Saab 9-3 Sport Combi MY2008, real photos! Options

[/john]

Another world first from Saabscene!





These are the first official photos of the new Saab 9-3 Sport Combi for model year 2008, anywhere on the internet! Saabscene was the first website in the world to reveal the Saab Aero-X, and now we have done it again with the first clear photos that are not CGI and are not test mules covered in camouflage

[Adrian]

Like it but..... its probably my age, its getting a bit too Nissan Navara with the depth of the front grill for me.

Still the Dame Edna 9-5 has grown on me and this looks a lot better to start with, does have an agressive even angry look certainly not the usual Saab subtle style, much more in your face.

[Zaphod Beeblebro...]

Well done, /john, and congratulations.
I must say I quite like it. Looks much better, IMHO, that the current offering.

[Harry Lake]

Nice one John! I just hope it hasn't got too much of that awful aluminium, titanium and black stuff in it! Cheers, Harry

[Kev_Mc]

Looks meaner than the current model. Is this a mid-life facelift?

[Orca]

I think it looks really good - very contemporary and certainly a sporty look

[Al]

Sorry,

It looks like the b*****d child of a BMW and a Ford ST to me. But then again I haven't been a fan of the styling since the "new" 900 was unleashed.

Al

[Polaris]

I think from what I see - it looks very nice apart from the UGLY CHROME !!!!!!

Did GM buy 300 millions tonnes of plastic chrome that they are trying to get rid of?!!!!

I mean,..... chrome round front lamps on the 95 then the dash on the 93- now chrome round the fog lights!

Is there anywhere left that they can put any more plastic chrome?!

This post has been edited by Polaris: 9 May 2007, 14:51

[Fawlty]

Hoorah - a full width Saab bonnet again, not a saddo Vauxhall "between the wings" strip.

I'll have one on that showing. It looks like a cross between Darth Vader and a moose. Certainly says getouttamyway nice and loud!

That is I'll have one assuming, of course, it has a 3 litre biopower engine, walnut dash option and proper leather seats.

So no, I probably won't...

[saababba]

Not too bad I think More character !



European saab Meeting 2007

[Neil of Stevenag...]

I go with Polaris on this. To my, aged, eye the "chrome" around the fog lights looks cheap and tarty.
Like the menacing grille though.

Neil

[Ginger]

Looks like a Honda Accord to me

[HappySaab22]

Big Saab fan, on my second Saab, when the time comes to replace my current 2001 93 will most probably go for a what is the current model 93ss, think they are good looking and an improvement on the model I have.

The new model pictured, guttted, its gotta be almost the most ugly bit of tin on wheels I have ever seen. All that cheap tacky silver plastic. Wont be parking one of those on the drive!

[Derek Cook]

Well done, John, for the scoop!

When I saw the email, I wondered how I would react. Now I've seen the photos, I'm disappointed with the looks, but glad because I have an 07 model, which IMHO looks much nicer on the front.

Perhaps I would say that, because I have to justify my purchase! , but to me the lines of the 07 model are much cleaner, and I don't like that angular look and the reversion to mountains of chrome. Each to his own of course.

To me, the looks are too much like the front end of a 9-5, which I don't like either. The other day, I had my 93 sportwagon parked next to a 9-5 in work (believe it or not, driven by some Swedes on business over here) and I know which one I'd prefer......

But the 93 sportwagon is a funny car to admire anyway. I have it in fusion blue, and think it a gorgeous car - much nicer than the BMW and Audi equivalents. But when I see it in other colors, it doesn't look so good (IMHO of course).

[eden]

thanks Saabscene for the headzup.

V. Mixed feelings. I always felt very 'vive le difference' with Saab. The 9-5 has managed to stay a little aloof but this is too Beemer meets Audi A4. It's just starting to lose it's individuality for my slightly inexperienced pallette.

Someone in last months Saab Mag said, "I love my Saab. I see it more as something I wear rather than something I drive." Eminently sensible words. I just have that niggling feeling that driving this one off a forecourt I might feel like I'd just walked out of Blue Water rather than Jermyn Street.

I have a 9-5 (2001) and always siad that ideally I'd love to have a 9-3 as well for use when not lugging the kids around. I actually think I'd be more tempted to back to the 900T of around '86.

[ftoman]

think the 9-3 looks much meaner than the current model (coming frm the owner of 02 9-5). Agree with most on here that they have overdone it on the chrome front. When i first saw the 07 9-5 u hated it but i have been working out in sweden and for some reason (probably exposure) over there it just did not seem quite so pimptastic so who knows this one is probably a grower as well

[AlanG]

Sorry, not keen. The Saab image used to be understated power. Now the corporate image seems to be bling. Perhaps it will grow on me in years to come (but then the reliability is not what it used to be either).

[shuggyx]

From the posts so far it appears to be just me... but this is surely the ugliest Saab since the Sonnet 3. What a monster. Has the front been styled by Ken Dodd's dentist? I thought the pre-facelift 9-3, in saloon form at least, was subtly pretty and just what a Saabist would be looking for when discarding the tarty german competition. How could anyone go for this estate version in preference to, say, an Alfa 159 Sportwagon? Thank Christ my order for a new 9-3 Convertible will be made in the next few weeks.

[RJH]

My two cents.....; it looks like a BMW 1 series with shiny tape to hide its lack of design, soul and character.
Sometimes I perversely wish Saab had gone under once GM took them - at least they would have been remembered as a truly genuine marque with a uniqueness all of their own. What we have now is a watered down brand that relies upon sentimental enthusiasts or people that just simply don't appreciate real cars. It’s now more about cheap packaging for fat Americans than engineering.
I miss my old T16 900, and my current insipid 9-5 Griffin will definitely be my last GM Saab….. but it doesn’t mean I’ll never own a proper one once again!

This post has been edited by RJH: 9 May 2007, 21:46

[sgould]

Could be that the pictures are of the top of the range model. Maybe the lesser models have less bling?