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Pushing the boundaries of conventional convertible design, the rear pillar of the 9-X Air concept curves upwards to create the distinct wraparound glasshouse.

Penned alongside the Saab 9-X BioHybrid concept by designer Anthony Lo, the 9-X Air shares its distinctive front end styling, together with its highly efficient powertrain.

 

The turbocharged 1.4-litre Saab BioPower engine has been optimised for E85 fuel and incorporates an electric boost hybrid system for optimal fuel efficiency.

Performance is a substantial 147kW and 280Nm with a projected fuel consumption figure of 5 litres per 100kms and 119g CO2/km on standard fuel, which changes to 107g/km and 6.5l/100km when used with E85.

 

This is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox with an automatic clutch and steering wheel mounted controls.

In partnership with Sony Ericsson, the 9-X Air and its hatchback sibling also showcase the next generation of Bluetooth wireless connectivity with one or more mobile devices.

 

The in-car interface allows the driver to stream data, entertainment and satellite navigation functions, which are transferred automatically to the car while the device remains in the user’s pocket.

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GM has recently put an end to all rumours  that it is considering selling Saab.

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Codenamed GMT168, the Saab 9-4X will arrive in time for the 2010 model year. Sharing the platform with the upcoming Cadillac BRX, the Theta-Epsilon based Saab will be built in at the Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico.

Unlike the U.S. based 9-7X, this will be sold globally. Styling – as you can easily see – will be very close to that of the concept, and powerplants will include a range of gasoline, as well as a new 250-horsepower diesel.

The 9-4X will also offer Saab’s XWD all-wheel-drive system.

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Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebloaget or SAAB as we know it, was founded back in 1937 to build military aircraft. But you knew that right? We have all seen the ads, which regularly feature Saab jet fighters.

What you probably didn’t know, is that this Swedish car company, was the first to fit head rests as a standard safety feature, in the Saab GT 750 way back in 1958, which I am happy to say, was before I was born.

But innovation didn’t stop there. In 1962, the company fitted seat belts as standard kit, and in 1963, they offered dual brake circuits.

Other world firsts for Saab include; headlamp washers and wipers in 1967, heated seats in 1971, deformable bumpers which could take an impact of up to 8km/h, turbocharged engines for passenger cars in the guise of the Saab 99 Turbo in 1976, and the list goes on.

But this isn’t a history tutorial on SAAB, the car company. It’s a review of the most powerful car Saab currently builds. And better still, this one’s a soft top.

Most carmakers like to build “hot” versions of their cars. Saab is no different. Hot Saabs get an “Aero” badge and a few other goodies.

Up at the business end of the car, you’ll find a smallish 2.8-litre turbocharged V6, which I’m pleased to report, gets on with the job. And so it should. With 188kW at 5500rpm and 350Nm from 1800 all the way through to 4500rpm, the Saab Aero Convertible is no slouch. Off the line getaways feel rapid, despite the spec sheet indicating 8.1 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprints and top speed is 240km/h.

Power delivery is smooth and linear, allowing for no fuss overtaking, while the engine note is decidedly of a sports growl nature.

Working in prefect harmony with this small bore V6, is one very smooth 6-speed automatic box. If left in auto mode, shifts are quick and smooth as are the kick downs when you need to punch it.

Just don’t use the sequential mode or the steering wheel shift paddles, as they are woefully slow to react, unless you recalibrate your shifts to a second or two ahead of when you want them to actually occur.

While the Saab has significantly more power than its main competitor, Volvo’s C70 (that’s 188kW Vs 162kW) it’s a much heavier car conceding over 100kg to the other Swede.

That’s surprising, as there is more flex or scuttle shake in the body of the 1759kg Saab. You might put that down to the Saab wearing a classic soft-top roof, whilst the Volvo uses a folding hard top set up.

And that brings me to another point. Do I prefer a soft top or the hard top? I’m afraid the jury is still out of that one. While both systems have their benefits, I’d probably go for the more traditional fabric roof, due to looks and the obvious weight saving advantages.

The Aero comes standard with the Sports Chassis Package so while the suspension is a little firmer, you would still call the overall ride comfortable.

Whilst you can certainly feel the weight of the car come into play on turn in, especially if you happen to be punting the car along, the tuned suspension successfully dials out all but minimal body roll, which makes this convertible even more enjoyable to drive with a little enthusiasm.

But let’s get back to why Saab has sold more than 250,000 convertibles throughout the world and over 10,000 in Australia. Looks and style. You buy a Saab Convertible because you like how it looks. It’s a hansom if not pretty motorcar, with a fair dose of prestige cachet.

