CD Article: 2008 Saab 9-3 Sedan/SportCombi

[CD_Editor]

Today's First Drive:

Sedan and SportCombi: Revised styling inspired by the Saab Aero-X concept car,  a new clam shell hood, a more powerful V6 engine and a new all-wheel drive system are the major changes to the 2008 Saab 9-3, reports Managing Editor, Grant Yoxon.
   
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Read the article | View the photos | All The First Drives

[2hondas]

That is the WORST rear seat legroom I have seen! 

[random006]

That is the WORST rear seat legroom I have seen! 

 

The following quote from the article:

while limited rear seat leg room continues to be an issue.

is one of the bigger understatements I've seen this year.   I can only assume that the driver had to push the front seat back to enjoy what he referred to as:

A high point of the Saab interior is its extremely comfortable front seats

but I think the cost a normal family would have to pay in having to amputate the limbs on the other family members is a tad too high.

[2hondas]

That is the WORST rear seat legroom I have seen! 

 

but I think the cost a normal family would have to pay in having to amputate the limbs on the other family members is a tad too high.

I laughed when I read this. 

[initial_D]

The Mini finally have some competition.

[jww]

The Mini finally have some competition.

I guess the difference is that the Mini isn't necessarily a car you would buy to primarily take back-seat passengers anywhere in - whereas the Combi is a vehicle you would expect to be able to comfortably fit 4 people in for a trip.

[Demosthenes X]

The Combi is perfect.  One couple can take the Solstice, and the other can take the Saab and all the luggage!

[mdxtasy]

How roomy must the front be if the driver has to sit that far back?  If that's the driving position...the driver's head is behind the B-pillar.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

The 9-3 is a small car. Feels much smaller than my Golf inside IMO. But also remember Euro cars have far more adjustability and seat track travel than domestic and Asian vehicles, so that also has something to do with it. If you're single or a couple, front seat spaciousness may be more an issue, with the ability to carry passengers with their own door (or better access to your stuff) on occassion.

Am I the only one who thinks stripping the body side and bumper mouldings makes these models look really plain now?

[2latecrew]

When this car first came out i was intially excited. It seemed to have more room and more power (dollar for dollar) and be sportier than our V50 wagon.

I think the front end is better looking now. But after seein this car for a while I find the rear end very awkward looking. To have back seat issues in a WAGON is almost inexcusable. Even our old V50 while small had adequate rear seat room. People who buy wagons USUALY have families and carry people back there.

[superukr]

yeah, because of rear seat legroom I went for a 9-5 which is wider, longer and lower overall hight.

[soj]

We get hosed again;

Base Sport Combi; $29,630 in the US, $37,550 in Canada and the exchange stands at a $1.02.  Good old gullible Canadians, why do we put up with this?

[ghost]

WTF? The front looks like a 92x without the hoodscoop! Did Saab just given up on design a new front and copied the now defunct Saabaru?

[2latecrew]

We get hosed again;

Base Sport Combi; $29,630 in the US, $37,550 in Canada and the exchange stands at a $1.02.  Good old gullible Canadians, why do we put up with this?

Beacuse no one in their right mid would BUY a Sport Combi you lease Saabs not buy them unless you enjoy eating massive depreciation. So you are stuck with purchasing in Canada if you want to lease? 

[davidm]

Am I the only one who thinks stripping the body side and bumper mouldings makes these models look really plain now?

Totally agree, I love the black strip on most Euro cars.  Functional and breaks up the slab-sided looks of many cars.

[jww]

Lemme get this straight - the 93 is a Subaru Imprezza, correct? How much different is the leg room in the new Subie?

[Mitlov]

Lemme get this straight - the 93 is a Subaru Imprezza, correct? How much different is the leg room in the new Subie?

No, it's not.  The rebadged Impreza is the 9-2X, which is now dead.  There is no relation between the 9-3 and any Subaru product.

The 9-3 shares a platform with the Opel/Saturn Astra and the Pontiac G6, but it's not just a G6 with a turbo.  It's a platform-sharing situation, not a rebadging situation.

[ghost]

Rather a rebadge Subaru than them GM cars. 

[Schmengie]

What I don't like about the Saab 9-3:

 The massive front and rear overhangs.
 The generic styling. If they had to make this car look like a Saturn, why did it have to be an OLD Saturn? 
 The dash looks like it was designed twenty years ago. Again, 
 No rear legroom ?? Who was this designed for ??
 There are no real Saab's anymore - the 9-3's a badge-engineered GM product. What could be worse than that? 
 $37,550 Are there that many REALLY, REALLY gullible people out there with that much money to spend ?

What I like about the Saab 9-3:

  I'm thinking, I'm thinking.....   

[jww]

Lemme get this straight - the 93 is a Subaru Imprezza, correct? How much different is the leg room in the new Subie?

No, it's not.  The rebadged Impreza is the 9-2X, which is now dead.  There is no relation between the 9-3 and any Subaru product.

The 9-3 shares a platform with the Opel/Saturn Astra and the Pontiac G6, but it's not just a G6 with a turbo.  It's a platform-sharing situation, not a rebadging situation.

Got it - thanks.