Off the Saab drawing board

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

A handful of Saab engineers were talking over lunch a while back about what they wanted to see in the new Saab 9-3. One of them sketched on a napkin a driver with a happy face.

The rudimentary drawing struck a nerve among engineers and designers. It became the pot of gold at the end of the Saab rainbow. It was inspirational.

The company's marketing people liked its influence so much they wove an advertising campaign called "The First Sketch" around it.

The same campaign will be used in New Zealand when the 9-3, the biggest product development programme in Saab history, goes on sale in October/November.

It is the first new 9-3 in nine years and the first all-new Saab under General Motors' ownership.

It is also the first compact sedan in Saab history and, therefore, the first to challenge such prestigious rivals as the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4.

Saab set out to make a car that would appeal to drivers more than the previous 9-3 line-up of three- and five-door liftbacks, the driving dynamics of which were dated.

"Launching a sports sedan such as the new 9-3 is the fastest way of finding new customers," said Saab Australia and New Zealand chief Tony Jennett.

"It is the fastest-growing segment in the new-car market.

"We have not had a product to compete with BMW - now we do."

Saab needs new customers. GM told it as much when it bought it in February 2000.

Annual production of 130,000 cars - 9-3 and the bigger 9-5 - wasn't enough. Sure, Saab had a loyal customer base, but GM wanted growth. It wanted the Swedish company to trade on its quirky traditions while adding mainstream appeal

It gave Saab the Epsilon platform, which also underpins the new Holden Vectra, and told it to build a sedan which would in turn underpin increased production, something ultimately closer to 250,000 cars a year.

The result is the 9-3, powered by a choice of three turbocharged four-cylinder 2-litre engines mated to either a six-speed manual gearbox or five-speed automatic with manual over-ride.

It is still very much a Saab from the outside - the front end stays largely true to tradition - but the sedan dimensions around the rear make it appear more conservative.

The quirkiness of things such as its aircraft-influenced cockpit has been softened, too.

The traditionally styled air vents are still there and other obvious Saab interior touches (ignition key on the floor) remain, but the cockpit/dash/centre console as such is a mix of Saab, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar and Lexus.

Design chief Michael Mauer said Saab was still in the process of developing its face, as it evolved from niche maker to one with more appeal.

"We are a good brand and we don't have to hide ourselves," he said.

"A sedan by its nature is a little bit more conservative, but I strongly believe it [9-3] is a real Saab.

"It has a typical grille with a clear link to the existing 9-3 and 9-5 - but the new car is more three-dimensional, more sculptured."

Mauer, who moved from Mercedes-Benz after the Saab 9-3 design was signed off, said the three most important ingredients in design were "proportion, proportion, proportion."

"The old 9-3 appears too narrow - it doesn't really sit on the road. Optically, the new 9-3 is glued to the street."

What's it like to drive? It handles and rides better than anything Saab has done before, thanks in part to a body that is 100 per cent stiffer than the previous 9-3.

The chassis sits on MacPherson struts in the front and a four-link set-up at the rear and provides accurate and consistent handling.

Turn-in is sharp and the car's line through the twisty bits is aided by some rear steer from a toed-out outside rear wheel.

Torque steer, such a downside of the previous model, has largely disappeared.

Overall, it is an impressive package. The only time it felt slightly unsettled was over some crests, when the body appeared to float on its own.

Four 9-3 models - the Linear, Arc, Vector and Aero - will go on sale here, priced between $58,000 and $83,000.

The Arc and Vector will arrive first, powered by the 129kW/265Nm engine. The Linear, with its 110kW/240Nm powerplant, arrives about a month later and the range-topping Aero and its 155kW/300Nm unit will land in March.