Saab 9-3January 2007

Charlie10 September 2009

I love this car. Very cheap to run, superb comfort, very quiet. So far no problems. Prefer it when compared to other german brands or other manufacturers. I dont know why fifth gear gives only 3 stars. For example vw golf takes 4 stars. I have driven both cars and I really dont understand this. After having several test drives, when I went into saab i imidiatelly new I was going there.

Ray Rajani29 October 2009

Again - 3 stars not 5 Amazing that owners of these give the car 5 stars and the press gives 3. Why? Simple they do not test in real world conditions thats why. I mean how many people buy a car and thrash it around a race track and then use the same car everyday? I would say not many. Also I hear how the Saab is a Vectra in Drag. Not at all, yes has a similar platform Saab developed the chasis for GM for the 93 and then took the good bits off and gave it to opel to use. For a start the Saabs is 100mm longer in the platform and this new shape although looks similar to the older 93 has 2000 differences and every panel is different. Evolution is the word! I have owned Saabs hard top and soft the newer shape one, Audi (or Daudi) A4 TDI 2.0, Bmw from the great 3 to the crappy compact and variants in between. To make it short on my way to pick up the keys to another Saab 93 TDI with a Hirsch upgrade. Why? Because I am individual and i find the competition boring and lacking. Saabs last longer (same as Audi) and they are not pretentious - good dealer service. The MPG of the Diesels are amazing, the Aeros easily match and overtake the M3. The reason we in the UK are questioning SAAB is because we are a nation of car snobs. Anything that BMW make automatically is covetted regardless of how good it is. The journalist are the same. In short - If you want the thinking mans luxury vehicle with more technology that is is proven and useable. With a heritage and value for money (second hand I admit) and you are an individual with an amazing warrenty then this is your car. Snobs who see badge and the heard to follow - need not apply!

maltyman09 January 2010

Having just driven my 9-3 on a hundred and twenty mile round trip in the worst snow/road conditions for years,I have to say ,what a pleasureable experience,never felt it threaten to move much at all ,it behaved impeccably. I've owned it for three years now and have covered thirty thousand miles and haven't spent a penny on it apart from servicing and new set of tyres(fitted just before the snow arrived).I'm sixty two years old and it's the first Saab I've had ,it certainly won't be the last. How can you rate a car like this three star. I've driven every type of car on the road,(used to have a small garage/carsales), so bewildered by your rating. I certainly won't pay any attention to your ratings in future.

MARK SHAW09 January 2010

I have driven the car for just over two years and it has to be the most unreliable car i have owned, it is in the garage every two months on average. This is mainly down to the Diesel particle filter but I have had many other problems with the alternator, electric windows, windscreen wipers and the Diesel filter splitting and spewing half a tank of diesel onto the road. My major bug bear however is the general build quality of the interior, which has rattled and squeaked from the first mile. It has a very cheap feel to the materials used and has been put together poorly.It is supposed to be a prestige car but I have seen new cars priced at £8,000 - £12,000 have a higher quality finish. I have given the Saab 1 star as i like the styling of the exterior but again if you look closely at the paint work it is poorly finished (mine looks like it has been applied with a 6 inch brush). This could have been a great car if GM had increased the budget and specified the car to the standard the price tag requires. If you have to go for a GM car choose the Vectra over the Saab 9-3 as it is better spec'd and cheaper. It is no surprise that the Saab brand will disappear as General Motors have destroyed a once great Marque.

Grahame Jack30 January 2010

I agree - this deserves better than a 3 star rating ! I've owned my 2.8 V6 Aero convertible for a year now and it's a great car. Effortless overtaking power, plush cabin, some very nice design touches and, in the summer, you press a button and you've got a stylish convertible. It's better than the BMW 3-series coupe I previously owned and the lamentably back-breaking X3 ( a temporary lapse of reasoning on my part). Plus deep-green backlit dials at night is just wonderful. (Who needs BMW's angry orange ?) Go on 5th gear - at least four stars!!

george towell30 January 2010

My previous Saab 9000 250000miles and second 150000 miles before sale .My present 2004 9-3 1-8t convertable absolute dream style,comfort and build.keep your BM and (rusty)mercs i nlove my Saab only wish i could afford a new one it would be on the drive now. Cant understand motoring writers knocking them all the time

