Saab'S turbo diesel 9-3 Sport Wagon takes the Swedish car maker right back to its roots. Not for a long time has the Trollhattan factory produced such a brilliantly sensible package with style, space, comfort and character on one sporting platform.From the outset there's something tactile and immediate about the driver feedback from this Swedish reworking of Vauxhall's Vectra floorpan that makes it come alive on a demanding road.Like its Sport Saloon sister the car is good, but tacking on a handsome cargo space awakened wonderful memories of Saab 900 Combi estate models. The 9-3 Sport Wagon is a worthy successor. It's the ideal Saab – practical, well-built, economical, powerful and great to drive on a twisty road. Where the saloon's appeal tails off the Sport Wagon picks up with a sensible estate rear end that helps the car's chunky style and delivers a thoroughly sensible all-round executive machine.Well-designed, with a feeling of solidity, superb comfort and excellent ergonomics, the car has little touches of genius like the elegant dashboard drinks holder that folds magnificently out of an impossibly small slot below the radio and a second cup restrainer that flips down into a central console storage tray. Then there's the "Night Panel" switch that darkens the dash at night to leave only the vital speed readout visible.Seating and safety are in a league of their own. The 9-3 is strong with multi airbag protection, electronic handling devices and progressive ABS disc brakes. The seats offer outstanding support and are great over long distances.Not so hot is the lifeless power steering – a disappointing low point on this otherwise fine-handling front-wheel drive car. There's a distinct lack of feel when cornering. Then there's the rather firm ride, not much of a problem but something that showed up on poorly surfaced roads and generated body shell shudders. Finally, although the automatic worked well the system's wheel-mounted shift paddles were unpleasant to use with slow responses. It was far better to leave the auto to its own devices.But the best news is my test car's engine – a fabulously lively 1.9 litre turbo diesel. Saab offers a joint Fiat/General Motors product which is modern, clean, brisk and available in two stages of tune – an eight-valve 120bhp version and the 150bhp 16-valver I had on test.It's brilliant. Bolted into the Vector Sport and coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission, it delivers a tax-efficient and fun-packed five-door with that reminds you the emphasis is on sports driving.Almost everything about the £25,635 turbo diesel Vector is geared to driving pleasure. The driver's position is low and snug in hugging seats. Few mass products make you feel quite as part of the car as the 9-3. It's almost as if you are in a tarmac-connected capsule that grips like a limpet but lets you know every ripple and irregularity on the surface.Drive the pragmatic 9-3 TiD quickly over a twisty B-road and the rewards are fantastic. At 2000rpm with 236lb/ft there's perhaps just a little too much torque for the front wheels – my car's 17" Continental SportContact 2 tyres were badly feathered by enthusiastic heavy-throttle cornering. The lively engine takes its toll on the 225/45 section covers and underlines the cost of opting for the 150bhp 1.9 TiD in place of the 120bhp alternative.Standard specification is generous – alloys, half-leather, air-conditioning, four electric windows, remote central locking and an excellent radio/single-slot CD underline its value. Safety is a high point with an advanced ABS system, front, side and curtain airbags and traction control. There's a feeling Saab wants to deliver good value here.The big cargo area was easily extended by folding the rear seat that includes a ski-hatch. The loading floor is flat with two panels that fold concertina-style to gain access to a shallow storage shelf and a spacesaver tyre.The more I drove the TiD 9-3 Sport Wagon the more it delighted. The low-profile rubber and the Sport specification's firmer suspension means there's a lot of irritating road noise, and the TiD is hardly a paragon of silence. The engine is gruff, but the upside is a responsive sporting unit which brings life to this fine-chassised Swede and helped me cover an easy average 43mpg on test.But if it was mine I'd black out the silver trim piping that runs round the instrument binnacle. Why? Because it reflects irritatingly in the windscreen and is very distracting.There's little to fault here, though. The Sport Wagon makes fantastic sense and the turbo diesel seals the deal. There is only one possible improvement – and for that we're going to have to wait until early 2008 when Saab unveils its all-new 9-3 with four-wheel drive. I can hardly wait! Engine 1910 cc, 4 cylinders Power 150 bhp @4000 rpm Torque 236 ib/ft @2000 rpm Transmission 6 speed auto Fuel/CO2 39.2 mpg / 194 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 10.7sec Top speed 124 mph Price From £24665.00 approx Release date 01/09/2005
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