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2007 Saab 9-3 SportCombi Aero Road Test

Sporty wagons are cool. It could be due to the fact that companies with reallysporty wagons are premium brands such as Audi, BMW or in this case, Saab. No Taurus or Accord wagons here. What makes even more sense is how superior wagons are to crossovers: they look and handle like cars, usually offer better space and fuel economy and with AWD added to a sport wagon, it's a knockout punch. The Saab 9-3 SportCombi is a wagon through and through, and with 250 horsepower on tap, the Aero definitely qualifies in the sport department. Unfortunately, the Saab 9-3 is only available with FWD (for now), which posed a few problems, but more on that in a moment.

The SportCombi certainly looks the part of a sporty wagon—the full body kit helps it hug the ground, while the projector headlamps and tall tail lamps give it some nice Scandinavian sophistication.

Shifts four and their golf clubs with speed, comfort and luxury. (Photo: Steven James Day, American Auto Press)

The roofline appears low, but it's actually quite flat—the window simply recedes from it, leaving plenty of height in the cargo bay. For the full effect, just drop the seats and head to IKEA for some flat packed furniture. Even with the seats in place it wasimpressive—I took three friends and four sets of golf clubs to the course and the 9-3 still had plenty of room.

Fitting four sets of golf clubs, however, is not enough to make a car sporty. The thing that makes a car sporty, wagon

Vertical stacked taillights seem to be a Swedish thing... (Photo: Steven James Day, American Auto Press)

or not, is power, and in that respect the 9-3 is quite generously endowed. V6 turbo power sees to that, but at a cost: torque steer. Not quite Saab Viggen–crazy torque steer, but be prepared to hang on to the steering wheel tightly. Mid-range acceleration was often accompanied by a poltergeist trying to change lanes or wanting to drive on the British side of the road. Coming hard out of a corner also resulted in the torque steer messing with my intended line, if I wasn't careful with the throttle. Specs on the small but mighty V6 are 2.8 liters, a low-pressure (read: low boost - 8.7 psi) twin-scroll, single

The most important thing on a turbo Saab is boost. (Photo: Steven James Day, American Auto Press)

turbo setup and DOHC that work in conjunction to hammer out 250 horsepowerand 258 lb-ft of torque. This engine isn't so much Swedish as it is a global effort; designed by Holden and first used (in naturally aspirated form) in the base Cadillac CTS, but with the turbo it is plenty fast and power is available just about anywhere in the powerband, no matter what gear you are in.

Last year my colleagues tested a 9-3 and found that their automatic-equipped SportCombi Aero drank high-octane fuel like a sailor on shore leave. That car returned 16 miles per gallon. With the same engine and the same gearbox, I fared much, much better, averaging about 21 miles per gallon. Still, one should consider opting for

The dashboard's been redesigned with a GM-spec stereo, and the HVAC controls from the 9-5. (Photo: Steven James Day, American Auto Press)

the standard 6-speed manual gearbox for better performance and economy. Plus, since the clutch is light and the action of the shifter smooth, it's more fun.

GM's epsilon platform is aging well in this application, but at the same time the SportCombi's long wheelbase resulted in some chassis flex straining over some of the rougher roads andharder turns on less than stellar roads. Suspension is admirably comfortable and sufficiently sporting, although still a bit soft for my tastes—I think a more rigid suspension would conceivably compromise the body. The brakes were excellent though, scrubbing the quick turbo's speed with as much urgency as my foot demanded.

The 9-3 is an attractive design that turned a few heads in my time with the car. The color was a sandy

Key between the seats is another Saab trademark. (Photo: Steven James Day, American Auto Press)

silver hue called Parchment Silver Metallic that really highlighted the uniqueness of the vehicle. The front end is immediately recognizable as a Saab, with plenty of sporty details like the complex jeweled headlamps, and there's just something about the shape of the front fenders and hood that catches the eye. The back end, despite being novel, doesn't quite work, and the thick swath of metalbetween the tall flat roof and descending window line is bulky and ungraceful. I am positive I would like it better if the body were a darker color, whereas on my light colored test car it looked like a mismatched trim piece. The bumper to roof taillights look right on a Swedish car—probably because Volvo has been doing them that way for so long.

Get inside, and it looks great for about two seconds, until the cheap plastic metallic accent on the steering wheel falls to hand. It looks like it

Wagon - uh, I mean SportCombi - offers plenty of cargo space. (Photo: Steven James Day, American Auto Press)

was spray painted a shade of annoyingly bright silver by a monkey. A shame because the wheel itself is comfortable and well designed, but the fact that Saab obviously wanted aluminum, but GM could only afford plastic is sickeningly obvious. The stalks for turn signals, wipers and cruise control also feel like some of the most brittle in the business—not exactly a premium touch.The rest of the controls are in character, however, with matte, grippy finish, and suitable aluminum-looking accents highlighting the unique shape of the console.

The seats, too, are proper Scandinavian thrones, in this case in supple, light gray leather with darker accents highlighting its ergonomic form. Very comfortable on long drives but I would prefer more lateral support. Speaking of not being held in place, sampling even a tenth of the V6's prodigious torque would send the cupholder's contents all over the front passenger due to its utterly flimsy design. The way that it unfolds from its compact confines

Like art, the cupholder is amazing to look at, but rather flimsy. (Photo: Steven James Day, American Auto Press)

just above the HVAC system is almost magical, however. Another feature that is kind of cool is the Night Panel. It turns off most of the instrument panel at night to minimize distraction, but I failed to see the point. If you are that distracted at night by your instrument panel lights, you probably should pull over for the night.

My tester also featured the Touring package, optional for $1,195, and it added memory for the driver's seat, an auto dimming mirror with compass and integrated garage door opener, rear park assist, a remote opening feature for the comfort closing power windows and the ever handy rain sensing wipers. The ignition key (it's more nub than key) itself is kind of cool—you just dock it between the seats, in the Saab tradition, and turn it clockwise. While on the surface it might seem like an attempt to appeal to Saab purists, said purists don't own a Saab built after GM took ownership of the company and any buyers that are new to the brand will just wonder why the key isn't on the column. Saab does have an answer for that. In the event of a collision

The 9-3 isn't for everyone, but those who like it, like it a lot. (Photo: Steven James Day, American Auto Press)

a key that is on the column might hit your right knee, possibly causing an unnecessary injury. But with the advent of smart keys that stay in your pocket and use a start stop button to actually start thecar ... a traditional key makes less and less sense, let alone one between the seats.

In general, I wouldn't really change that much from a design standpoint but after the much publicized, now discontinued Saabaru (9-2x) and the lame duck SaaBlazer (9-7x), Saab needs to sharpen its focus even more with the next 9-3 and 9-5. In an attempt to broaden the brand's appeal, GM has still created a Saab for Saab lovers. Despite its flaws, I recognize that it has loads of character to distinguish it from and elevate it above many other brands' sport wagons, so I compliment GM for maintaining a strong whiff of Saab in the Global GM landscape. Having said that, I think GM needs to step up to the plate and establish Saab as a true premium brand in order to attract more new buyers, just as Ford has done with Volvo. First priority? Get the team who worked on the 2008 Cadillac CTS interior on a plane to Sweden ASAP.

Specifications (9-3 SportCombi Aero):

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