SAFE AND SAAB
The new Saab Sportwagon’s swoopy Swedish curves and cool tail lights give dads tired of MPVs and 4x4s a tonic, says Guy Bird.
With a few exceptions – the most sensible car shapes available to dads with more than one kid now fall into three categories – estate, MPV and 4x4. Before the latter two gained a hold in the 90s, the estate was king – epitomised by boxy but spacious Volvos of the 70s and 80s.
But in the last few years, a resurgence in estate sales has taken place as better designed and sportier versions have been launched – think the Alfa 156 Sportwagon and Jag X-type estate. Big 4x4s or Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) have began to lose their sheen over ‘gas-guzzling’ accusations while private punters have started to realise that many MPVs are just vans with windows – hard to manoeuvre and too big to park in small driveways or city streets.
The long-awaited Saab 9-3 Sportwagon is the latest of the sportier ‘compact executive’ estate breed – much more than a saloon with a box grafted on the back. |
This review from FQ MAGAZINE January 2006 >> more
Although ‘sportier’ often means less spacious – Saab’s boot only holds 419 litres with rear seats up and 1273 when down – the price is worth paying if you value your style at the expense of a little room (bigger but less enticing estates include the Honda Accord Tourer and Vauxhall Vectra Estate). The Sportwagon’s opaque rear lights in particular look fantastic and define the car as nothing but a Saab.
Inside, the boot has some neat touches too. Using an aircraft-shaped chrome handle (in a nod to Saab’s aircraft links) the load floor can be slid back and lifted up to create a vertical ‘wall’ half way into the boot space to separate and stop fragile fruit and veg shopping from colliding with sturdy double buggies.
An easy to pull and slide tonneau cover keeps those contents out of the sight of |
would-be thieves and the rear seats fold flat simply to take bigger loads.
Leather/woven material-mix seats with standard Isofix fittings make baby seat-fitting simple (and easy to clean too), while the front seats are extremely supportive with excellent whiplash-reducing head rests designed to move towards the skull in a crash. Six airbags add to the Sportwagon’s high safety focus and the ergonomic dash layout’s simple to locate and learn stereo and aircon controls should help calm the most frayed family nerves on long trips. Teamed up with the punchy 150bhp, but very clean, new diesel unit (also in the 9-3 saloon and General Motors sister models, the Alfa 156 and Vauxhall Vectra) city or motorway driving is effortless and 46.3mpg, frugal.
The stylish estate is back and Saab’s Sportwagon is one of the best.
Price £23,330
Engine 150bhp 1.9 TiD
Top Speed 124mph
0-60 10.2secs
Economy 47.9mpg
Saab 9-3 Sportwagon 1.9TiD
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