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2008 Saab 9-3 SportCombi Aero Road Test

In terms of Swedish cars, Saab is most definitely overshadowed and underrated.

A serious update has breathed new life into Saab's bread and butter sedan, the 9-3. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

Despite being built by a company that's historically famed for building jets, Saab seems to live in the shadows of a company that used to make ball bearings - go figure. Still, Saab and Volvo have a lot in common. They both make trucks and buses, they're leaders in safety, their cars are normally configured for front- or all-wheel drive, their vehicles have comfortable seats, and their convertibles are really quite good, just to name a few things. But what Saab's really good at making (besides airplanes) are turbocharged cars, a particularly fine example of which is the new 9-3.

This “new” 9-3 is more of a facelift than anything more dramatic, a way to keep this five year old car fresh. Year by year, Saab improves in select areas – two years ago was the addition of the V6 Turbo, last year was the interior, and this year it's an overhaul of the rest of the bits and pieces. Of the 2,000 parts that Saab claims have been changed with the new 9-3, the most obvious ones are those you can pick out very easily, namely the body panels around the front end, such as the bumpers and clamshell hood.

As a part of Saab getting back on track and building on its brand values, it's

The new headlamp design with swiveling xenon beam gives the 9-3 the look of real eyes and eyebrows. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

doing what Audi did a few years back with its single-frame horse collar grille. It's focusing on key ingredients that solidify the brand's image in the eyes of buyers, something that makes every first impression a strong one. Most leading brands follow the general rule of designing their cars with recognizable faces. Over and above their trademark grilles, BMW has their corona angel eye headlights while Audi shows off dotted LEDs. And Saab? The traditional Saab grille reverts its shrinking process for larger more dominant nostrils, while the headlamps now feature an illuminated brow across the top of the lights. This change strengthens Saab's brand identity, and stamps its impression on onlookers as you pass on by. I happen to think it really suits the 9-3, and it blends well with the rest of the current design.

There are good facelifts, and then there are bad facelifts. With the 9-3, over 70-percent of the metal is new, fresh and striking, yet it is nicely integrated into the existing car, making it one of the more successful updates I've seen in quite a long time. It also helps that Saab's new designers had something good to work with. Ex-stylist Michael Mauer (now at Porsche) gave the 9-3 SportCombi a fantastic looking backside, specifically characterized by the

No real changes back here, not that it needed any. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

slimming pillars with the taillights' ice-effect lenses, plus the integration of the beltline with the pillar itself, the so-called hockey-stick curve. The removal of the matte rubbing strips, front, back and side, tidy things up, and with them go the clunky-looking door handles.

Between last year and now, nothing much has changed regarding the interior, but that's because Saab just finished overhauling it. In case you missed it, they basically re-did the console with big, round knobs in place of itty bitty buttons to make it more ergonomically sound. Born from jets the 9-3 may be, but, at last I checked, the dozens of switches and knobs that a fighter pilot faces aren't exactly intuitive, and driving a 9-3 shouldn't require years and years of intensive training, as fighter pilots do. The new rotary knobs, and simple, clearly labeled buttons are big improvements over the previous model's switchgear. And, for the little reminder that the 9-3 really is a GM product, the corporate navigation interface with voice-activated controls is available as an option, and OnStar is standard. Unfortunately 9-3 buyers must forgo Bluetooth handsfree for GM's version,

I happen to really like this interior; it's comfortable and makes perfect ergonomic sense. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

although this will be changing.

I've heard a lot of gripes about the 9-3's cabin pertaining to cheapness, and I'm going to disagree. It isn't that the car is made of poor materials or that it feels cheap, because it most certainly doesn't, but I think there are some areas that could clearly be improved on. Take for instance the overhead console, with its switches for interior lighting and sunroof. They may be seldom used, but they have the look and feel of stuff that would've been considered “cheap” twenty years ago. So, if say you were to compare the 9-3 to the new Audi A4 or the new C-Class, which granted are more expensive, yes, there is a difference, but it isn't as great as it's often made out to be.

Besides, there is still much to love about the 9-3's cabin, such as the perfectly contoured seats, the ergonomically sound controls of the console, and some of the little gimmicks, like the Night Panel, the waffle vents, and the floor-mounted key; what makes a Saab a Saab. There's also the spacious cargo bay and the acres of rear legroom, which can comfortably accommodate four big adults with no compromise. These are little hints, little reminders that this

The 9-3 is the king of night driving; Night Panel shuts everything off but the speedo. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

isn't just a conventional car, it's a car that was built around logic and intuition. The Swedes are good at that, aren't they?

