2006 SAAB 9-3 SportWagon reviews

Saab 9-3 SportWagon 1.9TiD 2006

This is the fifth Saab I’ve owned, and the first diesel. It does over 40 mpg overall and as much as 55+ on the motorway but I won’t get another diesel - this has confirmed all my prejudices about noisy dirty smelly engines which lack the bite, precision and control of the engine that I’ve had with every other Saab I’ve owned. It’s very comfortable, practical, has an excellent boot, air con system and stereo. It’s quite fast but has horrible turbo lag - put your foot down at the lights and there really is a full second where nothing happens and then you’re propelled forward at a hell of a rate. In petrol form this is probably a damn good car, in diesel it reminds you that while Saab’s are still a sensible and different alternative to the much over-rated Germans they’re not quite as well built or different as they used to be. I also have a 15 year old classic 900 convertible and for all its age it’s still a lot more fun to drive than my 9-3.