Quite possibly the best 2008 Saab 9-3 road test report - ever.
I’ll admit I’ve not been a huge fan of Left Lane News over the years, but perhaps I neet to take a second look. I’ll keep the reasons for my indifference to myself, but suffice to say that when Andrew Ganz from LLN emailed me to let me know he’d prepared a review of the 2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T, I was curious but not overly excited.
After reading the review for myself, I can wholeheartedly recommend it. I’ll go further and say that this is a review that could sell Saabs all by itself. This is a thoroughly researched piece of work that should be a yardstick for many of the ‘professional’ auto journalists out there. Quite a compliment, especially seeing Andrew used my most hated “Q” word in the text 
Here’s a few snippets, but I suggest that any person interested in Saabs click through and read it for themselves. It really is worth the time. For one thing, Andrew’s reviewing the car that most Saab buyers in the US will end up with - the base model 2.0T. It’s so base it’s even got the 16 inch wheels.
Here were go:
By the late 1980s, Saab’s future was bleak: The ubiquitous 900 traced its roots to the 1968 99 and the 9000, an impressively roomy and fast sedan, was essentially conceived without the budget for a replacement. Fortunately, the General stepped in and the world still has Saabs, albeit Saabs based on GM-engineered platforms.
One the 9-3 base:
….based on GM’s Epsilon platform, which, in an extended configuration, also underpins the Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Aura, Pontiac G6 and even the Fiat Croma in Europe. That said, the 9-3 is marketed as a considerably more upscale vehicle and includes many of the features you’d expect to see in the entry-level sports/luxury sedan market. Not to mention that it looks and feels absolutely nothing like its platform mates.
And therein is a good indication of the quality of this review. Countless other publications would stop at listing the other GM models and craft a literary sneer to go along with it. The separation of the 9-3 is both appropriate and accurate.
….It’s not nearly as unique as the classic 900s were with their distinctive hatchback shape, but the 9-3 is overall a pleasant, vaguely generic European design. The 2008 upgrades go a long way to giving it a unique external identity….
….Otherwise, the interior design is functional and fairly upscale. The materials and designs aren’t quite as richly upscale as you’ll see in a BMW 3-Series, but they’re sufficient for the 9-3’s lower price point. Few materials feel genuinely out of place, but few also truly exceed expectations.
Again, objective and accurate.
Finally:
Why you would buy it:
You’re looking for a less-expensive way to experience unique European flavor and you want a car with personality as well as surprising performance and efficiency.Why you wouldn’t:
You’re a Saab purist disheartened by the GM-sourced motor and platform.
Even the pictures do the reader a service by pointing out the good and the bad:
Head on over to Left Lane News and check it out for yourself. If you’re in the market for a 2008 Saab 9-3, then it’s well worth a read.
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I cant believe how the cupholder folds into the Mp3 jack like that.
thats….embarrassing. You would think the engineers..ehh..parts bin managers, would have designed and thought of something like that.
I was pleasantly surprised myself after I read Andrew Ganz’ review today. Must congratulate him on writing a very objective and balanced article, with no bias and not a trace of the regular “rebadged Chevy” bs frequening other review sites.
In all honesty, Left Lane News have some of the best car reviews and road test articles; too bad their comments section is littered with idiots. The Truth About Cars would be the exact opposite - how their staff reviews and rates cars is beyond me, but even a 12 year old blogger would be more objective. But the regulars on TTAC produce some great comments.
Thanks, Steven! Appreciate the compliments.
Thanks as well to Kroum. I hope that more will come read our reviews - we’re trying to pump out at least two reviews per week and we’ve got a really talented team of writers and photographers (I like to think that I fall into the former category but not the latter… my photography is definitely “work-in-progress material”).
We’re also taking a much firmer stance on comments with the newly expanded staff. Hope you’ll all check out LLN on a regular basis (add the RSS feed and click on the ads, too! ha!).
And Ronald, the beauty of being able to spend a few days with these press cars is that we notice things like the cupholder fighting with the aux input. I try to spend time enjoying the car as anyone else would - using the cupholders, listening to the radio, driving on a variety of surfaces, parking in parking lots, etc. You don’t get that kind of perspective in a showroom or on a 10 minute test drive.
The cupholder is not a problem on the right hand drive cars here is Aus, as it is on the other side. Or is it just a US thing with the onstar?
Good stuff… nice to see some journalists have actually spent some time with the car, rather than driving it for 20 minutes and then throwing something together with the press release as their template.
-Rogan
I’ve never visited LLN before, but after this and read through a few other recent reviews, it’s now firmly listed under my ‘favorites’ tab
In my ‘04 model the MP3 jack is built in in the center console, with an aditional power plug, that’s clever! The new version is even more stupid than I thought
AndrewG, thank you for a great write up. You hit the nail on the head about wanting a car with personality, Most manufacturers have forgotten to leave a certain amount of character to thier products in a strive to iron out impurities and make the perfect car. What you are left with is a cart that gets you from A - B. That’s all well and good if you don’t appreciate good engineering but for the enthusiast where does that leave you? Some may say BMW or Mercedes, I have driven an SL500 and to be frank it was boring. Great quality and a wonderful place to sit but after 30 mins I was bored. The car is perfect is does exactly what you ask it to do. The ESP kicks in when it should, it stops how it should, and that is the big downfall today. When cars don’t behave like they should, they have character. Saab’s still have that; It’s not to every-bodies taste but I’m sure there are enough people out their still who would rather feel like they are taming a beast than being controlled and chauffeured by one.
