1999 Saab 9-3

[watkins]

1999 Saab 9-3.
I would group this with the '94-'98 900, but there are over 1100 changes. I could group it with the rest of the first generation of 9-3 ('99-'02), but its the only year with this engine management system, so it gets its own review because of that distinction.

Ride and handling - 4
Fuel economy - 4
Reliability - 3
Fun - 5
Practicality – 3 or 5
Style - 5
Power - 4
Feasibility of Sexual Encounters – 5
Overall - 4


Ride and handling - 4
This one is tough. The handling is average at best for a consumer car, which for a convertible isnt too bad. The firmer body of the three and five door hatches improves it a bit. There are without a doubt several decently inexpensive ways to neutralize the handling and override the torque steer to get the power to the road and keep it there. The ride, on the other hand, is absolutely amazing on the factory suspension. By some troll magic, you are able to feel the road quite well while still getting a very smooth and comfortable ride. Combine this with the amazingly comfortable and relatively supportive seats, and this car is a great long-distance cruiser. I went six hours without stopping and was not even close to being uncomfortable.

Fuel Economy – 4
One can very easily get over 35mpg at 75mph on the highway with premium fuel. I generally get about 26-28mpg in 50/50 city/highway. Lower grade fuel will definitely impact the economy to the point where its actually more economically efficient to buy the good stuff. The one problem with the economy comes from this little thing called a turbo. Its hard to stay out of boost, and that will kill your mileage pretty quickly.

Reliability – 3
This is only a 3 rather than a 4 because, like all European cars, you cannot slack on maintenance. Treated well, these cars are easily capable of well over 200k miles before big problems emerge. Theyre also amazingly rust-proof. After 10 years of New England roads, the only rust anywhere on my car is on the exhaust manifold and the hood latch spring.

Fun – 4 or 5
Even with a tiny peashooter, turbos are always fun. These T5 cars are also incredibly simple to extract more power from, more so than the 2000 and newer T7 models. The shifter on manually equipped models does have a long throw but its very easy to get used to using and every gear is very obvious, so rowing through the gears is fun and enjoyable. A droptop makes the car even more fun. Convertibles are always fun for cruising. Or throwing shit at other cars. Or having conversations with people walking down the street. Or driving with cruise control on while standing up...

Practicality – 5 or 3
The hatch, being a hatch, can hold a whole ton of stuff. These cars are absolutely cavernous. The convertibles, though surprisingly good for carrying stuff (just look at what I brought to WV with room to spare), are inherently less practical.

Style – 5
Like it or not, this era of Saab has timeless styling. The basic body has been around since 1994, the same time as such beautiful automobiles as Oldsmobile Cutless Ciera and Dodge Spirit. The lines are still quite attractive today.

Power – 4
As said before, turbos are always fun. With the base model having 185hp and 194tq, its a car that can most assuredly fend for itself. With superb midrange power, there are very few factory cars that can out-pass a Saab. And of course its so unbelievably easy to get more power out of. Factory internals are good to around 400hp.

Feasibility of Sexual Encounters – 5
Hatchback with folding seats and a lot of room. 'nuff said.
Convertible. Girls love convertibles. So do gay men, if thats your persuasion. Its just difficult to actually fit in it.

Overall – 4
All in all, the 1999 Saab 9-3 is a great little car with a lot of potential. The only major drawback is that its FWD rather than RWD or AWD. Its easy to overlook due to all of the positives however.

[RITmusic2k]

That's pretty damn on-point. I don't know if I could be unbiased if I were to write a review.

[watkins]

Theres a bit of bias, but I tried to be honest.

[padauk_dust]

Nice review.

[ElectroGhandi]

Or driving with cruise control on while standing up...

HAHA! If I ever get a convertible, I will try this once. It's like a boat

[watkins]

It is. And when I do it when I have unsuspecting passengers it gets really entertaining. Its also, I dont believe, completely legal. Not wearing a seatbelt is a secondary offense and as long as youre driving safely theres no reckless endangerment issue.