Saab 9-3 Aero 2.0T Road Test

Saab 9-3

Build Quality

The Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon feels solid, safe and reliable. Build quality is excellent and the materials used are of a high standard and should prove durable in the long term.

Value For Money

The Saab 9-3 Aero is competitively priced at £24,495 OTR within the premium saloon car segment. It features an impressive list of standard equipment and an options list that won't break the bank. Residual values should prove stronger than the outgoing 9-3 hatchback model.

Overall Opinion

The Saab 9-3 Aero is a grown up performance sports saloon that features touches of innovative engineering combined with class leading safety. Both the performance and fuel economy are excellent and the handling is superb.

Saab have replaced the hatchback with a boot enabling it to compete within the sports saloon market. Saab has announced that it intends to venture into the premium, mid-size estate car segment for the first time with the 9-3 SportWagon with UK deliveries starting in early September 2005 [ click here ] for more information.

Saab has a reputation for building quirky cars for independent, free thinking individuals. The 9-3 is not as clinical as an Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz which are superb examples of Germanic engineering but which ultimately lack soul.

Saab shouldn't try too hard to compete with its German rivals because their ethos is different. In our opinion understated elegance is the essence of the 9-3 and is what makes it unique and desirable.

The 9-3 Aero has been designed for not just for its sheer driving excitement but as a car that you can live with in the long term.