John wright02 February 2010

An absolute piece of engineering genius. I cant see why it only has three stars. I dont understand the comments on bad handling either. It may not be as pin point as an m3 but my 9-3 aero is a fraction of the price, and in my eyes not a fraction of the quality, better infact. I work in the trade so i see many cars come and go, yet after all the cars a have used, the saab is leaps and bounds ahead. The overtaking power is emmense, the handling is awsome in the wet unlike rwd bmw's and mercs, which seem to just fall apart when the slightest bit of water hits the road. The compfort is incredible, although i do admit the could have done a better job on the interior, not in style, just the plastics. Also unlike the german competetors, you do not need a phd in I.T to work the control panel, it took me a matter of minutes to come to terms with how to use everything. I also believe the exterior styling is much more muscular and stylish than any of the german rivals. It also shows you dont need a huge engine to deliver outstanding performance. The 9-5 shows this even better with the age old 2.3T, the single best engine i have ever come across. I do not care much for the rest of the range, they do feel woolish, yet all the aero models, including the new 180bhp TTiD, which is a fairly new addition to the fleet. A very sporty, very fast approach on the not so sport diesel scene. Almost makes diesel cool!

Joe R16 April 2010

I bought a Saab 9-3 Arc and prefer it to the BMW 3 2.0 litre, everybody in the family wants to drive the Saab where nobody wanted to drive the BMW, we car pool 3 cars in the family. The BMW is rear drive and handles well but has a natural aspirated 2.2 litre motor, give me the 2.0t Saab motor any day. I think the trouble with road testers is they don't have to live with the car, they test them quickly and move on. A good example of living with a car is how fast do the demisters and seat warmers work in winter? The top of the range Kluger was very poor but only because my V70 was so good and the trouble is you get use to it! The Saab is like this, its all the subtle things that road testers won't pickup because they move on so quickly! eg The port hole behind the arm rest, the rear folding seats, 6 spay window washer etc. I look forward to each and every drive in the Saab but I guess most BMW drivers are Toyota drivers with more money and they are more fussed about servicing cost than driving enjoyment.

Paul21 May 2010

Just bought a 2008 9-3 1.8T Biopower. This car is great. A little slugish in accelerating, however after that, it beats any car in its class hands down. I have driven equivalent bmw's & audi's which friends own, and they are not a patch on the saab. BMW is very slugish and powerwise not close to the 9-3. Audi is better than the BMW, but once you get the saab motering, its a better drive. Overtaking accelerating is fantastic. You just touch the accelerator and it goes.

mick bennett06 June 2010

Had a Diesel Sportwagon for 2 years which was 10 months old when bought. Upto today one electric door window motor replaced under warranty without problem. Sadly today the Alternator has gone at 35,000 miles very disapointing as I had a Ford Focus for 8 years with virtually nothing at all and i now its still going strong at 10 years old.I am beginning to wonder if this maybe getting the elbow soon ? Very unusual as i keep cars for at least 6 years before changing !! Its a lovely car but if its starts giving grief its gone , i dread to think how much I will get as a part ex either !!

Jack09 July 2010

I'm a 40 year old man who does about 25,000 per year. I've driven Audi and BMW in the past, but decided to try the Saab last year. I bought a 9 month old Saab 93 Aero TTiD (180bhp) that is spec'd up to the eyeballs in early 2009. Admittedly the timing was perfect as GM were experiencing all the problems & they were looking to offload a load of ex-fleet models. I got a £32k car for £10k! Even taking the price out of the equation, I'm very happy with the car in general. It is much quicker than my previous cars, and the twin turbo makes a huge difference. I'm getting 45mpg, which helps as diesel prices are ridiculous, and I haven't needed to carry out anything other than a standard service. The ride is great, and the seats are particularly comfortable. I suffered from a bad back in the Audi & BMW, but no such problems here! Admittedly the interior plastic could be improved, but I wasn't going to base my buying decision on that. Overall I'm extremely impressed, but maybe my enthusiasm is influenced by the price? I definitely wouldn't have paid £32,000 for the car, but I would never buy a brand new car anyway. Why bother when you can buy one under 12 months old, still with a manufacturers warranty, for much less than the forecourt price?! . :-)

