Saab raises the roof

By BRENDA WARD

When Saab tinkers with its much-loved convertible, it risks the wrath of millions of purists worldwide. So it is with trepidation the company is releasing its chunky, restyled 9-3 convertible in mid-October, the second generation on from the style classic that started it all, the quirky 900 convertible.

Saab drivers are a breed apart, says the company, which has conducted extensive research into the matter. It calls them "individualists" who are generally highly educated, used to making their own decisions and passionate about their cars. They don't want brash conventional status symbols, seeking instead a timeless design.

So the company realised it couldn't stray too far from its formula, while updating the safety, technology and handling to confront its toughest rivals in this segment, the BMW 3-Series convertible and the Audi A4 cabriolet.

And the 9-3 had another perception the company wanted to address. The 9-3 drop-top, although bought by more males, has a higher number of female drivers than other cars in its segment, so the new styling creates a more androgynous vehicle, says Michael Backman, brand specialist on the product realisation team.

Testosterone has been pumped into the chunky rear bumper and the broader and lower profile of the bonnet. The car's wider wheelbase and shorter length give it a gruntier, more determined attitude.

The new 9-3 convertible was designed in parallel with the restyled 9-3 sedan, to create a car the company claims is "more than a convertible", but in the process has shed a lot of the quirkiness associated with the brand.

The familiar wedge shape remains, but the lines are no longer interrupted by the raised seat-belt cowling, and the new six-brace all-season hood is a more rounded, conventional profile that resists "ballooning" in the wind and gives the car the effect of a coupe rarely achieved with a soft-top.

Inside, the seating fabric is weather-resistant, but still breathes for driver comfort, a feature unnecessary for the leather option..

One nod to the car's original funkiness remains - the central console-mounted ignition, which acted as a theft-deterrent in the old models, locking the car into reverse gear.

Now the key can be withdrawn in any gear and the security of the car - alarm, freewheeling lock cylinders, encrypted "start" messages that would take eight years to crack - is so high, thieves may as well not bother.

The convertible is well-mannered and deft around town and effortlessly powerful on the open road, where the turbo gets pumping with the lightest of acceleration.

The 2-litre intercooled turbo is available in two choices of lightweight aluminium engine, 129kW (175bhp) or 155kW (210bhp), both with either adaptive automatic transmission (five stages), or a five-speed or six-speed manual gearbox.

The 155kW model goes from 0-100km/h in a respectable 8 seconds (manual) or 9.5 (auto) and has a top speed of 230km/h (manual) and 225km/h (auto).

One of the greatest differences between this model and its predecessors is its torsional rigidity.

The new 9-3 is more than three times stiffer than its predecessors and 60 per cent of its body weight is in high or ultra high-strength steel.

This gives a reassuring solidity to the car regardless of road conditions and has eliminated the scuttle-shake widely criticised in past models, leaving a vibration-free ride.

Safety is taken seriously at Saab, where engineers have installed a "second chassis", like a ring of steel running the length of the car. This is necessary, as the convertible has a year-round soft-top, rather than a steel folding hard-top.

The second chassis skeleton uses a torsion box, enlarged side sills and a heavily reinforced A pillar that, with the windshield header rail, acts as a roll bar in a crash.

Behind the seats, pop-up rear roll bars are released in a split second by a small pyrotechnic charge when the car senses it is about to roll and the seat-belts tighten to lock the occupants into place.

But a low-speed crash, such as a supermarket ding, probably won't even cause you to head into the body shop.

Self-repairing bumper assemblies absorb impacts of up to 8km/h, just popping back into shape after the mishap, and a crash box protects the structure and body panels in a crash of up to 15km/h.

Saab expects its new convertible to continue its popularity in the mild climates of the southern hemisphere, where Australia and New Zealand is its fourth biggest market.

Drivers in its home country, Sweden, and on the west coast of the United States remain the model's hottest fans. Prices have not been set for the new model, but will probably be around the mid-$80,000s in auto, or early-$80,000s manual.