2002 SAAB 9-3 Aero review from UK and Ireland

Nothing really.

Two small rattles to be found, and there's a bit of wind noise through the driver door seal.

All will be attended to at its first service at 6000 miles.

Fantastic car, 205bhp is quick, at times too quick. This model (and the Viggen) is legendary for torque steer, so at times there's a problem getting power to the road. But a lot of one's time is spent looking in the rear view mirror seeing if the car behind or next to you has actually started moving from the lights yet.

In the dry one really doesn't have to try hard to get this car to move; in the wet it's a little more tricky, though. 1st has to be taken with care, 2nd can cause lateral movement if pressed hard, even third can cause an eyebrow raise...

I imported this model into the UK directly from a dealer in Sweden, saving a huge amount, and for the price I paid, it's a huge amount of car with lots of standard equipment - about 2/3rds of the price I'd have had to pay for a similar spec BMW or Audi.

This model is being replaced now by the '9-3 Sports Saloon' which, having tested just this afternoon, is a much better car, amazing chassis indeed. I'll be changing mine within 6-12 months, I would say - again for the Aero, or maybe a special version from the Saab specialist tuners Abbott Racing.

But in general, it's fantastic, everyone asks me about it, the boot is simply huge, and Saab's seats are the most comfortable available, in my opinion.

I'm not having another car in black though...