31 Jan 06
On the road, it feels solid too, with very little by way of shakes and rattles. Engineered from scratch as a convertible, this 9-3 is not just a saloon with its roof chopped off. The downside of this, unfortunately, is the effect on performance of the weight accrued in the process of making this car structurally rigid and as safe as a Saab should be. The 1.9 TiD is strong, with plenty of pull mid-range, but it's not a particularly rewarding drive, emphasised in its pairing with the automatic gearbox - if you really have to do diesel, the six-speed manual transmission has to be the better option for anyone with any inclination to push on.
The automatic 'box comes with steering-wheel mounted paddle-shifts for quicker self-selected ratio-shifts, but it's not an intuitive system, and not the quickest-acting of its type. This gearbox also slows down the 2.8 V6: no way does this engine feel as if it's got a full 250bhp on tap anyway, especially when it's caught short by the transmission hunting for the right gear. However, it's smoother and more refined than it is in the Cadillac CTS and the exhaust note more pleasant.