And with the additional Aero body kit, large dual exhaust pipes and a set of very nice sports alloys shod with those superb Continental SportContact 2 tyres, it really does look the business.

The car looks good enough with the fabric roof up, but with the roof down, it’s probably the best looking convertible on the road for less than $95,000. No question.

The roof mechanism is very rapid, I clocked it at around sixteen seconds and you can lower or raise it on the fly at up to 30km/h although, I didn’t actually test this feature this time round.

Inside the car, is just as nice as the exterior. I rate the sports leather seats up there against anything from Europe. They offer excellent bolster and support but at the same time, are ridiculously comfortable on long distance trips.

I did have an issue with the lever mechanism on both front seats which when lifted, enables the seat backs to fold forward, which allows rear seat access. They were temperamental and often didn’t fold, particularly annoying when you are double-parked at a restaurant, trying to let the kids out in good time. I finally worked out that its best to lift and fold forward very quickly and all in one motion. That seemed to do the trick.

It’s roomy too. Plenty of space for four adults and kids will find it more than comfortable even on holiday drives.

The fascia and instrument layout is typically Scandinavian. That’s minimalist, but then I like that. No clutter. The switchgear is easy to read and operate which is a big plus for those of us over 40 years.

The top half of the centre dash is devoted solely to audio controls (yes, you can plug in your iPod too) and the bottom area accommodates the HVAC dials. Nice and simple.

This is how you do a car interior, at least from a practical sense. But while the plastics are generally of a high quality and soft touch, I’m not a fan of the GM inspired handbrake lever, it’s not comfortable and should be replaced with an electric hand brake, with this spec car.

While the steering wheel is of the sports variety with decent thumb rests etc, it’s just not thick enough to provide that performance feel, that the Aero deserves.

Another thing you need to get used to when driving a Saab, is where to insert the key Fob. No amount of faith or perseverance will assist you in starting the car on the right side of the steering column. Saab gave that practice up back in 1967, when they moved the ignition to in between the front seats.

They studied actual crashes and found that a key in the steering column could cause a serious knee injury. Makes sense, although these days with collapsible steering columns, it may not be as much as an issue.

If you’re into water sports, you can lock the car and leave the remote part of the fob in the car, and lock it with the non-electronic half of the key, which separates from the main body. It’s both clever, and highly convenient, if you happen to ride a board or scuba dive.

At close to $93,000 the 93 Saab Aero Convertible is fully loaded with a stack of luxury kit that should make life easier behind the wheel of this car.

The audio system is particularly impressive. It’s a 300W, 7 speaker 6 CD in dash changer that puts out some high clarity without bias to any music genre. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t played a CD in years, so it’s about time that all car companies install a USB port so that MP3 users can control playlists through the steering wheel audio controls.

Other standard features worth a mention (far too large an inventory to itemise) include; Bi-Xenon headlamps with auto levelling, Halo “Lead-me-to-the-car” remote lighting, Auto dimming interior inside/exterior mirrors, Bluetooth Phone Integration System (TEL4), Heated door mirrors, Glovebox with “cool” feature – down to 8 degrees, Remote opening roof and windows, Rain sensing wipers, Saab Parking Assistance and much, much more.

With some many world first safety features adapted to the car by Saab, you naturally expect a safe car, regardless of whether the roof is up or down.

A full compliment of active safety features is on board; ABS brakes, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Mechanical Brake Assist (as distinct from Electronic Brake Assist (EBA), Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Traction Control System (TCS) with brake and throttle intervention and Electronic Stability Program (ESP).

As fas as occupant protection goes, there is Active Rollover Protection along with six airbags but no rear curtain airbags which is a surprise.

“The Saab 9-3 Aero Convertible is an exciting car, no argument there. But I can’t help think that its hefty sticker price of $93,300 might be limiting overall sales potential of this variant”

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Unlike the 9-7X, the 9-4X will be sold globally. Styling – as you can easily see – will be very close to that of the concept, and powerplants will include a range of gasoline, as well as a new 250-horsepower diesel.

The 9-4X will also offer Saab’s XWD all-wheel-drive system.

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The engine features two sequentially mounted turbochargers of different sizes which can either operate separately or in tandom.

 

From idle the exhaust gas feeds only the small turbo, at 1,500rpm the flow is then split between both turbines until 3,000rpm where only the larger turbocharger is engaged.

Matched to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, combined fuel consumption is just 5.7 litres per 100km for the manual Sport Sedan model.

