Maybe you think that Saab in Motion website in the UK isn’t worth visiting? They’re giving away prizes there and one of them might just resemble this trip.

Our unofficial Saab ambassador to the UK, Robin M, recently travelled to Sweden with his wife Kerry for a Nordic adventure, courtesy of Saab. His trip was a reward for his efforts to get as many people as possible to test drive a 9-3 TTiD during a eight-week stint earlier this year.

This is his account.

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by Robin Morley
4th – 9th September 2008

Kerry and I had a fantastic opportunity given to us earlier in the year. We were entered into a competition by Saab to see how many test drives we could get in eight weeks. We were presented with a brand new Saab 9-3 Aero TTiD and told to do our best. If we came out on top we would win a Saab Nordic Adventure. A few weeks after the Saab went back we had a phone call from David Pugh congratulating us on our hard work.

So it was on the 4th September 2008 that we met up with Katie Easy and Andy from General Motors UK Events at Heathrow Airport who greeted us at the SAS check-in area. We were one of four lucky couples to be going on this fantastic trip.

At just after 2pm Swedish time we landed in Stockholm and were met by a Saab representative who showed us to our coach for sight seeing tour of Stockholm.

After a tour of the city we arrived at the Clarion Hotel Sign where we had a couple of hours to rest or go shopping. Around 7pm we took a short Walk to ‘Isbaren’ which is the Stockholm Absolut Ice Bar. Vodka cocktails are served in glasses made of ice in a room kept at a constant minus five degrees. A nice dinner followed by a short walk back to the hotel for an early night and an early start.

At 7am the next morning we boarded the Express Train to Arlanda Airport which only took 22mins to get us back to the airport

We flew to Östersund airport where we were greeted by our hosts from Saab Trollhattan and three members of the Saab Performance Team.

After a short presentation and safety talk we were all told to pick a Saab Turbo X which had been waiting for us outside on the airfield. We then convoyed to the other side of the airfield where we found a driving course set up for us. Then we all took turns in practicing to drive fast but safely around obstacles and learned how to break on wet surfaces as well as avoiding the moose.

After a dinner break we went back to the same track and then individually had to drive the whole circuit as fast as possible (with no fear of the moose appearing) and avoid hitting the cones. This was a fun competition with prizes for everyone when the times had been worked out.

The cones were then all cleared away so that the Saab Performance Team could put on a show for us. This included all the fast turns and close driving which The Team are famous for. Then Kenneth took one of the cars for a two wheel drive, some times the car was near vertical as he drove around the tarmac. We were then all invited into the 9-3 Aero for a passenger ride as he did hand break turns, 360’s, fast drives in reverse and the odd 780 degree spin.

When all the excitement had calmed down we all got back into our Saab Turbo X and departed for our hotel in Åre. A predetermined route was provided to our Hotel Granen.

The day was completed with a Dinner at Restaurant Dahlboms (Famous Swedish Chef Jonas Dahlbom’s place)

The next day we all went Mountain Biking, some of the group chose a rough ride down the mountain and some of us, including me, went for the more sedate Cross Country downhill route. A quick bite of lunch back at the hotel followed by a trip to the river for some “tame” White Water Rafting. Back to the hotel for a rest.

At 6.30 we all got into taxi’s for a trip to Fäviken which is a famous Swedish hunting lodge, we were given a tour and then, in groups, helped to prepare some of the items for the meal to come. After a fantastic meal we then had the presentation of awards for the previous days driving. Much laughter was heard when they presented Sarah with the sign she had destroyed in the breaking test. A very good night all round.

The Sunday morning saw us check out of the hotel and head for the Åre Chocolate Factory in our Saab 9-3 Turbo X then onto Kretsloppshuset for lunch. Then it was a nice drive to the airport where we had to say good bye to our cars and the Saab Performance team.

Kerry and I would like to thank Cheryl, Katie and Andy from Saab GB for the great hospitality they gave us and Kenneth, Kent and Jean of the Saab Performance Team for the lessons and entertainment.

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There’s 457 photos and 13 videos over at Robin’s Flickr site. Plenty to see.

My thanks to Robin for sending this in. I have very fond memories of my brief time in Sweden and found myself feeling quite envious as I read through it all and viewed the images.

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