Saab 9-3 Aero 2005 review

Launched three years ago, the 9-3 remains one of the tidiest compact sedans on the road, turning heads that normally admire 3-series BMWs.

There is a touch of class about the styling; well-proportioned, flowing lines and a departure from its Swedish ancestry with a kink towards the houses of German stylists.

A few seasons into its life, the 9-3 remains a good-looking, svelte sedan.

It was a winner of its class in The Courier-Mail Car Of The Year awards shortly after it landed here for sale.

And much of what made it good then remain strong selling points now.

The hero Aero model is a highly capable chassis, lowered more for sharper handling than the rest of the 9-3 range.

This front-driver is a charm to steer and is pleasingly the best handling of its model to date.

It runs the same 2-litre turbo-charged four cylinder as the rest of the 9-3 family although extra boost gives it more power and lots more torque.

There is 155kW of power on tap and 300Nm of torque, yet it remains supremely restrained and well behaved.

It gives the impression the chassis could handle more.

Although that has been tried by the same maker before in the shape of the unruly Viggen, which gave the driver heart palpitations when the boost kicked in, the front wheels darting off left or right for an instant lane change.

Turbo assistance comes on with gusto from about 2300rpm and spins crisply and truly without any jolt to the occupants through to the 5500rpm red line.

The brakes are excellent and the pedal has a reassuring modular feel, instilling confidence in the driver.

In terms of dynamics, the 9-3 is up there with more mainstream badges and, front-drive phobias aside, there is a compelling case to try one.

Grip, cornering ability, steering sharpness and braking are on song.

It is easy to keep the Aero on the boil in 5-speed automatic mode with a couple of plus and minus buttons on either side of the steering wheel spokes so the driver can manually up or downshift.

Self-shifting can also be done with the gear lever pushed away from the D-for-drive position and into sequential.

The ride may not be as plush and cushy as some of the European competitors, however, it is not so intrusive that it cannot be driven for long commutes to work day in, day out.

Fuel consumption inevitably suffers once you whack a hair dryer under the bonnet.

On this 800km test, about 70 per cent highway work, the consumption according to the on board trip meter stood at about 10.3litres/100km.

Inside, the instruments are typically Saab.

They are a bit busy and complicated but are easy to work after you sit and give everything a once over and try for a couple of minutes before you set off on a journey.

As you would expect there are lashings of active and passive safety features here.

There are six airbags to cushion occupants in case of contact.

And then there are Saab's clever active head restraints, which in most cases and — unlike airbags — do not need to be replaced in the event of an accident.