My 2003 9-3 review, US

[gsxr150]

I believe it was sometime in April 02' when I was searching the internet for some pictures and information on the BMW 330i. Of course I'm the guy that will try and find out every detail and spec for a car I'm thinking about buying... As I was looking at BMW information I though to myslef, what other cars should I check out. Oh yes, Saab of course. Being a current customer of GM, I decided to take a look at what Saab has to offer. Immediately when I entered SaabUSA I saw a picture of a beautiful new Saab. I wanted to know more right away! From that moment I became a 2003 9-3 nut. About 5 months later I finally had the opportunity to see one up close, on Tuesday October 8th.

Unfortunately for us folks waiting for the high performance version of the 9-3, we'll have to wait until Early next year. For now we are lucky to have the all-new 9-3 Linear package to view and test drive. I called the dealer every other day for two weeks when I heard it was supposed to arrive. It was a long wait! They finally said "yes, we actually received it today!". That night after work I drove down to the dealer to look at the beauty. It felt like I was going to pick up a new girlfriend on a first date.

There it was, a black 9-3 Linear package, sitting next to the building. My first thought was WOW the pictures do not do justice for the car. It looks like Saab, BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus was blended in a washing machine. I must say I am very picky when it comes to looks of a car, and I was very happy.

Here are some of my thoughts. I will expand on these as I spend more time with the car and find out more information.

Exterior: Well done Saab! I particularly like the rear end. It looks like it's worth $50,000… Sweet lines and everything is clean as well as sharp. I should mention it had the 16 inch rims.

Interior: This model did not have any options in it! Dial climate control, only one CD slot, no sun-roof, and no power seats. That's OK because not everyone will need every option. Despite not having any options there are still plenty of fun toys to play with. Driving position felt nice, but I did not find that "correct" driving position right away. Everything was adjustable however I just wanted to go! When I started driving I forgot all about not having the correct settings. The seats were very nice, I'd imagine they would be great for a long haul. I did notice a couple things I did not like right away. The 5-speed shifter had quite a long throw, but no different than BMW. Also the gas pedal and the break seemed very close. In fact I think I hit the break ****ing the car into second gear one time. My initial thought was the transmition shifted very hard--later to realize it was my fault by hitting the break. I'm coming from a truck that has big pedals for folks who have big boots on.

Stereo: The linear model has the 7 speaker sound system. I was not impressed to be honest. It just does not compare to the HK system in the BMW or the Saab 9-5. Overall it had a very nice sound quality but it was no better than a Mazda Protégé sound system. Don't get me wrong though, for your average person it's great. When you have a serious interest in car audio, you note the down falls. The bass was not very deep and almost seem to make the door rattle at first. The rattle did seem to go away though… Maybe they were just not broken in? Highs sounded nice, but there was not much mid range. Certainly it's not bad though, keep that in mind. When we get the Arc and the Vector we will see a 13-speaker system that should blow most factory systems away. Reviews so far say that it sounds "excellent". I'll trust those reviews because I'll be ordering my Vector before they arrive.

Drive: Funny that my stereo review will probably be longer than this portion, but what can I say, this thing is perfect. Having the 175hp engine I though I would not be impressed. Wrong. For your average person there is ample power and torque. In fact it's about equal to that of the Volkswagen Jetta with 200 hp. There is a very interesting power band. You'll be able to tell right away if you coming from a naturally aspirated engine. Very silky and smooth. I waived the steering back and fourth to find little if no body-roll. It truly felt like driving an expensive high class ride that it is! Besides the nice acceleration, that handling was excellent. I tore into a cloverleaves with no body-roll and no loss of traction. Fifty miles an hour around the cloverleaves no problem, mind you it has the 16 inch rims and the Vector will have 17'. Can't wait for that. At the end of the last clover I powered out of it. There I noticed the excellent power again. The 210hp model will truly be a screamer.

Space: Very good considering I'm 6'3" and it still felt very roomy. The trunk and glove box are huge! Oh, and the cup holders are great.

Car Key: This thing is awesome!! Did you know there is actually a laser cut key in all the plastic? I can't wait to roll up every window and close my sunroof with a touch of a button.

Unanswered Questions for the US market:
1) When do we receive navigation?
2) Will Bluetooth be included in the 2003 model? If not, can in be retrofitted when Saab releases it?
(Bluetooth give you hands free phone capability, and voice dialing among other things)

FYI-- I tried to get a straight answer from Saab. They could not help me. My dealer says he'll have the info soon.

[James]

Great post, gsxr150, and welcome to the board

Glad to hear the new 9-3 is getting a favourable reception in the US. And that 'your' car had cupholders - the one I looked at in a dealer in the UK last week didn't have any! Apparently this was one of the earlier cars, and they have to retrofit the cupholders at a later date

James

[kprm77]

Welcome to the board gsxr150 Excellent read.

Everyone who's driven the car says it is superb to drive - definately fun

Only things that seem to let it down are some of the interior fit & fittings. i.e. those horrid cheapo feel elec window switches..

Can't wait to see the Aero in the flesh....