The sensitive Saab

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Three Saab Australia executives dropped into Auckland the other day to launch the new 9-3, the company's sports sedan and the biggest project development in Saab history.

General manager Tony Jennett talked of the diverse market in New Zealand, and of how GM-owned Saab was looking to GM-owned Holden for help in boosting Saab's profile and market share.

"We are seeking an active and involved relationship with Holden," he said. "There is a lot of opportunity (for Saab) but it needs resources." Rough translation: Saab would like its cars to sit as close to Holden showrooms as possible.

Public relations head Paul Ellis talked about class-leading legroom in the back, how the 9-3 was given the maximum five-star rating in a European crash test, how it offered a level of driver involvement never before seen in a Saab, and how it would spearhead growth in New Zealand next year.

But being a Saab, not everybody's going to want one. But that's okay.

Marketing chief Ray Webb talked about sales campaigns, where buyers would come from, why Saab buyers were individualists, how the advertising campaign would appeal, how Saab classified the 9-3 in the post-modern category against modern for BMW.

All three men forecast sales of the new 9-3 and flagship 9-5 in New Zealand next year of 175 units, up from an estimated 120 this year.

The executive sedan market is growing, but Germany's BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi dominate it. The 9-3 is a genuine rival, but Saab has much work to do to convince New Zealanders of that.

Saab, unlike almost every other carmaker, doesn't have a distributor in New Zealand. Saab Australia does that. It sends the cars to three New Zealand dealers, in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

These dealers - along with the expected help from Holden - will market the 9-3 under Saab's new philosophy: to trade on its quirky traditions while dialling in mainstream appeal.

The 9-3 is the first compact sedan in Saab history and therefore the first to challenge such prestige 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, with their dated driving dynamics.

The new 9-3 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 like its aircraft-influenced cockpit have 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.

Saab launched two 9-3 models the other day, the Arc and Vector, both powered by two-litre four-cylinder turbo-charged engines producing 129kW/265Nm.

The Arc is the softer luxury package, costing $66,900 with a six-speed manual gearbox, and $70,000 with the five-speed automatic with manual override.

The sportier Vector has a slightly lower ride-height and different suspension settings and costs $70,900 and $74,000.

The entry level Linear, with its 110kW/240Nm engine, will arrive in January, priced at $59,900 and $63,000. The premium 155kW/300Nm Aero will arrive in June at around $80,000.

All four models come with a three-year/100,000km free-service warranty.

The 9-3 handles and rides better than anything Saab has done before, thanks in part to a body that is 120 per cent stiffer than the previous model.

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

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

Torque steer, such a downside of the previous model, has been replaced by a communicative helm.

Overall, it's an impressive package. At highway speeds it is poised, providing grip and a ride/handling balance the old model never had.

The only time the suspension became ruffled and noisy was at low speed over badly sealed roads.

The launch of the new 9-3 comes at a critical global time for Saab.

It has just laid off 1300 workers at its Swedish assembly plant, Trollhattan, and it is expected to lose about $1 billion this year, or about $8000 on every vehicle it sells.

But it counters by saying it has lost money in nine out of the past 10 years and the redundancies are a result of streamlining the Trollhattan plant to allow it to build several models on the same assembly line, something it hasn't done before.

These models include variants of the 9-3, such as a stationwagon and a four-wheel-drive. The new convertible, due to be released in Europe next June, will be built in Finland.

Jennett is excited about Saab's new direction.

"Launching a sports sedan such as the new 9-3 is the fastest way of finding new customers," he said.

"It is the fastest-growing segment in the new-car market. We have not had a product to compete with BMW - now we do."