This Saab is the first rental car that I had really mixed feelings about.
Well, for a car that pretends to be an entry-level sports sedan stickering at the $33K line, it's absolutely terrible. The interior is terrible, the engine is nothing to write home about, and it's missing a lot of features that are standard on its competitors. It's pretentious. Its older brother, the Saab 9-5, stickers at $40-55K, which is much much too high.
I know Saab is supposed to be quirky, but at least it could be high-quality quirky. Right now it feels worse than a GM parts bin. So this review is going to be shorter than usual, because I don't want to spend more time on it than is necessary. Hopefully, the next redesign will address these complaints.
And I'm never renting another Saab again. Give me a Hyundai Genesis instead, please!
Exterior design is ok, but I think it shows how small the car is. The interior cabin volume is much smaller than the Jetta I rented recently; more like a compact car.
Look at that interior! Inconceivable! Swaths of black plastic, plastic fake wood trim, plastic fake metal trim, 80s style interior.
PROS:
- Supple supportive leather seats with good side bolstering, and comfortable headrests.
- Ergonomically friendly steering wheel.
- Sure footed handling.
- Eyebrow lights on headlamps
- 0-60 time feels faster than it really is.
- Not much turbo lag.
- Steering feel channels just the right combination of lightness and road feel.
CONS:
- The turbo engine is just a turboed 4-cyl Ecotec engine!
- Interior space too cramped; heck, the VW Jetta I rented last time was much roomier.
- 0-60 time of 8.3 seconds is econobox slow.
- Fuel gauge difficult to discern whether at full tank or not.
- Eyebrow lamps make it a wannabe BMW.
- Identical radio screen and controls to that on BMW 3-series, except with green instead of orange font colors. But really, a car in this price range should have some sort of touchscreen display with standard XM satellite radio. Monocolor display? Uggggh...Even the 2011 Dodge Charger has a standard 4.3" color touchscreen.
- Windshield wipers only have 2 speeds, and fastest speed isn't fast enough.
- Considering it stickers at $33K, you don't get very much bang for the buck. Weak engine, no power controls for front passenger seats, terrible plasticky interior, substandard radio, no touchscreen, etc.. It's competing against rivals like the Lincoln MKZ, Nissan Maxima, and Hyundai Genesis, all of which are far superior to this 9-3. Doesn't even come standard with Sirius XM.
- Very disappointed in Saab; their 9-5 stickers at a jaw-dropping $55K when loaded, and the interior of their loaded 9-5 looks like a last gen Chrysler with swaths of black plastic.
CONCLUSION: For what it is, a sporty compact/midsize car that's fun to drive, with good handling and adequate engine acceleration with little turbo lag. The exterior isn't polarizing or controversial, and is very Saab. The interior however is terrible, and feels cheap. I would say that the Saab 9-3 is pretty no frills and isn't much in the way of luxury. The 2012 VW CCs by comparison (which I saw today) offers much more luxury and standard options for the same or cheaper price.