Pricing

Aero TTiD Power/Torque RRP Fuel consumption (Combined)

Sport Sedan manual 132kW/400Nm $62,600 5.7l/100km

Sport Sedan auto 132kW/370Nm $65,100 6.8l/100km

SportCombi manual 132kW/400Nm $65,100 5.8l/100km

SportCombi auto 132kW/370Nm $67,600 6.9l/100km

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“For certain things, it’s important to use cadavers. [The tests] involved people who had donated their own bodies,” Claes Tingvall told the paper.

The reason behind the use of cadavers was to further understand the injuries sustained by human bodies in car accidents. The report indicates that a total of ten cadavers were used in the project, which was most likey conducted by Saab automobiles.

“It’s a part of the [GM] family where everyone partakes in the research results,” he told the newspaper.

So far neither GM or Saab acknowledged any tests involved dead human bodies.

“We are with GM through thick and thin. We conduct our own research and try to find other methods to achieve our results, with the help of computers, for example,” said Saab spokesperson Christer Nilsson to Expressen.

Is it wrong to use donated human bodies for crash tests?

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Trollhatten in Sweden (the hometown of Saab) may therefore get back full production of the 9-3 range, which would make Saab fans happy. Given the uncertainty surrounding the cars production, the current 2009/10 release date has been delayed until 2011/12.

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The Turbo X is the first to debut the XWD (cross wheel drive) system which continuously distributes engine drive torque between the front and rear axles and also between the rear wheels.

To optimise traction at take-off, the XWD system anticipates the engagement of the rear wheels unlike conventional all-wheel-drive systems which need to detect front wheel slip before rear drive is activated.

It also boasts an active rear limited-slip differential (eLSD) as standard, which can transfer up to 50 per cent of maximum rear torque between the rear wheels, to whichever has more grip.

The Turbo X is powered by Saab’s award winning 2.8-litre turbocharged V6 engine, producing 206kW at 5500rpm and peak torque of 400Nm between 2150rpm and 4500rpm.

This translates into a zero to 100km/h time of just 5.5 seconds.

It is available exclusively in a metallic jet black finish with matte grey titanium-like accents on the front grille and other exterior details.

The limited edition Turbo X model is identifiable by its deeper front lip spoiler, re-profiled bumper, rear spoiler and bespoke 18-inch alloy wheels in a grey titanium-like finish.

The interior features black leather sports seats and carbon-fibre highlights on the main fascia, door inserts, glove box and gear shift console which is unique to Turbo X.

In recognition of Saab’s turbo heritage, the Turbo X boost gauge is a replica of the original 900 Turbo display, and owners will receive a unique “Ready for Take-off” message when they start the car including their name and edition number of the car.

Pricing

Sport Sedan 2.8TV6 $88,800 (Automatic) $91,300 (Manual)

SportCombi 2.8TV6 $91,300 (Automatic) $93,800 (Manual)

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Now many Saab zealots will jump down my throat upon reading this, so please understand I am not being harsh just for the sake of being harsh, I’m simply trying to impress upon you that as someone who reviews dozens of cars a year I believe this vehicle is simply not worth the asking price. I mean option it up a little and you’re very quickly over the $80K mark!

For starters, the design is out-dated, it desperately needs re-modeling and leaves the 9-5 ostracised from the more modern styling of its competitors, further stretching the argument that you’re getting a lot less for your coin than you could elsewhere.

Sure, it’s comfortable and everything works rather well, especially the sometimes over zealous climate control, but it looks old, is rather basically spec’ed for a premium vehicle and lacks a lot of the character the brand had a decade ago. Frankly, it’s boring, uninspiring, and whilst it’s hardly likely to ever do anything wrong, you’re just missing out on so very much comparatively speaking.

As a big car, I was expecting much more in terms of space, but sadly little is offered in the way of innovative storage, and the internal proportions are certainly no more than you would expect of even a medium sized modern wagon, most especially in the rear leg room department. Plastic rattles were noticeable on coarser roads and some of the fittings appear frightfully last decade.

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Take the 9-3 on face value and the car is quite impressive, rather stunning to look at and surprisingly comfortable to ride in, but start blending the various parts and practicalities together as a whole and you soon realise a few things could have been done a little better.But before we get in to the nitty gritty, let’s take a quick look around the car. It’s a neat package over all, modern, sporty looking, and rather sleek, with a curious habit of standing out in a crowd. The angular front end, large clam shell bonnet and bold headlights really make a statement drawing much of your focus from the profile around to the fore end of the car.

