New Saabs trying hard to be sexy
By: Henrie Geyser
Saab is trying really hard to shed its sleepy, slightly staid image with a whole revamped range of sedan, five-door wagon and convertible models it has just launched in South Africa.
The Swedish carmaker has a reputation for making really prime quality, sensible, easy-to-drive vehicles and although they have always been popular in Europe and particularly the UK, they have never really been greeted with much enthusiasm in South Africa.
Mainly, one suspects, because they have always been rather underwhelming in looks and performance, particularly when compared to their classier German competitors.
The fact that Saabs are driven mainly by paunchy baldies hasn't done much for the brand's image either.
In fact, local sales have been rather dismal of late, with only 112 new Saabs being sold here during the whole of last year.
But, says General Motors South Africa (parents of the Swedish marque in this country), it is pumping more than R25-million into dealer outlets in an attempt to promote, service and sell more Saabs over here.
And they reckon that the extra dealer support, stronger marketing push and improved performance and appeal of the cosmetically enhanced 9-3 range will substantially boost sales in the coming years.
Well, they could be right, because the eight new variants seem to be trying really hard to shed the brand's grandpa-with-slippers-and-pipe image.
What is certainly going to help drive sales is a five-door SportCombi wagon which for the first time now also forms part of the Saab offering over here. South Africans have always had a soft spot for station-wagons and this newcomer is an interesting alternative to the dime-a-dozen SUV's on the road.
Pity though that out on the road it lacks a little vroom-vroom and although the progress is not sleep-inducing I reckon it would sell much better - and be much more exciting and appealing for younger life-stylers - if it had the bigger and punchier V6 engine up front.
However, in its current format it's a comfortable city commuter, easy to park, probably light on juice and a pleasant cruiser on the motorway - ideal, in fact, for a younger, small family.
Quite bravely, GMSA put its money where its mouth is and unveiled the new range at the Tarlton drag race strip in Gauteng where the country's motoring scribes had ample opportunity to hurl them around a tight and demanding slalom course and then flat-footing it down the quarter-mile main straight.
I drove all three model variants and was quite amazed by how well they handled around the tight circuit. Particularly the station-wagon conducted itself well, considering its size, weight and what it was designed for.
The brakes on all the vehicles were good and showed no signs of fading even after several hot laps.
Space restraints prohibit detailed descriptions of all eight models, so a brief overview will have to suffice.
The range (four sedans, one wagon and three convertibles) starts at R227,500 with a 9-3 LPT Linear Sedan and includes the new SportCombi (one choice only) at R262,500 all the way up to the 2.8-litre V6 Aero Convertible with automatic transmission which will set you back all of R460,000.
Although kit and build quality is excellent, their pricing is a tad on the high side when you weigh them up against main competitors Audi, Merc and BMW - and let us never forget the “weight and value” (read: snob appeal!) of the German badges vs. that of Saab.
Of the new Saabs, the SportCombi undoubtedly presents the best value for money and I suspect it will sell much better than the rest of the range.
The new range engines are all turbocharged and inter-cooled all-aluminium units with a choice of diesel or petrol and four power outputs of 110kW, 129kW, 154kW and 184kW.
The SportCombi is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that produces 129kW and 265Nm and is linked to a five-speed automatic transmission.
The wagon and the sedans both come a full suite of electronic driver aids, advanced chassis electronics, a four-link independent suspension layout and Saab's ‘ReAxs' passive rear wheel steer system (much too detailed to explain it all here, so best you ask your local Saab dealer to earn his commission).
Chassis electronic systems which are standard across the range include electronic stability programme (ESP), electronic brake force distribution (EBD), cornering brake control (CBC), and traction control system (TCS).
With the team effort these clever gizmos produce the Saabs stick to the tar amazingly well.
Among the many interesting features to be found in all the vehicles is profile customisation which allows for a whole range of functions to be pre-set according to personal preference, such as the dual-zone automatic climate control, for instance.
The cars also have what Saab calls “comSense functionality” which in essence minimises driver distraction by, for example, briefly suppressing dashboard warnings, or intercepting an incoming call (where a mobile phone is connected to the car's system) while under sudden or heavy braking, or taking a corner.
A nice feature on all the convertibles is that they have hydraulically-operated soft tops and it takes just 20 seconds to transform the convertible from sleek roof-up coupe to roof-down roadster.
Standard kit across the range include a good 7-speaker sound system, audio remote buttons on the steering wheel, a hands-free mobile phone connection, electric windows and mirrors, tinted windows, 60/40 rear seat split, front-, side- and roof-railed airbags, remote control locking, alarm and immobiliser and a high brake light.
Certainly the new vehicles come with top-of-the-range specifications, they handle well and they have impressive safety features.
Probably the only areas where they are still lagging behind the Germans are cabin quality and eye candy. For although Saab says the cars reflect contemporary Scandinavian design, to non Abba-landers I'm afraid Swedish minimalist still translates into conservative and lacking in real excitement.
But then I suppose just driving a Saab in South Africa is already good enough to differentiate its owner from the rest of the pack....
All Saabs come with a three-year/100,000km warranty and a five-year/100,000km maintenance plan.
More by Henrie Geyser
More...ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Henrie Geyser has worked as a journalist in Cape Town, London and Windhoek for the Argus Company (now Independent Newspapers) and spent 12 years at The Cape Argus in Cape Town. He then owned and ran a public relations consultancy for 13 years. He joined the online publishing industry through iafrica.com, where he worked for five years as News Editor and Editor. He now freelances for a variety of print and online publications, on the subjects of cars, food and travel, among others; and is a member of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.
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