Additionally, Saab has cleaned up the naming system and trim levels with the 9-3. No more cryptic Arc, Linear, Vector and Aero, just base and Aero, differentiated by engine. One's got a turbo four, and one has a turbocharged six. The 2.8-liter V6 is actually a bit on the small side by class standards, but its lack of cubic inches is more than made up by its turbo. Saab knows turbos - after all, they were the first to stick one in a car.

Because of the low pressure that the turbo generates and the flatness of the torque curve, the Aero's V6 isn't a particularly exciting engine to exploit, but it does sound quite nice. Boost comes on smoothly, and between 2,500 and 4,000 rpm all of its 258 lb-ft of torque is available, which means passing, even at highway speeds, requires little more than flexing your ankle a couple of degrees. The twittering turbo boost gauge is followed by the rise of revs and the startlingly quick jump of the speedometer. On-the-move acceleration is more impressive than the 0-60

Front wheel drive cars now make 255-hp, while all-wheel drive ones, thanks to extra boost, make 280. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

mph sprint, which is about 7.8 seconds for the automatic-equipped car, though it feels much quicker (manual equipped cars will do it in 6.9 seconds). Until the Turbo X and all-wheel drive Aeros arrive in dealerships, with the 280-hp version of this motor, this 255-horsepower model (up 5 hp) is the fastest product that Saab currently makes. Unleash it on an autobahn and it'll run into an invisible wall at 155 mph, just like any Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz.

The automatic also has a new switchable sport mode, although other than the need to test it out I didn't find using it particularly appealing given the on-demand nature of the turbocharged engine, the manual mode and of course, the automatic's pesky habit of holding onto gears longer than it ought to. Pressing the button only amplifies the effect, which, I guess, is sporty. Mission accomplished, but the ends and the means... well, they don't quite have matching alibis. If it were up to me, I'd go with the manual, and save some cash too.

Compare the turbo four of the base model to the turbo six of the Aero, and the price to pay for the performance is in torque steer. Yes,

V6 turbo is distinctive; it has a sweet, cultured exhaust note. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

there is some, and yes, it can be bad when liberally applying power over bumpy pavement, but it is no worse than anything else that allows this much power through the front wheels. In the context of the 9-3's excellent highway cruising qualities, the question of torque steer never really comes into play. Provided you stay out of flooring the car at low speeds, it's never really present, which is more than acceptable.

Dynamically, the 9-3's a pleasing surprise. The steering has a lightness and a preciseness that I admire. It feels more lively than its rival from Volvo, with a nice crisp follow-through during turns; if only the giant steering wheel were a bit smaller. I also do not like the silver plastic inner rim, as it looks a bit on the cheap side, especially compared to the regular leather-wrapped steering wheel on base models. When switching from accelerating to stopping, the brake pedal has a bit of a squishy feel to it, but stops with immediacy, and the ride is set to err on the side of smoothness rather than outright sport. This is what gives the 9-3 its excellent cross-country capabilities, and something that I personally wouldn't give up. Highway travel is one of the 9-3's strongest strengths.

Practical, swift and good looking - the Aero is a solid four-star all-rounder. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

By and large, the most impressive thing that the 9-3 was able to export to me was a feeling of true competence. It's easy to make a fast car, but it's hard to make a fast car feel smart and in control. Things are likely to improve when the torque steer issue is completely resolved with a 9-3 equipped with the new fourth generation Haldex all-wheel drive system, which Saab calls Cross Wheel Drive. Featuring a torque-vectoring rear differential that effectively reduces understeer, it gives the Saab's chassis the grip to cope with power and the traction that it needs to take it to the next level.

Fairness is hard to come by in the premium world. You generally wouldn't walk out of a Mercedes-Benz dealership thinking you've bagged a bargain, but you really could with the 9-3. They're quite reasonable in base trim, or with options. A base SportCombi costs $30k, which compares favorably to an equivalently equipped V50 T5 or V70, A4 2.0T Avant or BMW 328xi. This nearly fully loaded example retails for a little over $46,000, which isn't that much money

(har-har) underrated. It's a fantastic family car and a great tourer. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

when you compare it to rivals, especially for what it offers. There aren't many wagons on the market that can do what the 9-3 can, with regards to performance, comfort and style. Only Audi's A4 3.2 Avant matches it for power and traction, and it's a fair bit pricier. The ultimate SportCombi, however, will be the 280-hp Turbo X model with XWD, which should ring in around the $55k mark, which again, isn't bad at all.

Saab's update of the 9-3 is one that I'd call truly successful, a revision which bodes well for the brand. With the pending 9-5, scheduled for global release by the end of the decade, plus the 9-4x compact crossover recently shown and new 9-1 that's about to be unveiled in Geneva, there's a strong future ahead for Saab.

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