2005 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan New Car Buyer's Guide

What's New for the 2005 Saab 9-3?
Changes are few for the 2005 Saab 9-3 Sedan. A DVD-based navigation system is added to the options list, and three new colors debut this year: Chili Red, Smoke Beige and Parchment Silver. Buyers interested in safety should note that the Saab 9-3 sedan is the first car ever to receive a "double best pick" from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety thanks to favorable results in both the offset frontal and side-impact crash tests.

Advantages of the 2005 Saab 9-3:

• Comfortable and roomy front seats
• Good gas mileage
• Impressive handling with Aero model

Objections to the 2005 Saab 9-3:

• Peaky power delivery with turbo engines
• Wonky control ergonomics, especially the stereo
• Build quality, materials and construction, and cabin creaks don't present convincing argument that this is a luxury car worthy of its sticker price

Editor's Advice:
Saabs have always appealed to those who march to the beat of a different drummer; the marque's esoteric nature has long been one of the biggest allures for devotees of the brand. But sales were stuck in neutral, so the most recent redesign of the Saab 9-3 toned down its traditional character and added more mainstream appeal, resulting in a handsome if somewhat bland car to behold. Indeed, sales of Saabs are reaching record highs in North America, thanks in part to a strong showing by the 9-3. Still, we're unconvinced that the Saab 9-3 is a luxury car. Obvious bits and pieces display perceived design and/or materials shortcuts, the 9-3 transmits plenty of road noise into the cabin, and we've experienced minor electrical gremlins in our test cars. Plus, let's face facts – a luxury car doesn't have a four-cylinder engine, not in North America. Typically, we feel that the sticker prices of Saabs are about 20 percent higher than the market will bear, which explains why they are often discounted or leased at impossibly high residual values. While not exactly a competitor to our favorites in the segment – the Acura TL, the Audi A4, the BMW 3-Series, the Cadillac CTS, the Infiniti G35 and the Lexus IS 300 – in terms of overall refinement and sporting manners, the 2005 Saab 9-3 nevertheless continues to deliver a comfortable, safe, and quirky Swedish mode of transportation for anti-establishment types, only now in a plain brown wrapper.