2010 Saab 9-3 2.0T
2010 was Saab’s last model year under GM ownership. It was subsequently sold to Spyker. The 9-3 was Saab’s flagship product, but it hadn’t been changed since 2003. The price was reduced for 2010, but was that enough to make up for the 9-3′s outdated design and features?
The 2010 Saab 9-3 2.0T is a sedan with a 2.0 liter, turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that produces 210 horsepower. It has 16-inch wheels, front-wheel drive, and a 6-speed manual transmission. It is rated at 21 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway.
The 9-3 Sedan comes with a leather-covered, tilt-telescope steering wheel, an 8-way power driver’s seat with height and lumbar adjustments, front bucket seats, a split-fold rear seat, leather upholstery, full power accessories, 2-zone climate control, cruise control, and a trip computer. The audio system has 6 standard speakers, a subwoofer, AM/FM/satellite radio, a CD/MP3 player, and an audio jack.
The 9-3 also comes with side front airbags, side curtain airbags, traction control, stability control, antilock brakes, and active front head restraints. In US government testing, the 9-3 got a perfect 5 stars for side impact driver protection, and 4 stars for side impact rear seat and front impact protection.
Conclusions and driver feedback:
The 9-3 won’t win any awards for interior design, but at least the seats are comfortable. There is plenty of headroom and legroom in the front seats, and plenty of headroom with a decent amount of legroom in the rear seats. The interior is fairly attractive, but has a few lower-grade materials that probably won’t satisfy tactile users. It does have 15 cubic feet of trunk space, which is a bit of a luxury nowadays.
The 9-3 is a bit underpowered for most people’s tastes. Acceleration is dodgy at best, but it does summon enough power to cruise fairly smoothly on the highway without laboring. Handling is a mixed bag. The steering is almost like a sport car, but the suspension is more like a very large luxury car. That means you can steer fast enough to produce a lot of body roll.
The upside is that the ride is very nice, except on a dirt road or country lane, where successive bumps seem to max out the suspension too easily.
This is almost a decent car, but its competition has really passed it by. Even with the lowered price, there are still just too many faults here and not enough reasons to actually buy one of these cars. This car was originally overpriced by as much as $10,000 compared to what everyone else is giving for the price.
If you drive slowly and carefully, and don’t care about hard, inexpensive interior materials, and you can get this at a huge discount, it might be OK, but that is just too many ifs.
The verdict: yet another Saab story. We hope they make their airplanes better than they have made their cars lately.
Related posts:
- 2011 Saab 9-3X Sport-Combi Wagon Review & Cheapest Dealer Prices
- 2011 2011 Saab 9-3 Aero Convertible Review, Cheapest Price & Specs
- Cheap Used 2010 Nissan Versa 1.8 S Sedan’s For Sale & Reviews
- Cheap Used 2010 Chevy Cobalt SS’s For Sale & Reviews
- Cheap Used 2010 Lexus ES 350 Base’s For Sale
