WE have good news and bad news.
First the bad: Saab’s image in SA is sadly not at all what it should be. But the good news is that General Motors is busy administering a range of medicines that should go some way to curing the ailments for good. Having said that, we know that cautious motorists may take some time before they start seeing Saab in the correct perspective.
What GM has done is to group three premium brands together, set them apart from the high volume makes Chevrolet, Isuzu and Opel, and provide specialised servicing of customers. This premium group consists of Hummer, Cadillac and Saab.
The Saab 9-3 range is now on offer in three derivatives – a saloon, a SportCombi station wagon, and a convertible.
Four engines power the range, but the only one chosen for the SportCombi is the low-pressure turbocharged 2,0-litre four offering 129 kW and 265 N.m of torque. Styling has been jazzed up while retaining the traditional Scandinavian architecture that we have become used to with Saab. The vertical rear lighting uses clear lenses that look peculiar, as if faded from old age, or frosted, whereas the headlamps are much more modern, and incorporate LED elements that are eye-catching.
The 16-inch wheels look too small for the size of vehicle, but are practical in not having too-low a profile (55 aspect ratio) thus providing a well-balanced ride quality. Full-length roof rails and rear parking sensors complete the picture.
The wheelbase is quite long at 2 675 mm, allowing for ample interior space. The cabin displays that familiar comfortable Swedish touch, with flat facia panels and small, well-engineered controls and switches providing a good feel. Plastics, fit and finish are all of good quality, except in the console and armrest area, where some cheapness creeps in. A boost gauge is included in the instrumentation.
A Saab characteristic is the ignition key that sits on the centre console between the seats. But don’t squeeze on the key too firmly when withdrawing it, or the emergency key will pop out in your hand. The fuel consumption read-out only provides an average display, not an instantaneous one. Another quirky Saab feature is the night panel illumination trick. Press a button and all backlighting goes off, with the exception of the speedometer. Even the gauges are no longer visible. This feature is claimed to lessen eye fatigue at night.
The steering wheel dates the interior design somewhat, with its large diameter and thin rim. In the test car, the stitching on the leather cladding had an exposed thread that irritated one’s left thumb, but this is something that is not difficult to sort out.. The centre armrest slides for added comfort, and conceals a large storage bin. Just ahead of this, a sliding cover exposes the dual drinkholder with a flip-down piece to accept smaller cups. Sizeable door pockets plus a large glovebox (with switchable air-conditioning) add to storage capabilities. Dual-zone climate control takes care of keeping one cool, with expensive looking eyeball vents providing a large adjustment range. Vents are provided for rear seat passengers as well.
Although the leather upholstery does not look as convincing as the more supple hides found on some German marques, seating is pretty comfy with a good degree of adjustment for the driver. Some complained that the cushion was too flat with insufficient side bolstering and under-thigh support. Manual lumbar support is provided for the driver.
The rear seat cushion incorporates a dual pop-out drinkholder to add to the two in the console, plus the fancy one that unfolds from the facia when you press the release button. Legroom all round is impressive.
The tailgate is large and square, and loading items is made easier by a really neat dual- position parcel shelf. This obviates the need to fully retract the shelf each time you load or unload goods. The floor has a concealed compartment for storage of thin items such as a laptop or perhaps clothing, and underneath this rests a sensible full-size spare wheel on a steel rim.
The turbocharged engine, with its gentle turbo whistle, is a good choice and provides sub- 10 second sprint times from 0 to 100 km/h, a top speed of 211 km/h, and a perfectly acceptable fuel index of 10 litres/100 km.
Braking is up with the best too, with an average stopping time of 2,87 seconds from 100 to 0 km/h in our 10-stop emergency stopping test.
The transmission is a fivespeed autobox that is clean-shifting and conventional, but is made much more interesting by the addition of a sport button on the facia that activates a mode that will hold onto gears for longer, and will change down on deceleration to give some engine braking. It incorporates an “intelligent” function that responds to your style of driving. In normal mode, the transmission could be described as competent, but boring. In sport mode, this changes to competent and entertainingly athletic. Pity that the default mode is the standard setting, even if you switch-off in sport mode. It might be intelligent, but it does not have a good memory!
For effortless travelling, cruise control is standard, with the control buttons mounted on the lefthand stalk. Talking of cruising, most testers mentioned that the ride was the best feature of this car. It is highly absorbent, yet does not exhibit wallowing motions: it just soaks up the bumps, and was generally described as being perfect for an estate car. Some understeer and tyre squeal is evident in fast cornering, but for a station wagon, the handling is quite acceptable.
