Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan Car Review

Overview

The Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan is a very good looking vehicle.

The interior of the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan wasn't full of high technology features, but it wasn't sitting in the Stone Age either. The Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan has no problems attracting attention to it especially with its low front spoiler.

Aside from some issues, the car is totally fun to drive. No seriously, driving this car is extremely enjoyable to cruise around in.

The Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan is priced at a respectable $69,900.

Details

The Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan is priced at a respectable $69,900. Standard features that are included with this vehicle are as follows: fog lamps, 17 inch alloy wheels, Electronic Stability Program Plus (ESP+), halogen headlamps with manual level adjustment, 6 disc changing MP3 compatible CD player, 300 watt sound system, 13 different speakers, climate controlled air conditioning, cooled glove box, electric adjustable seats for the driver and passenger, ReAxs Passive Rear Steer, rear parking sensors, 6 speed manual transmission, automatic dimming mirror, driver and passenger airbags, and driver/passenger side airbags.

The Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan is a very good looking vehicle. Aside from the smooth and sleek design, you will notice rather intimidating twin exhaust outlets located at the rear of the vehicle. I had to stand back and just stare at the car for a few moments before hopping in the driver's seat. Since I was this impressed with the car already, I was hoping not to be let down along the way.

The interior of the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan wasn't full of high technology features, but it wasn't sitting in the Stone Age either. The driver and passenger can not only enjoy incredibly supportive seats, but they can also enjoy the seat warmers which are great for when the weather gets a bit chilly. In addition, the front seats are electric adjustable and the driver's seat was a 3 way memory feature. Rear passengers can enjoy the convenience of cup holders without an invasive arm rest. The cup holders can pop out of the bottom of the second row of seats. This has certainly been done before, but that doesn't mean it is not a good method to use.

Once I was inside the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan I found myself looking at an extremely familiar layout. After thinking for a minute I realized that it was because the dashboard design is the exact same as the Saab SportCombi. The only difference between the two is that the plus (+) and minus (-) buttons were missing from the steering wheel.

As I got situated and found the perfect driving position I was ready to go. I grabbed the clutch and was actually quite amazed at how good it felt to use. People who have driven older Saabs may tell you that they are really tough to master or that they were horrible to deal with, but even if that was true it isn't the case any longer. The clutch had a pretty short travel distance and the gearbox had an impressively smooth appearance.

There is something rather strange about the 9-3 glove box. It opens fine with no problems but when you try to shut it however, it refuses to close on the first try. So you normally find yourself trying to close it like you normally would, then giving it a bit of a fierce push to force it shut. I was pretty disappointed to find such a flaw. Everything was going great up until this point, but I was beginning to question the quality and effort that went in to the interior build. Unfortunately, this set off a trail of problems. From the faux card holder to the drink holder mounted on the dashboard, the flaws of cheap engineering were starting to show a bit. Thankfully, the stint of problems came to an end fairly quick and the rest of the interior appeared to not be so cheaply made.

Another great feature that is pretty much a necessity these days is the heated door mirrors. When you are dealing with cold temperatures and frosty mirrors it could take forever to defrost them without this feature. Now you no longer have to worry about it and you can accomplish this with ease in approximately less than 5 minutes.

Now it is time to talk about the exterior of this vehicle. The Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan has no problems attracting attention to it. The superior style and the snazzy design of the vehicle give it quite an impressive presence. No, it doesn't have some huge shark fin spoiler or anything like that but it still sends the message that is should without forcing it in your face. I would recommend that you go with the 18 inch wheels option, because this feature adds an even classier look to the sedan.

Sure, I would have liked to see some more advanced features available in this car. At the same time though, the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan is packed with a decent amount of features and none of them are useless. I am definitely not saying that there is a lack of new technology in this car, I just wish it had more gadgets to fiddle and play with.

The dashboard wasn't the only design characteristic that was carried over from the SportCombi. The low front spoiler made its way to the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan. This isn't really a good thing since the spoiler is dangerously low to the ground and can easily get scraped up in no time. You may be thinking that if you are careful you can avoid this. Well I can say from personal experience that keeping that from happening is a nearly impossible task and unfortunately this isn't just a single instance. Many drivers out have reported having the same issue. The front spoiler not only gets in the way, but it can also fall out of place without even hitting anything. You definitely don't want to be driving down the street and have this happen. Not only is potentially damaging to the spoiler, but would also be pretty embarrassing having to stop and snap it back on like a Lego.

Aside from those issues, the car is totally fun to drive. No seriously, driving this car is extremely enjoyable to cruise around in. Even though it is Front Wheel Drive (FWD) it managed to stick to the road with no problems. When it is wet outside the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) steps in to do its job, but is barely even noticeable and doesn't get in the way of your driving controls.The brakes on the Saab 9-3 Aero sedan do a great job of pulling the vehicle up and I couldn't notice any fade in them, even after putting them through some extreme testing for an entire day. I was astonished to find that I had absolutely no understeer during my driving stint. As long as you don't pull anything crazy, the car handles very well when entering and exiting corners.

Yet another feature carried over from the Aero SportCombi is found under the hood of the car. Under the hood you will see the Holden engineered turbo V6 engine, which was in the SportCombi as well in case you didn't already know. This monster is a 2.8 liter engine pushing out 184kW of power at 5500RPM. I am definitely a fan of this engine and stand by its outstanding performance.

This car is definitely not completely perfect, but there are not many out there that are. A few of the features that aggravated me quite a bit were the short and stumpy key fob, the fact the the key fob didn't lock all of the doors, and rather strange looking handbrake lever is something I would have gone without seeing.

With an asking price of $69,900 is it worth it? I certainly believe so considering you would get to take home and drive an absolutely wonderful vehicle. With or without the optioned 18 inch wheels and/or the Xenon headlamps, the car is simply remarkable. If you have an opportunity to test drive one of these beauties I would recommend giving it a shot. You won't be disappointed with the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan and may even snag one up to keep. To sum it all up, there is nothing truly terrible about the Aero Sedan. With a decent list of features, great looks, and a top quality build you are sure to enjoy a long lasting ownership of this vehicle.

In the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan's defense though, if you look at all of the positives and negatives you will see that there are plenty more good reasons to choose this vehicle rather than bad ones. From the smooth and sleek exterior to the fabulous interior setup there isn't much left not to like. Even if you put looks aside, the car performs and handles extremely well.

In conclusion, I was truly amazed by the 9-3 Aero Sedan and any expectations I had coming in to this were completely shattered. I was hoping to see some much needed improvements in this model, and Saab definitely delivered this. Not only did the Aero Sedan stick to the road like a stain on carpet, the power it put out for you was extremely generous and exciting.