Saab 9-3 Aero convertible 2004 review

As most of us trade the pool and beach for the doona and heater, there are many drivers scooting around town with the roof down. Are they mad? Are they warm-blooded freaks? Or are they just posers?

It was time to test it out and the Saab 9-3 Aero convertible was the guinea pig.

The information display reaffirmed the chill factor -- registering 12C outside.

While the engine warmed up, the seat warmers did the trick and my back and legs instantly thanked the inventors of such a wonderful device.

The dual-zone climate control airconditioning, which can reach up to 65C, directed the warm air to my face, feet and body by a turn of a knob and push of a button and immediately took the chill away.

Then it was time to drop the top and experience the joy, or insanity, of driving a convertible in winter. My finger momentarily wavered as it headed towards the roof release button but 20 seconds later as the Aero's 155kW of power and 300Nm of torque were employed to full use, I could hear the winter leaves flutter above.

Wind interruption was minimal and I felt more like I was in my lounge room snuggled up in front of the fire than cruising the streets in a convertible on a wintry afternoon. The new Saab 9-3 is a vast improvement on the old model. The Aero model is even more of a delight with more guts than its base-model counterpart, the Linear, and has a few extras inside.

With all convertibles it is rigidity that makes or breaks the car.

Saab says the body rigidity of the new 9-3 is 300 per cent stiffer than the old model and this makes it substantially more resistant to skuttleshake or flexing.

The improved suspension soaks up road bumps nicely although there was a bit of body shake on rougher suburban roads while playing dodge the pot-hole.

The automatic transmission took a little while getting used to. Saab's low-boost turbos mean you don't have to work them hard to get a result. It is easy to get caught out in a higher gear with nothing there, only to surge forward when the boost comes on, creating a rather rocky and inelegant ride display. It is just a matter of getting used to this power surge. The automatic gear shifting, generally, is quite smooth. The two-litre turbo is well matched to the car, not too heavy but not too light.

While the 9-3 doesn't really look that much different from the outside the interior benefits from more space.

But while four average-sized females fit quite well, four average-sized blokes have a little more trouble.

The interior design reflects the flowing lines of the exterior and the driver is greeted by the Saab Information Display (SID), which is positioned high up on the fascia near the base of the windscreen, as close to the driver's field of vision as possible.

The SID reveals time, outside temperature, radio settings, warning signals and information from the profiler function and the car computer.

This display requires minimal distraction from the road and the clever design of the main instrument panel, which arcs around you, shows everything clearly.

However the numerous buttons on the centre dash display, which make a driver feel as if they have mistakenly jumped into the cockpit of a jumbo, seem unnecessarily cluttered.

The 9-3 has plenty of safety features including dual front airbags that inflate according to the severity of the crash, side air bags, whip-lash reducing head rests, roll bars that pop up in the event of a rollover, anti-lock brakes and a slide control system.

The winter convertible experience is pleasant and takes the versatility of the drop-top a little step further.