasterEnry93]

manca la fiat croma

[trevmann91]

Wow I never knw that alfa has been using the same v6 in 1991.goes to show that it is really a proven motor.

[greygtv6]

I had a Thema 2l 16v Turbo in the 90's and now drive a Saab 2.0 CSE Turbo.

Give me the Lancia any day! It's a better driving machine, and will kill the Saab in performance.

The Saab is very well built, but not as comfortable as the Lancia, which also has a better driving position.

Perhaps I'm spoiled by my GTV6 3 litre. When the weather is good there is nothing better to drive.

[FrightfulAccountant]

The Saab did last 20 years later.

The 2 Italian wild boy obviously didn't.

Too bad GM want to make an end toSaab... =(

[munkisbeprotis]

This presenter has a beard !

[xReventonx]

of course the saab, its awesome.

[WarGamezzz]

too bad they didn't have the 225hp Aero then, the Saab would have easily triumphed.

[WarGamezzz]

The nice thing about the turbo Aero is it has great fuel economy especially with a manual (30mpg hwy....much higher than V6 or V8) without sacrificing power.  For me that's the difference between an everyday driver and a sporty gas guzzler.

[william2762]

THEMA RULES!!!!

[CarsfromItaly1]

Saab is too old style especially inside

[ansettnz100]

@CarsfromItaly1 For its time it was very nice indeed. Of course by todays standards it terrible but I think your comment was unfair.

[CarsfromItaly1]

It was a great car no doubt about it but the other 3 croma thema and 164 were more goodlooking and ahead of its time

[ansettnz100]

I like them all in terms of design. Saab was the first maker to introduce the direct ignition system which im sure was on the 9000 series. Saab's 9000 was also the safest car in the world at one point in time.

[pzipischiquo]

Saab it's a Fuckin Shit!

[76mikke]

saab is best

[oxfordbiker]

Funny to hear Top Gear with no flashy music / sound effects / crazy camera angles etc...!

[knlmc]

mechanically, the SAAB 9000 is incredible...i know someone who has one and bought it for something ridiculous like 500 quid and has run it for years now with no issues. Smells like shit inside though.

[agenteblasco89]

@knlmc fiat..

[Mpayne]

@knlmc Yeah thats probably my dads old car XD!!!!

[cocodonia]

i loved l 80's Top gear, what happened to William Woolard ? he was quite a cool presenter.

[turbo16vls]

LANCIA THEMA WIN!! salute frrom a thema lovely possessor

[bonixp]

ma guardiamo anke gli stessi video???

ahahha io me lo sto guardando adesso :D :D

[zabijaq123]

Especially with 32 valve sengine  :D

[GmDefrag]

That's TRUE ! 1st Thema, 2nd 164 , 3rd 9000, no way ! (you should try it before to speak -.-)

[KLX1410]

selling fiat as saab - sick!

[eifusiccomeimmobile]

thema is a legend! what a power,what an engine! It was a symbol!

[chingjeh]

Yes, I agree, I also have one Thema 2.0ie which it was borned in Italy, July,1987. I like to drive it. Right now I am still maintaining this car, sometimes hardly to find parts, in Taiwan. Luck and Enjoy your Driving life.

[djopeezy]

I'd take a bmw 3 series over these three any day, despite having owned a saab

[djopeezy]

I had a 94 Saab 9000 CDE, great car, never had problems with it and it was running perfectly fine when I sold it in 2006. It was as reliable as any car I can think of, but it was heavy and without the turbo, lacked power. It got bad gas mileage and was incredibly slow. It is a great reliable luxury car for those who just like getting from a to b, but there was no passion, and it was quite boring.

[iMarcoreal]

they are all, good cars.

Saab is the best!!

I have one 9000 cde

[theTeabag]

except for the grille those 3 cars look exactly the same

[brajtnerinjo]

Well, they ARE the same (together with the Croma), but the 164 looks significantly different

[717399]

Lancia Thema the beast

[Tachyonstorm]

I bought a secondhand SAAB 9000 CDE exactly the same spec as the one in the test a year ago. It's still trundling along 150,000 miles later, the leather seats older but still comfy and the old girl can still lift her skirts on the motorway if required. The only problem is that i only use it as my second car these days as the fuel economy on such a large car is quite terrifying - but that said, it never goes wrong, starts when needed and still polishes up a treat!

[ansettnz100]

A totally agree. I would buy the Saab as well!!!! Although the Lancia also appealed to me for the fist time!

[bigvanilla27]

totally agree with the decision!!! my oarents used to have a 1989 saab 9000 turbo, and it's a lot nicer with a manual gearbox...=)

[DualofChaos]

why would you choose a saab over an Alfa? Thats like choosing a Volvo over a BMW

[e32amgfinatic]

your wrong the alfa falls apart after a few years as shown in the vid. And the depreciation is horrible