You might recall that one of our SU regulars, Till72, visited Hirsch’s headquarters in Switzerland last week. I posted his remarks about taking a quick drive in Rene Hirsch’s personal whip – a new Saab 9-5.
The other reason Till made the journey was to have a new Hirsch performance leather steering wheel fitted to his Saab 9-3x. It goes nicely with his Hirsch carbon leather interior and engine tune 🙂
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Hirsched again…
One of the reasons for my trip to Switzerland was that I got the new steering wheel for my 9-3x. I fell in love with it as I saw it for the first time at the Hirsch open day back in August.
The airbag and the controls are kept from the original part so you also keep your black or silver covers and only the wheel itself is changed. It was done in about half an hour.
After having it installed for a week now I can say that I really like the feel of the stronger shaped design. Your hands easily find a safe and comfortable position. The perforated leather adds it’s part to the great feel, too. I also realized that for tall people like me the flat bottom makes it easier to get into the car.
The steering wheel completes the Hirsch interior of my 9-3x and adds some sportiness. I love it.
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hi Till,
I remember having those wheels demonstrated to me by Manfred, cool wheel and looks great in your car, well done.
Looks amazing Till!
Any chance of seeing a couple of more shots of the rest of your hirsched interior?
Thx
I had a few here, but the carbon leather is really hard to photograph. I got the carbon leather dash and interior trim kit, you can find some more photos on the Hirsch site.
Thx a bunch Till.
Looks absolutely awesome!
Wow! I absolutely love it! Really racing looking but in a nice subtile way. The design emphasizes the “quarter to three” grip really well.
I`ll just go and check the Hirsch site for a minuite 🙂
Looks like a racing car! 🙂
It’s a Hirsch TTiD. It is a racing car! 😉
So, being a diesel, it’s only front wheel drive. How would you compare it to the XWD cars?
More comfortable? Faster? Nicer?
I might want one, later. 🙂
Not easy to answer.
But to be honest I would not really need it. In the two winters here in Munich I never had a situation where I got stuck. And I’m usually on the road at 5.30 in the morning before roads get plowed. Handling of the 9-3x is great, even more with the 18″ summer tires I have. No matter if you are on winding roads or at 230 km/h on the autobahn the suspension is always a great comromise between sportiness and comfort. Also a great car if you want to pull a trailor.
If XWD had been available with the diesel for it help to put the 430 Nm of the hirsched TTiD on the ground in slippery conditions.
And I just love the TTiD. It’s got the torque of the 2.8 V6 at great fuel economy.
Tnanks.
I might look for a used one in a few years time, so I want to know if the diesel/2WD combo is OK. And it seems that it is.
lol, my mistake!
Beautiful wheel. I hope the Hirsch will offer this in the USA. I am not fond of Saabs steering wheels.
I like the wheel of our Aero…. but the Hirsch one looks very comfortable as well.
@ Till72… thanks for all the stories to dream about!
I liked my old steering wheel, too but I just couldn’t resist… 😉
Glad you like my stories. Still trying to find some more.
It looks superb.
A really good grip is essential because if the diameter is too small then it will cause hand strain. When my factory wheel wore out, right down to its frame at 800,000 miles I replaced the SPG wheel with a small diameter, chubbier one. It then had the same ratio as my Viggen.
I have been waiting for a wheel forum to mention this request: I wish Saab would have a HEATED steering wheel! I know some climates would not need one, but it gets so cold overnight, hear in Wisconsin’s winters, that driving in the morning can be painful. It takes a long time for the wheel to heat up to the ambient temperature. Yes I wear leather bikers’ gloves to get a grip.
I believe that only Porsche offers this option on certain models.
While my car was being serviced last month, the shop gave me a loaner car. It was a small, very unimpressive Opel – probably a Corsa, but I didn’t really pay much attention. But would you believe it – that car had a heated steering wheel! It was a fairly unambitious feature, as it only heated part of the wheel, but even so, it was very nice to have. I’d love to get it in my car, and Saab – with its image of being the winter car – really should offer it.
You are right. Here in Germany it costs 460 € as seat&steering wheel heat pack, and can be added to the even the less expensive model.
On the other side, nor the Insignia nor the Astra offer steering wheel heating; strange.
My wife’s 9-5 got the steering wheel with the alu inlays. Danm, that’s cold in winter!
And you’re right, a heated steering wheel would really be a Saaby option.
It looks superb.
A really good grip is essential because if the diameter is too small then it will cause hand strain. When my factory wheel wore out, right down to its frame at 800,000 miles I replaced the SPG wheel with a small diameter, chubbier one. It then had the same ratio as my Viggen.
I have been waiting for a wheel forum to mention this request: I wish Saab would have a HEATED steering wheel! I know some climates would not need one, but it gets so cold overnight, hear in Wisconsin’s winters, that driving in the morning can be painful. It takes a long time for the wheel to heat up to the ambient temperature. Yes I wear leather bikers’ gloves to get a grip.
I believe that only Porsche offers this option on certain models.
It looks superb.
A really good grip is essential because if the diameter is too small then it will cause hand strain. When my factory wheel wore out, right down to its frame at 800,000 miles I replaced the SPG wheel with a small diameter, chubbier one. It then had the same ratio as my Viggen.
I have been waiting for a wheel forum to mention this request: I wish Saab would have a HEATED steering wheel! I know some climates would not need one, but it gets so cold overnight, hear in Wisconsin’s winters, that driving in the morning can be painful. It takes a long time for the wheel to heat up to the ambient temperature. Yes I wear leather bikers’ gloves to get a grip.
I believe that only Porsche offers this option on certain models.
Hirsch 30% discount: Got my Hirsch Newsletter in the email yesterday. This sounded good:
“06. Special offer
Performance upgrades for used vehicles
Starting February 1:st, Hirsch Performance offers a special discount on all performance upgrades for vehicles from model year 2007 and older.
…
The 30% discount is on the consumer price (excluding VAT) and is valid from February 1, 2011. Please contact your dealer for a price quote including installation costs. ”
Unfortunately, no dealers in my area, and their website still shows nothing available in the US for an 04 2.0T. 🙁 Hope that changes.
I think Hirsch is phasing out support for cars before 2008, already a lot of parts have disappeared. The leather dash is now available only for the new dashboard.
where did you get this coupon from? i really want the leather dash and door handles and it would be awesome to get 30% off.
Not a coupon. I signed up for their email newsletter on their web site. I think you can read current newsletter here:
http://extranet.hirsch-performance.ch/newsletter/view.php?id=BZEU3E
…or, go to http://www.hirsch-performance.ch/
and under the News tab, click on PDF-Newsletter to see all newsletters
ok thanks, im hoping that a local texas dealer carries hirsch so i can get some stuff.
Love it!! That would look so right in my SC as well.