Saab 9-3 Linear convertible 2005 review

A two model line-up, the 9-3 and 9-5, adds to slow sales of this quirky car maker.

Sales activity remains lukewarm as Saab struggles to win more friends and generate growth here in Australia.

The latest push to stimulate growth is by chopping some gear out of the 9-3 convertible and lowering the price entry point.

A basement 9-3 Linear convertible is $6000 cheaper at $66,900, with the largely unwanted manual transmission — unwanted because about 90 per cent of convertible buyers go for the automatic with the sequential shift.

A reduction in import tariffs introduced at the start of the year has contributed to Saab sinking the price.

The 9-3 Linear is quite comfortable up and down the highway.

It cruises along well and handles the stop/start traffic without a hitch. The ride becomes a little bit of a chore on bumpier roads but is quite compliant running down the freeway.

By no stretch of the imagination is it a sports car, and the 110kW of power feels a little underdone off the mark.

But it does gather pace with surprising diligence once it's up and running.

There is the usual bugbear of body flex, a trait inherent in a lot of open top cars.

This ragtop car is pretty noisy and the roar of nearby vehicles and tyre noise reverberates on some stretches of concrete on the M1 between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Toiling up and down that freeway on a five-day test, the Linear was quite cosy — the seat warmers came in handy for cold take-offs on some crisp dawn morns.

On the safety front, the Saab convertible is fully loaded, coming standard with ABS anti-lock bakes, EBD (Electronic Brake-force Distribution), MBA (Mechanical Brake Assist) and TCS (Traction Control System).

The only safety feature which is an optional extra is ESP (Electronic Stability Program) which is standard on the higher specification Vector and Aero variants.

What was surprising was the fuel range —on this run the 58litre tank was good for about 700km.

The onboard computer calculated consumption to be slightly more than 10litres/100km for most of the trip, before it dipped underneath double figures and settled on 9.6litres/100km over about the final 150km of this 700km run.

This Linear, which costs $69,400 in standard automatic trim, came with the $4000 luxury pack that also is available on the Vector model.

For that you gain a six-stack dash-mounted CD player, both front seats with power adjustments, the driver's seat adds a position memory for three different settings, parking assistance sensors and an anti-theft alarm.

In summary, the 9-3 convertible is a capable cruising car, meant to take in scenery on weekend road trips rather than tackling a point-to-point run with any pace.