Smooth parallel shoulder and hip lines carry unbroken through the length of the vehicle to a well finished rear end sporting frosted tail lights and high boot line. The bold tail end suits the vehicle’s proportions and makes a nice change from regular cars who’s designers seem to have fallen asleep by the time they draw the back of the vehicle.

Inside the cabin is well presented, has a lovely ambiance and with the possible exception of the outdated dashboard and instrumentation panel, really does make you feel as though you’ve done well in choosing the 9-3. The heated leather seats are comfortable, well textured to the touch and lose none of that vital support.

The front seats are well proportioned dimensionally which makes for very pleasant longer trips and the driving position is excellent, almost sporty. Unfortunately the rear leg room is a little on the tight side for adults, more so if your front row buddies have long legs.

Climate Control, Cruise, and all the expected powered goodies do a fine job considering their design age, though I would option the Bose stereo were it my car as the standard six disc unit (with iPod plug in) leaves a lot to be desired, especially in terms of clarity at volume. It may also help disguise some of the annoying road noise.

Boot space too is rather generous for a mid-sized sedan and the rear seats fold 60:40 to allow greater flexibility when required. If you need extra carrying capacity the 9-3 can be optioned with removable roof racks and/or a 1,600kg (braked) tow kit, which I’m sure the torquey diesel would have no trouble pulling.

Upfront the 110kW 1.9 litre common-rail turbo diesel does a brilliant job of keeping things on the boil once moving and with thanks to a healthy 320Nm, pulls rather strongly mid gear. The down side however is that the performance suffers incredibly from (initial) turbo lag.Whilst this is a trait of many turbo diesel engines it is most especially noticeable in the 9-3, so much so you even feel it when trying to exit slower corners. It’s disconcerting really, much more evident than it should be, and whilst it can be managed with the use of manual mode when in motion (say on tight windy roads), is something you really need to be mindful of from stand still (like when tackling a busy intersection).

Swapping cogs for you is the Sentronic six-speed auto. It’s capable enough, and smooth when allowed to carry its own pace, but try and stir it up a little, even in sport mode, and it can become annoyingly slow to respond. Thankfully the remedy is a click away, and if you’re in need of sharper response, the thumb shift ‘M’ mode (manual - steering wheel mounted) is a far better option.The suspension too isn’t quite there in terms of overall ability. It may be comfortable enough, and does a fair job of soaking up lumps and bumps, but on the handling front is rather nervous. There’s a fair bit of body roll, especially on high speed sweepers, and the car will tend to under steer if the turn-in speed isn’t quite slow enough, which can make for hard work considering the heavy power steering.Braking though is good, reassuring, and a lot better than the 9-5, but the pedal feel is still somewhat firm and requires far more input than similarly priced European or Japanese rivals. Still the ABS with Brake Assist, Cornering Brake Control and Electronic Brake Force Distribution, brings the 9-3 to rest confidently and drew little in the way of messy black dust all over the sporty 17″ alloys which was nice for a change come clean up time.

In all though the 9-3 is a great looker, is cheap to run and is surprisingly comfortable. Whilst it does lack some of the driving finesse you’d expect of a premium brand, and though it could do with a little tweaking to satiate the needs of a fiercely fought price bracket, it’s has one unique thing going for it - people just love to admire it.Parking from place-to-place this week the Vector has drawn plenty of compliments, most especially from the type of person who understands where SAAB is at, and what owning one affords you in terms of social status. It’s a rare thing these days with prestige cars being so common and if you can live with the 9-3s compromises, that feel good buzz could mean owning one is right for you.

CarAdvice overall rating: How does it drive: How does it look: How does it go:

• Engine: 1910cc four-cylinder turbo diesel
• Power: 110kW @ 4,000rpm
• Torque: 320Nm @ 2,000 - 2,750rpm
• Transmission: Sentronic Six-Speed Automatic
• Driven Wheels: Front
• 0-100km/h: 11.0 seconds (Claimed)
• Top speed: 210km/h (Claimed)
• Safety: ESP (with TCS); ABS (with BA, CBC & EBD); Front, Side and Curtain Airbags
• NCAP rating: 5 Stars
• Turning circle: 10.8 metres
• Wheels: Alloy 17″ x 7.5″ (As Tested - Usually 17″ x 7″)
• Spare Wheel: Space Saver
• Fuel tank: 58 litres
• Fuel consumption : 6.8 litre / 100km (ADR Combined Average)
• Fuel type: Diesel
• Towing Capacity: 1,600kg (Braked)
• Weight: 1,509kg (Tare)

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