Good features but one BIG flaw (Saab 9-3 SE 2.0t 150 bhp 5-door)

Member Name: mendes

Product:	Saab 9-3 SE 2.0t 150 bhp 5-door
Date:	02/05/02 (449 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: safety record, large boot

Disadvantages: parking blind spot , dull design

My Saab 93 SE is now 3.5 years old and I've driven it from new. It looks like every other car on the street, so I didn't go for good looks when I was choosing it. The reasons I bought it were its safety record, and its big boot. Yes, the boot is huge and comfortably fits a pram & the week's shopping, or 2-3 suitcases. I've never had a crash (touch wood) so can't vouch for the safety record, but it certainly feels solid on the road.

I'm not in the slightest bit interested in horse-power (whatever that is), so you'll notice that this write-up is very much a lay-woman's view of life, not that of a car-boffin.

Lots of useful features. The interior lights come on when the doors open, stay on till you start the engine, and then slowly dim again. The ignition key is in the centre next to the handbrake, which makes it easy to find. The windscreen wipers are multi-speed, even when they're on intermittent, they can be further adjusted to a variety of different speeds. The driver's seat is adjustable (up & down) so that short people like me don't feel that we're sitting on the floor, but my taller husband can also sit comfortably when he drives. Good quality radio/CD player, although it would nice to be able to turn down the volume of the speakers at the back so that I don't disturb my (sometimes) sleeping children on long journeys. Heating/cooling systems both fast-acting. Loads of passenger leg room in the front seat. The boot opens by the flick of a switch on the inside of the drivers door, and locks again automatically after several seconds, to stop opportunist thieves opening the boot while you're stopped at the traffic lights.

So what's the big flaw? Well, I find it very difficult to park, because it's impossible to see the rear-end of the car in any of the mirrors. The car appears to finish at the rear window. Even after 3.5 years, I still reverse, with no real fee
ling for how near I am to the car behind. It hasn't got any easier, and I'm really not a bad parker (never had any problems with this in the past). After I bought the car, I noticed this comment in Parkers guide.

So would I buy another Saab? Well, NOTHING has gone wrong with the car in 3.5 years, but the complete blind-spot when reversing will always be a drawback. So I'd definitely look at other cars next time I'm looking to buy.

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