We have a 9-3SS Vector 1.8t 150hp with 5 speed auto and the floor mounted +/- shift activated by moving the selector lever sideways. My wife is the main driver of the car and she is quite happy with the auto in general after refusing to drive an automatic for many years because of the unpredictable nature of the changes when cornering, overtaking etc. As said earlier, the modern auto box is a different machine.
Some observations:
I like it, it doesn't do anything to surprise. You can put it in drive and forget it if you want to.
It can be a little slow in finding the right gear when you need quick acceleration from standstill or a crawl (eg coming out of turnings, motorway slip roads etc.). I over come this by pushing the lever to the +/- section and manually selecting a lower gear.
In general driving it is fine and picks up well in kickdown.
There are no "S" for Sport or "W" for Winter buttons like the 9-5, but the change pattern is modified in +/- to be a kind of sport mode. For winter mode you can manually select 3 in +/- position.
When in the manual +/- position the changing is not that intuitive. The gearbox always selects 1st when you stop. You can't select 4th below 35 mph and you can't select 5th below 45 mph. If you are in the higher gears and the speed falls below the threshold value the box will change down by itself. Conversely, and perhaps emulating the Sport mode of the 9-5, when accelerating, the gearbox will hold on to the selected gear until the red line is reached - well, that's what I think, I haven't let it do it very often.
Two further points. I drove the same gearbox behind the 2.2 GM diesel in a Vectra loan car. Definitely not as spritely as the 150 hp petrol engine in the Saab, but quite acceptable.
I have heard that the steering wheel paddles add a bit of delay to the change, which may not be such a good thing, but I've no experience of them. The lever change is quite prompt.
Finally, test drive the various suspension and wheel options. if you do a lot of driving on poorer roads, the sports suspension with the 17 inch wheels may be too harsh for everyday use - but quite fun otherwise