l am considering buying a new Saab 9-3, any reviews?

l have a 2006 Saab 9-3 Aero & absolutely love the car. l have had no problems whatsoever with it since the day l got. The only thing is that u need to run higher octane gas, l use 93 almost all of the time, as 91 is the recommended minimum. Learned the hard way that 89 might save u a few dollars on each tank full, but it caused some hesitation & even made the car stall. l filled up with 93 & it runs great.

If u r in the states, consider getting the 2.0T with high gas prices as the 6 cylinder goes through gas about the same as an SUV, plus it is hard to drive it ''normal since it is so fast. The 2.0 is still quick & will literally ''sip'' gas on the freeway, my friend has one & gets upper 30 is mpg with the cruise set.

As far as options, l would get the cold weather package & if u get the 2.0T, get the package that includes the HID headlights, they r so cool. They make night driving almost better than day time driving, u can see everything.

The navigation is OK, at best, it is a bit slow & kind of expensive for what u get $2,000 as an option or like $35-40 a month extra on a lease. l would get a Tom Tom or something at best buy if u really need navigation.

l was going to get one of these cars in 2004, but instead got a Jaguar X-type, because l thought it looked cool, plus it is a Jag. Boy was that a bad choice, after l drove the Saab. It is a much better car, quite, fast, easy & fun to drive. If u lease one, u will get lease loyalty when u come back in 2-3 years after u lease. This is worth $1000 to $2000 off the next lease. My friend, that l spoke about above, just leased his second Saab 9-3 2.0, about 3-4 months ago. His payment went down over $60 a month, because of the loyalty & better deals.

Hope this helps, if u need anything else or have additional questions, feel free to e-mail me redrumkev AOL . COM

It depends largely on the year u r considering. The '99 no matter what model u buy is a fine car. The '00 thru '02 & the '03 CV u should avoid the 2.0L turbo as the engine has profound piston problems. The Viggen model of the same years however is just fine as it is the 2.3 Aero engine that is a rocket. At '03 they just became a Saturn as far as the power train is concerned. GM had a bunch of the 2.0L turbo engines left over from the failed sports sedan Saturn so they r using them up in the 9-3's. Also the '03 & early '04 have some real software issues that Saab has not fully resolved. Good Luck

l am a big saab fan, but when GM bought saab things changed. The 9-3 shares many underpinnings with GM cars(i.e chevy malibu). Good for parts network l guess. They are still good cars though. Fuel efficient, fast, and look good. If you want euro design and ride, go for it. l owned a 92 900(265,000 mi) and now own a 99 9-3 viggen (70,000) and love em both.