2005 SAAB 9-3 VECTOR SPORT from UK and Ireland - Comments

Drivers seat has "Sagged" already and developed a frustrating squeak!

(and I am not a heavy person)

Rattles from the Dashboard area.

This car is only three Months old.

I truly am impressed with this cars looks, overall performance, levels of comfort and driver appeal, but this is where the praise stops!

The build quality is well below par, plastics used on the dash look and feel cheap, a new rattle appears from behind the dash every Week and road/wind noise are both excessive and intrusive for a car in this league and price.

The sound quality,even from the seven speaker upgrade on this model is dreadful, almost pathetic.

I was about to type a review, only to find the comments above reflect my own opinions!

Come on Saab, address these minor issues and make the 9-3 the car it deserves to be.

The Audio System is terrible. No depth to bass, muffled sound at volume. £20+ k for this car and fitted with what appears to be a early '80's Amstrad... at best!!

I have Saab 93 1.8t Arc which was a low mileage second hand car & I'm generally satisfied with it. However I was really shocked by the disgracefully poor stereo system installed in what is supposed to be a luxury car. Saab seems to think that installing two 3.5 & two 4 inch dual cone speakers & no tweeters is a stereo system. The speaker upgrade is no better having the same frequency response of only 11khz.I wrote to them about this at the beginning of March, but have by mid May received no reply. They don't care about their product or their customers!! Incidentally my drivers seat sagged.

I too agree with all the comments written above. I have the same car as mentioned in the original article - Vector sport - with the upgraded 7 speaker stereo and factory sport kit - lowered suspension. The road noise is terrible and it cannot be drowned out by the dreadful stereo and to think I was going to upgrade to the all singing all dancing stereo with sat nav. Thank God I didn't! Come on SAAB - listen to your customers and sort these issues out! My wife has a Ford Focus and that has a much better stereo in it.

I have a new Saab 9.3 Cabriolet. I love this car, good handling, much cheaper than any other convertibles. For the price I paid for this convertible, I have no complaints. Yes, that's true, the stereo system is terrible. It feels incomplete, like you all have said. A nice luxury car, lacking the most basic sound system. And I basically get more outside noise for a convertible...

Yes, I found squeaking sound already just after a few days of driving. I wouldn't say that the dashboard looks cheap, but the squeaking sound is irritating and makes it 'sound' cheap.

Overall, I still love this car.

I have been driving Saab 93s as a company car & I am now on to my third the vector sport 150, I have had many company car such as Peugeot 405, Mondeos & Vectras. For shear comfort & ride quality I wouldn't have anything else now!!!

OK then, time to add my bit as a 9-3 Vector Sport 1.9Tid driver!.

The Sound System (if you can call it that) is so, so terrible. Rubbish in-fact.

The seats are great for about half an hour and then you find yourself shifting about doing chair acrobatics because your bottom has lost all feeling.

The Dash, I agree, looks great, but the plastics used is comparable to the sort found in most American vehicles, which is a great shame becuase the ergonomics are a joy.

Yes, looks amazing, handles better in my opinion than a beemer 3 series (my previous car).

The interior could be a little more adventurous and, depending on the colour mix, could almost be described as bland.

My mates say the old thing.. "just a Vectra in drag" which soon changes once they have driven it.

The brakes are the best I have ever encountered.

I don't think a Vectra puts a smile on your face on a Monday morning. My 9-3 does.

How many 9-3's do you see in the supermarket car park?

How many Mondeo's and Vectra's?

Some issues need to be addressed to make this a truly fantastic car in all areas, but I will just say this..

If you want a great sound system, mud flaps with a built in coffee maker, rain sensing underpants cleaning facilities then go get a Vectra.

If you enjoy driving and like smiling, the 9-3 delivers.

I have owned my Airflow Vector Sport TiD (150) for 3 weeks now - I have to say that I have not been so excited by a car for many years! It is a joy to drive in almost every respect. Where it may not be absolutely perfect, overall it still kicks lumps out of the competition.

The 13 speaker audio system doesn't set the world alight, but it is still better than you get in many run of the mill motors. (I drive lots of hire cars in my day job.) I don't need or want top notch hi-fi when I'm driving - I can get that sitting in an armchair at home. Too good and you forget what you are in the car for.

I do have to agree that the driver's seat is less than supportive. It feels mushy when you first land in it. I have yet to do a really long run and will be watching for evidence of the criticisms above.

But what a looker! Come on Saab, round off the rough edges and you have a long term winner on your hands.

I do hope Saab will get the message!!

Maybe if someone from a Saab dealership reads this, they would kindly confirm the comments from above have been passed to the right people!

I have read, and indeed agree with all of the comments, critisisms and praise for this car as above.

My 9-3 Vector Sport 150 reminds me of my Wife... I love her to bits, but find the partnership equally frustrating.

A car that looks so good, drives so well, handles fantastically etc is spoilt by perhaps ignorance of the finishing off touches that would distract you from looking at another girl!

The seats, Audio system, Quality of plastics etc should in my opinion be as matched as the rest of this car.

Remember, this is marketed as an executive sports saloon, with a price tag to match,and should not have cause of complaint in these basic areas.

I AGREE strongly with the comment immediately above that a decent stereo is not as important as the driving experience, but for 23k list, one would expect a higher degree of quality and having also driven many run of the mill cars, would also confirm sadly, in these areas, make the 9-3 very average at best.

Sort these problems out and avoid a messy divorce, otherwise Audi get my money next year.

... but I still love this car!.. frustrating!

Looks like ownership by GM has made its mark upon SAAB.

Place the interior quality and build from an A4 and rap it with the looks and Mechanics of the 9-3 = the perfect marriage!

I ALSO AGREE with all of the above!!

This 9-3 is the third Saab to be developed under the stewardship of GM and it shows.

Cheap interior trim that even the recent facelift fails to sufficiently address, corners cut here and there (poor audio, seats that are no longer as good as those found on genuine Saabs) and gimmickry rather than engineering worth all speak of GM rather than Swedish integrity.

Night Panel? C'mon what's wrong with a simple rheostat? That stupid twist knob for the car computer is also frustrating and so unlike the ergonomics found in older Saabs.

The ride is jiggly, making the inevitable rattles that develop with cost cutting at the hands of GM all the more inevitable and happen sooner.

In all markets, the used value is an indicator of acceptance and in most, the Saab is a heavy depreciator, so you pay dearly to have that smile on your face that some commentators write so smugly about.

The Saab makes little sense unless you want to forsake the saftey of numbers and go for individuality.

Similar to all comments above, biggest problem is paintwork, having covered 15k miles in 6 months the stone chips are worse than my previous cars with 90k on the clock after 3 years.

I asked the dealers if they could test the paint for being soft or missing the lacquer, the blamed the motorways for being dirty and said nothing they could do nothing about it? It is a joint Vauxhall / Saab dealer which does worry me and spoil the image.

Overall rest of car is great with no problems to date.

I think the SAAB 93 is an excellent vehicle. The only let down is the sound system. For an upgraded 7 speaker system the sound is very poor. There is no bass at all and there are only tweeters in the back shelf hmmm.

I drive my Saab 93, 1.9 TID for 6 months now, and I still love it. I have taken the leather seats with leather steering wheel so I am not frustrated about the use of poor materials… Compared with the interiors of Volvo and Mercedes, the Saab design comes out much better. I love the driving, when taking a fast turn I have the impression that the cars gets sucked to the road. The car gives me what I wanted: a happy feeling when I drive it…