Marc08 January 2011

Having owned my saab 93 1.9 tid 120 for over 6 months i can give an honest opinion to the pros and cons of ownership. I will start with the positives; 1, Its not a 3 series or A4. 2, For an equivalent 3 series or A4 you will pay almost double the amount on the previously owned market, having driven both bmw's and audi's I can honestly say that the saab is not as far away on build quality as some reviews and opinions will lead you to believe. 3, Its a comfortable car and can easily accomodate 5 adults with luggage, which cant be said for a 3 series due to the propshaft running along the centre of the car eating up a fair amount of leg room in the rear. 4, Performance is good for a 120 hp turbo diesel, it pulls nicely from 1500 rpm all the way to 4000 rpm and delivers the power smoothly. 5, Its cheap to run, I average 45 mpg and the insurance group is a couple lower than equivalent bmw's and audi's. 6, For a fwd chasis the saab handles extremely well, it does'nt give great confidence in feedback through the steering wheel and the steering is a little light for my taste, however it does grip beyond levels that you would expect when you push on. 7, The saab is a good looking saloon and i would go as far as saying its the best looking saloon on the market, its certainly different. Now for the cons; 1, The alternator seems to be a common problem area with the diesel 93's and I have experienced a few niggly electrical faults which are usually rectified by disconnecting the negative connection to the battery. 2, The interior does have the occasional rattle in places. 3, This is being picky but it is annoying that there is a total disregard for people who like a coffee whilst driving, NO CUPHOLDERS! 4, check the stereo system before purchasing the 4 speaker version is utterly useless. 5, the six speed gear box is not the best, people report it can be clunky and sometimes find it difficult to engage first and second gear, this rectifies itself when the car is warm. Overall I am impressed with the saab 93 they are a real bargain alternative to the German competition, not quite to the standard but not a million miles away and I like to be different.

Ray Rajani09 January 2011

Ok here I go - I bought this car and made a review of over a year ago. So proof in the pudding i suppose is if I leave a review of it after using it like I would use a car normally. All I can say is Geat car, I dont care what BM drivers say this to me is a divers car. I have a 120 BHP with a Hirsch upgrads so engine has been saab approved remapped, boy does this make a difference, more poke than my old Audi A4 2.0 TDI. I have done over 18k in this car fro hard driving when Im late for appointments to recreational trip to Bournemouth which is over 250 miles away and every time this car leaves me cosetted and I found it great. Not a boring car great MPG combined alway over 40mpg. I would not give mine 5 stars as I have the Linear SE if I had the 180 TTID Aero I think thats a 5 Star as need more punch and leather. Everytime I read reviews on reliability i feel they are talking about a different car, I have the basic Hifi, it sound great to me for a basic system you have to set it right its got a graphic equaliser for a reason to suit your ears and if you count its 7 speakers, you pay extra for that with audi BM or Merc. Still feels tight as a button and in laser red stands out from the crowd to the ubiquitous germanic or japanese white goods. I have compared this to a new shape mondeo when a micra decided to go ice skating and used my saab as a air bag. Hit me and in turn I hit a VW Touan. Micra written off, touran new door and bumper, me back on the road new 1/4 panel & paint and after saving my life back on the road not even CAT record.So yes I would recommend this as one of the best cars I have had so for and would when I am ready buy a 93 TTid or the new shape 95 Ttid. I think from what people have said in other reviews about 93 faults I have not found them either they are unluky or just moaner who drive like they stole it 24/7 and what ever they drive would be destroyed. like any car buy from a reputable dealer and service very important. I love the LED lights (now everyone has them), night panel on long journeys, cup holder nice touch, ergonomics great, good quality paint, nice seats although back seat passengers need more room, this car is more sophisticated than people think everything can be adjusted to you - thats saaband best off all not boring. if only badge cachet was higher but im the kind of person who wears designer with the labels on the inside not out!

Jonathan18 October 2011

Like the majority of other reviews on hear I have owned a lot of cars in the past,the last three being bmw 3 series, all good cars in their own right, but compared to my saab they were all dull and lacked that x factor. My Sabb is a 93 convertable in Lime yellow, and yes it may not be to everyone taste but its individual and fun.I have owned it now for over a year, no problems to date, its fast enought to loose your licence , soft top comes down in a jiffy and its different, For the £8k it cost me I could have been all sensible and got a new fiesta in silver, but whats the fun in that ? Be daring,live a little, drive a saab!

Jonathan18 October 2011

Like the majority of other reviews on hear I have owned a lot of cars in the past,the last three being bmw 3 series, all good cars in their own right, but compared to my saab they were all dull and lacked that x factor. My Sabb is a 93 convertable in Lime yellow, and yes it may not be to everyone taste but its individual and fun.I have owned it now for over a year, no problems to date, its fast enought to loose your licence , soft top comes down in a jiffy and its different, For the £8k it cost me I could have been all sensible and got a new fiesta in silver, but whats the fun in that ? Be daring,live a little, drive a saab!