Saab 9-3 Sports Estate: There seems to have been some confusion over the naming of this car.
Initially in the press material it was referred to as the CombiSport (it still is in some of the advertising videos on the internet), in Britain they refer to it as the SportsWagon. Here, the ever-sensible Irish importer has opted for the simple and factual 9-3 Sports Estate.
However, even then it's perhaps pretending to be something that it isn't. The confusion is rooted partly in a need to follow the competitors like Audi and BMW, which shy away from referring to their load-lugging versions as estates. It's also partly to do with a change of emphasis in the premium estates. No longer is it only about an ability to carry the family and a host of luggage.
Call it what you will, this is really a hatchback version of the 9-3 saloon.
Being a hatchback, it means there's more height in the boot and more space as the rear seats fold flat. It also means that, rather than a fully fledged estate, there's an obvious attention to styling over simple space.
If estates are all about load-lugging, then this 9-3 falls somewhat flat in this regard.
Before you fold down the rear seats, there's 420 litres on offer. Compare that to the 442 litres in the Audi A4 Avant, the 460 litres in the BMW 3-Series Touring, or the 470 litres in the Mercedes C-Class Estate.
With the rear seats folded flat, the space increases to a grand total of 1,273 litres, more than on offer in the A4 Avant, but significantly below the rest. Perhaps the most telling comparison is with its fellow Swede, Volvo. While it clearly knocks the socks off the diminutive V50 - another hatchback dressed up as an estate - it's nowhere near as practical as the V70. (For the number crunchers, that particular Swede offers 486 litres with rear seats up and 1,641 litres with the seats folded flat).
So, if space is not it's strong selling point then what is? Styling seems to feature as one of the big issues here, in particular the more prominent profiling of the rear door. This may only involve the use of ice-white lenses on the rear light clusters and a thick band of chrome on the boot door, but it's a brave statement from a car firm that has built up a rather conservative reputation. With the Saab owners club largely populated by those who wish to escape what they regard as the loud and brash world of the German marques, this new bold look is all rather "in your face" for the Swedes.
Judging from reaction to the press car, the success of this styling is largely determined by the choice of colour. In the dark blue of our test car, the look didn't seem to work. However, on the lighter colours it seems a better fit.
Thankfully, the rest of the car retains the good looks of the saloon. Particularly at the front, it still has its wide sporting stance and even from the side, the car's relatively sporting appeal continues. It's only at the back that things seem to have gone askew. Style is very subjective and no doubt there will be some who think the new look is cool and sporting.
For us, however, it doesn't quite fit either the Saab ethos or the car's image.
As for what it's like to live with, on our infamous country roads, the 9-3 is not as calm and restrained as we would have expected, offering a rather jittery ride and handling.
Legroom is very good, both in the front and rear, and with the high front console you feel safely cocooned in the car.
In terms of performance, our test car was the 2-litre turbo with automatic transmission. The automatic is significantly slower than the manual on paper and, though we've only driven the manual in saloon format, we'd recommend you give the automatic a miss if you like a little kick in your step.
It's a pity because the 2-litre certainly seemed to have more to offer than the transmission was allowing.
The 9-3 now comes with a choice of five petrol engines and two diesels, the entry point being the 1.8-litre petrol, the ultimate being the 2.8-litre turbocharged V6 in the Aero version.
That's a good variety of engines and, as a result, prices are well spread, starting at just under €36,000. Given that the Swedish marque has always featured quite strongly in the reliability and satisfaction ratings, you can see why it's been doing well of late among those tired of the triad of German brands.
One of Saab's strong points continues to be interior trim. Saab has gone against many of its rivals in retaining the high-set central console and a host of buttons. Yet it works. The cabin is comfortable and everything you need is at hand.
While the price seems within the median of the segment, it has to be said that the 9-3 is better value for what you get than many of its competitors.
Taking our test car, the Vector Sport, as an example, it features rain sensors, park assistance and leather trim as standard. Start adding these on as optional extras on competitor vehicles and the costs soon start to mount.
Yet it's not a true estate in the traditional sense and while that hasn't hindered sales of the likes of the Audi A4 Avant, we suspect that Saab owners are a more practical lot who expect an estate to be, well, an estate.
We're fans of the 9-3, but in a choice between saloon or hatchback estate, the saloon wins hands down. If you need more space then you may have to look elsewhere.