It’s good to see the industry is starting to understand that Saab’s are not inferior because they are different, They excel in what they have been designed for, just as an M3 excels in what it has been designed for.
I use the cupholder for storing my iphone or nav system. Its much better at doing that than acting as a cup holder (in fact, if they turned it specifically into a fold up cell phone holder I bet a lot of people would like it).
AAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! here’s a FLASH from the sales floor!!!!!!!!!!! If you deploy the cupholder,THEN plug into the auxilliary jack….VOILA! Neither interferes with the other. Lets be a little more industrious and curious before we criticize.I wish I could post a picture of the Turbo-X sitting on my showroom floor,cupholder deployed,stereo mp3 jack,plugged in Starbucks Venti turbo-red eye(coffee plus two espresso shots…..YEOW!) sitting nicely unimpeded right alongside! Guess what guys…If you start to pee,THEN lower your zipper…..your pants will get wet!!!!
That is an excellent review. I especially appreciate the accurate identification of the 9-3 2.0T’s real competition — the Volvo S40 and Acura TSX. You might even toss in the Jetta GLI. The 9-3 is too often criticized for failing to match the A4 and BMW 3 Series, but considering the 9-3’s enormous price advantage when they’re comparably equipped, I’ve never viewed this as an appropriate comparison. This principle even holds with the 9-3 Aero, though to a lesser extent.
Lance I disagree, the position of the jack just speaks of a design that haven’t been thought through. What a shame this goes against everything Saab stands for.
Unfortunately, the radio unit is stock GM pasted onto a dash that had been previously designed for a completely different setup. The pre-2007 9-3 did not have an aux input at all, the neat jack in the center console that Jürg is talking about was a mod. I’m sure the Saab engineers spotted this when they were working on the new interior, but could not do much as they had to use the stock GM radio.
For the record, my Turbo X has got the satnav and so the aux-in jack is positioned above the LCD screen. This clears the way for the cupholder to pop out, but the wires connecting my iPod still get caught when I try to pop the cupholder back in. Saab really needs to have a built-in connector and charger in the centre arm-rest console, like Infiniti and Acura do. It’s just neat.
I stand by my previous post….just plug it in AFTER you pop the cupholder out……and stop picking nits!
And by the way Kroum…..some Arc and Aero model year ’04s ,all ‘05 and 06’s had inside the console aux. jacks.
Saab Lance
What happens if the lead gets wrapped around the cup then? Do we sue?
Lance Cole - as opposed to Saab Lance !
SaabLance - This is a battle you will lose. Scandinavian design is better than this. The problem is it’s GM stock stereo. I’ll guarantee you that Saab designers hated putting this in, but had no choice.
I can tell you from a recent 13+ hour road trip, it was a pain in the butt. sometimes you want to close the cupholder, and can’t. Sometimes open re-open it, and can’t.
D-U-M. DUMB.
I thought about buying the UK cupholder + face. Anyone try it?
back in the day we just stuck it between our legs…..
and still loved the car.
Is it possible that the Saab designers just DIDN’T notice that problem? That maybe, just maybe, the Godlike, infallible Swedes actually made an ergonomics mistake when they designed that cupholder?
…Yeah, I doubt that too :p
All these reviews do is make me want a Saab even more
Kroum, the aux in inside the armrest console was an option from day 1 until the interior facelift. I have it in my 03 Arc, but only recently I bought an iPod so haven’t used it at all.
Cupholders haven’t been Saab’s forte for a good decade now. I have an 03 9-5 and while it doesn’t interfere with my aux jack(I don’t even have an aux jack) the cupholder is positioned right above the cigarette lighter, so I’m always worried that any sweat from my can of coke will short out whatever happens to be plugged in at the time.
But that aside, the cupholder (along with other minor interior things) shouldn’t affect someone’s overall enjoyment of the car(which is what usually happens with most road test articles) this being a much needed exception!
Saablance said: ” Guess what guys…If you start to pee,THEN lower your zipper…..your pants will get wet!!!!
-August 30th, 2008 at 1:22 am ”
I tried that and it worked. My pants didn’t get wet. However my drivers seat is now soaked and I think the seat heating element is shorted out. Anyway thanks for the advice.
OOPS,SORRY! Look at the bright side…….at least you still have a functioning cupholder!
Nice article - just one thing. A major strength of the 9-3 was missed - its incredible safety record in real life. It has the lowest injury rate of any car in its class (source: Highway Loss Data Institute, 2006). On further contemplation of this safety record, the ‘flimsy’ interior of my 07 9-3 makes more sense to me now. I could never understand why a car which was so well built structurally for safety reasons (everything from the overlapping outdoor skins to unusually strong seats with metal plates etc.) should have such a flimsy interior. Then I came across an article about how armrests are called “spleen killers” in the safety business, and how the Saab 9-3 door armrests/handles are deliberately recessed, padded and to some extent flexible (in fact the whole inner door (push the door binnacle it is also unusually flexible). Then it all made sense to me - everything from the doors to the flimsy pop-out cupholder. The whole interior is designed to break before it breaks you
I have a 52 plate 93 vector. I have heard that you can connect to an aux jack via under the arm rest. any ideas?
Cheers