Saab 9-3 TiD 2007 Review

Launched: Saab 9-3 TiD

To many people, the little Swedish battler is still Saab-who? Well, from here on, Saab makes a two-pronged bid for much wider, stronger brand awareness by introducing diesel driving to the convertibles' market in Australia.

Particularly important though the diesel 9-3 convertible is for Saab and the al fresco segment as a whole, it's just the tip of Saab's new three-model diesel range. Along with the newly oiled 9-3 Sport Sedan and SportCombi lines, the convertible offers two 1.9 TiD levels, namely Linear and Linear Sport.

Each features the 110kW/320Nm 1.9-litre turbo-diesel engine which has six-speed manual transmission as standard, the same as its petrol siblings. The diesel's optional auto has six speeds, versus the corresponding petrol's five.

The convertible diesels cost $67,400 and $69,400 for the Linear and Linear Sport manuals respectively, with auto transmission adding $2500. Either way, the diesel asks $2.5K over the equivalent 129kW/265Nm petrol 2.0-litre turbo, whereas the tin-top diesels are only two grand above their petrol peers.

The diesels are spirited performers, effortless cruisers, impressively torquey, nicely refined and mechanically quiet. Once rolling, you can't hear the difference, but you can feel it in the midrange response.

Saab claims the manual convertible dispatches 0-100km/h in the mid-10s, while the sedan is said to shave that time by almost a second.

Diesels' strength is in consumption, of course. The 9-3 Convertible TiD, for example, officially registers 6.3 and 7.1L/100km for manual and auto, versus 8.5 and 9.7L/100km for the 129kW petrol model. However, for most persuasive frugality, the TiD sedan is Saab's pennypincher, where its 5.8 and 7.0L/100km lab-test numbers shade the petrol sedan's 8.3 and 9.6L/100km results.

Based on those numbers and the competent driving experience, the 9-3 TiD models are well able to capitalise on the diesel boom -- and lift Saab's name.