My week in the Saab 9-3 convertible fell smack dab in the heat of summer, which in Phoenix as we all know, is definitely not the greatest time for a convertible. The first two days I refused to put the top down, as it was just too damn hot. Friday evening that all changed. A few of my friends and I decided to head down to Mill to grab some sushi and have some fun. The four of us climbed into the lime yellow metallic convertible hit the power switch and dropped the top. Once at mill we parked right out in front of Ra and went in and had some dinner. Returning to the fiery inferno outside somewhere around 9 the street was pretty full of spectators. If the lime yellow metallic color wasn’t enough to draw attention to the car my 2 female friends definitely were. They both took turns posing in fairly provocative poses over the hood of the car. Armed with Dave’s digital camera we fired off about 15 shots of the seductive poses until finally we realized that enough people had properly been exposed to the car and, the photo shoot. Again we climbed in, dropped the top and headed towards the freeway to take a drive.

The Saab comes both as a convertible and a sedan either equipped with a 2.0 liter 210 h.p 4 cylinder or a 2.8 liter 250 h.p. 6 cylinder. Both motors are more than adequate but the 250 h.p. Aero definitely is a little more fun. Saab has engineered one of the greatest turbo’s on the market. It kicks in immediately with virtually no lag time like most turbo’s. The power and torque that the Aero has would usually mean that you were in for some torque steering. Not with this. The Aero has very little torque steer but still provides a nice ride due to its suspension. The aero has a sport-tuned suspension, which handles well in aggressive driving situations. The suspension is an independent 4-link type with coil springs over gas shock absorbers with anti-roll bar and re-Axs passive rear-wheel steering system. On the corners at higher speeds the body roll was apparent but was definitely less than many convertibles I have driven. The braking system is comprised of 4 wheel anti lock disc brakes with power assist, dual circuit with EBD (Electronic Brake-force Distribution), TCS (Traction Control System), ESP (Electronic Stability Program), and MBA (Mechanical Brake Assist). The stopping and control of 3500 lb. car is good and reassuring.

Inside the Aero you find nicely appointed leather seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, a decent compromise using both plastics and metals for the trim and ample storage and cup holders given the size. The convertible top is a fully automatic controlled by a one-touch button that raises and lowers the top in about 20 seconds. The top is triple insulated and definitely helps keep the cool in and the noise out. As you would guess when the top is down the trunk space is definitely compromised. Overall the interior is nicely equipped with above average materials and gives you a feeling of luxury.

Over the years Saab has really been a niche market supplier of quirky performance/luxury cars. Although they still design cars that you won’t confuse with anything else, I definitely feel they are appealing to a much larger audience. A good ad campaign and some test-drives and I definitely think you’ll see more people driving them around the town. Who knows maybe the guys over at Saab will start using girls draped across the front end to draw attention to their wonderful cars, it sure worked for me on mill!