Good points: Base level pricing, nice ride, gas mileage, cargo room, seats, appearance
Needs improvement: Ride height, emergency parking brake,
Pulling into the parking lot of the large hospital we were stopped by the guard and asked for some information. It was a routine request until he started to fill in the paper work and could not find Saab listed. In fact, he had never heard of a Saab. That, in a nutshell, is the problem Saab has been trying to crack with their all-new 9-3. Recent sales figures seem to indicate that they have done just that as new buyers appear attracted to the more modern model. However, the resale of the last of the old style Saab hatchbacks remains incredible strong giving rise to the possibility that they have become classics for many who are fighting the General Motorization of Saab.
We owned the older 9-3 and loved it dearly. We find that the new model has nothing in common with its ancestor except for the center console mounted ignition key, some features such as the ability to black out all the gauges except the speedometer at night, and the plethora of safety features. That is both good news and bad. The bad part is that the new Saab looks like most other upscale sedans and is nearly quirk free. The good news is that it is a much better vehicle. It runs better, handles way better, has more comfortable seats, and is priced less.
Another concern for Saab is that the popular Arc model sells above $30,000 and that places it in some tough sales territory. Our recommendation is to check out the low cost Linear model we tested if you want an exceptional buy. You are going to get a very safe, attractive, and roomy ride for under $28,000. Adding fuel to that model's attractiveness is the fact that Saab is offering some remarkable lease rates with a Linear going for $299 a month, with $1205 down. Intellichoice (www.intellichoice.com) give Saab its Gold Lease level.
If you do order the base model Linear you get full leather seating, a 150-watt stereo, keyless entry, the OnStar system, stability control, and 15-inch alloy wheels. On the other hand you only get 175 horsepower and with an automatic equipped car that tips the scales at 3300 the acceleration is leisurely at first. But, once the turbo and transmission start getting serious the car accelerates just fine and, perhaps more importantly, it reacts quickly when passing.