Right Engine, Wrong Shape
by David Morgan (25 Aug 05)

You'd be hard-pressed to find a better-handling sports saloon than Saab's 9-3. 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.

It's good, but is it a true Saab? Too much General Motoring tinkering has tainted the traditional image of Trollhättan's products. They're watered-down versions of the unique Saab style and some consider them little more than rebadged clones of Vauxhall and Opel cousins. But that's unfair. After two weeks with a 1.9-litre 9-3 TiD turbodiesel in Vector trim I'm back on side.

Look at it this way - General Motors pays the bills and makes some unpalatable business decisions; but Saab engineers design and build the 9-3, and it shows.

Saab offers two turbodiesels in the 9-3 - a rather arthritic 2.2-litre version of an aging General Motors design which can be greedy and noisy and only manages 125bhp. The other is a joint Fiat/General Motors 1.9-litre 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 sporting Vector specification it delivers a tax-efficient and fun-packed four-door with great handling, excellent seating, good economy along with some brash trim and a ride that reminds you the emphasis is on sports driving.

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