Car reviews

Introduction

If you are looking for something out of the ordinary, that is stylish and more understated than a BMW then the Saab 9-3 is an excellent choice. It comes in a variety of body types which started with the Saloon in 2002 which was followed by a Convertible in 2003 and finally a Sportwagon in 2005. The interior is extremely comfortable with enough room for five in the Saloon and Sportwagon models and four in the Convertible. There is also a wide range of engines to choose from in both diesel and petrol forms with the added bonus of two BioPower engines that can run on either petrol and/or bioethanol E85.

Exterior & Interior

The 9-3 comes in three body styles starting with the saloon that was released in 2002 followed by the Convertible a year later in 2003 and finally the Sportwagon in 2005. As with almost all SAABs the focus is more on comfort rather than sportiness. This is felt inside with highly comfortable and supportive seats, plenty of legroom in the front, but it is lacking in the back in all of the models, especially the convertible.

The boot space is acceptable in the convertible with you being just able to squeeze a few shopping bags in when the roof is down, but it does improve when it is up going from 258litres to 352litres. The saloon is better with 425litres of space and also comes with the option to fold down the split folding rear seats to increase the space. The Sportwagon comes with the most as you would expect having a total of 1,273litres when the back seats are folded down, however, they don’t fold completely flat.

The interior feels well put together and looks good with the dash being full of gadgets and gismos, but they seem to be placed at random with little thought having gone into the ergonomics and a logical layout. A facelift in 2006 did improve things though making the exterior look more stylish and aggressive with the interior being brought more up to date and a more logical layout on the dash for easier use.

Drive

The driving position in all three models is very good with the seat and steering wheel adjustments enabling you to find the perfect driving position. The ride is extremely good being improved dramatically from previous models with the suspension offering a smooth ride on all surfaces. It copes fairly well with corners to minimise the body roll, even in the convertible with no shake and flex being evident as seen in other convertibles. The steering can feel a little slow and unresponsive at times and in the more powerful engines they tend to suffer from a lack of grip under hard acceleration. In wet conditions this is particularly apparent and can be felt through the steering wheel.

Faults & Repairs

There haven’t been many reported problems with the 9-3. However, there was one recall which involved the hood on the convertible as the hydraulic pipes on some models were getting caught. Also test any diesel options to make sure that there are no large quantities of blue smoke coming from the exhaust under hard acceleration as this could mean that the turbo has failed. The 18,000 mile service interval should help to keep the costs down and with many independent specialists around you should be able to keep costs down further.