GTP Cool Wall: 2003-2012 Saab 9-3

  • Thread starter Wiegert
  • 28 comments
  • 2,115 views

2003-2012 Saab 9-3

  • Total voters
    88
  • Poll closed .
Wiegert

Wiegert

Premium
13,377
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
2003-2012 Saab 9-3 nominated by @JASON_ROCKS1998

1024px-2009_Saab_9-3_%28MY08%29_Aero_2.8T_sedan_%282015-07-09%29_01.jpg


Body Styles: 4-door saloon, 5-door wagon, 2-door convertible
Engines: 1.8 I4 (1.8i), 2.0 Turbo I4 (1.8t/2.0t), 2.8 Turbo V6 (2.8T V6), 1.9 Turbo Diesel I4 (1.9TiD), 1.9 Twin Turbo Diesel I4 (1.9TTiD), 2.2 Turbo Diesel I4 (2.2TiD)
Power: 120 hp (1.8i/1.9TiD/2.2TiD), 150 hp (1.8t), 170 hp (1.9TTiD), 210 hp (2.0t), 250 hp (2.8T V6 FWD), 276 hp (Turbo X)
Torque: 120 ft-lbs (1.8i), 180 ft-lbs (1.8t), 220 ft-lbs (2.0t/1.9TiD/2.2TiD), 260 ft-lbs (2.8T V6 FWD), 300 ft-lbs (Turbo X/1.9TTiD)
Weight: 1410-1690 kg
Transmission: 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 5-speed automatic, 6-speed automatic
Drivetrain: Front-engined, front-wheel drive, front-engined, all-wheel drive
Additional Information:
The second gen Saab 9-3 was unveiled at NAIAS 2002 for the 2003MY. It was originally meant to debut alongside the 2001 Opel Vectra but was delayed, and both cars were unveiled in 2002.

The convertible version of the second-generation 9-3 began with the 2004MY, and SportCombi with 2005MY. The sedan body style is known to enthusiasts as the 9-3 SS and was known internally as the 9440 style, SportCombi known as 9-3 SC or internally as 9444, and convertible known as 9442 internally.

Like all other Saabs, the 9-3 remained front wheel drive, with the most drastic change from the last gen being the removal of a hatchback design. The second-generation 9-3 is available as a four-door saloon, an estate (introduced late in 2005, known as the SportWagon, SportCombi or Sport-Hatch depending on the markets), and a two-door convertible (introduced in 2004).

The new 9-3 departed from the EcoPower engines seen in the original 9-3 and used GM's new Ecotec engines for petrol models. There was 2 versions of the same turbo engine, with boost levels determining power output. The 9-3 and the Opel Vectra were the first of the global GM Epsilon, which was then lengthened to accommodate four new cousins, the Chevrolet Malibu, the Pontiac G6, and the Satrun Aura.

The 9-3 recieved a facelift in 2008, which had over 2000 changes according to Saab, with new frontal styling, LED headlights, frosted taillights and a new rear bumper. Also new for 2008 was the Turbo X model, with a 276HP 2.8 Turbo V6 and AWD, making it the fastest of all the 9-3's, but this model was dropped from the lineup in 2009.

1024px-2004-2007_Saab_9-3_convertible_--_01-07-2012.jpg
1024px-Saab_9-3_Aero_front_20081126.jpg
1024px-Saab_9-3_Griffin_TTID_119gr_%28103%29.jpg
1280px-2005-2006_Saab_9-3_Linear_1.8t_convertible_%282011-06-15%29.jpg
1280px-2006-2007_Saab_9-3_Linear_2.0t_SportCombi_%282011-11-17%29_02.jpg
1024px-2009_Saab_9-3_%28MY08%29_Aero_2.8T_sedan_%282015-07-09%29_02.jpg
800px-Saab_9_3X_f%C3%B6rarplats_2010.jpg
 
Cool because it's Swedish and not a Koenigsegg. It misses sub-zero due to my horrendous Volvo bias. Safety trumps all.
 
Last edited:
I own one, specifically a 2003 2.0T Aero and it's honestly the best car I've driven. Out of the BMW's, Lexus', VWs, Audi's I have driven I would always pick my Saab (or any Saab for that matter) over them any day. Saab did stuff differently and that's what keeps pulling me back.

I still don't think it's cool though, the amount of people that have asked me "why the hell did you buy that?" Or "going to pick up the paper grandad?". Having to explain why you bought this to someone who thinks it's a boring, slow pile of cack exclusively driven by old people does wear after a while.
 
Saab has done better collaborations with other car companies...

I mean...look what they did with Subaru. That was cool, this wasn't.

Meh.
 
Cool because it visually stands apart from everything else. And because of the image you get with the car, even though the car itself has very little in common with Saab as a manufacturer.
 
Pre-facelifts are so visually memorable that they might as well have been rolling neuralyzers*. Hell if I can remember ever seeing one of the many SportWagons on UK roads in the last 11 years.

That said, it was a respectable choice compared to its other GM relatives. I wouldn't say any of them were cool.



+Unless you went for the Lime Yellow convertible, in which case I only wish that I could forget about them.
 
FerrariF1GT
My apologies for sharing my entirely subjective opinion.
Click to expand...

Oh, I'm not mocking your opinion.

I'm surprised you even replied, usually when you have an unpopular opinion and someone calls you out on it or wants to talk about it with you, you go into hiding like no-ones said anything.
 
TS040
Oh, I'm not mocking your opinion.

I'm surprised you even replied, usually when you have an unpopular opinion and someone calls you out on it or wants to talk about it with you, you go into hiding like no-ones said anything.
Click to expand...
I forgive you. :cheers:
 
Just happened to watch the goodbye episode of Top Gear last night. Rushed in here to give it a Cool, thinking it was the previous-generation (including the Viggen).

This though? Noooooooope. Cool taillights on the final ones, but otherwise pretty milquetoast. Sadly, slightly Uncool.
 
I tried for years to like this era of Saabs. I failed. I gave up liking any of them after the 99. Uncool.
 
Saab is a great example of why the Chevy/Buick/Cadillac model GM tried to run until 2009 (and arguably still do) didn't work well just because the 90s US market GM cars were terrible, but also because the competition made cars that were actually made for their respective markets. Trying to adapt this already dated model for Opel/Saab turned out to be disastrous for the latter and unless I'm mistaken this was even worse the US market with the rebadged budget cars sold under the otherwise premium brand.

In some ways, such as the looks, it isn't that far from the Germans. In fact I can see a bit of E90 3-Series in it, and it looks almost a decade younger than the Jaguar X-Type. I doubt its interior was huge amount worse than the other options in the class either. Sadly for Saab, the rest, from marketing to the mechanical bits, was bad enough to make people forget it even existed and go for the Germans, or the Japanese, or a Volvo instead.

On the plus side though, at least it isn't Cadillac BLS.
 
Okay then, it's another rebodied vectra. Granted, I think the Saab equivalents were more interesting than the other counterparts, but that isn't saying much. With that said, it gets a meh vote from me.
 

Latest Posts

Back