It seems that the lack of more significant brand premieres is what prompted bringing the 9-3 with a turbodiesel to us. After all, a diesel Saab is indeed an event for the Russian market. True, the powertrain itself is not new: Europeans have been familiar with it for a long time, and our drivers know it as the 1.9 CDTI from the Opel engine lineup. For the 9-3, several versions with different outputs are provided, but only the 150-horsepower variant is supplied to the Russian market, and exclusively paired with a six-speed manual transmission.
What changes in the familiar character of the 9-3 with a turbodiesel under the hood? The driver certainly does not suffer from this! The torque reserve of the 1.9 TiD is more than enough almost always, and thanks to the wide shelf of "active" torque (90% available from 1750 to 3250 rpm) and well-chosen gear ratios, you can drive quite briskly without downshifting noticeably more often than on the petrol version. The cabin is also good: the engine is almost inaudible, and its operation lacks the characteristic "tractor" notes. Vibrations are minimized, although they are still slightly felt on the gearshift lever and clutch pedal.
Another plus is fuel efficiency. The offer turned out to be interesting, especially for brand fans. It is on them that the bet is placed; there is no talk of large volumes. In addition, unlike the European market, here the Saab 9-3 TiD is available only in the Sport Sedan body and in Linear and Vector trims. And that would be fine. But similar versions of the 9-3 with the 150-horsepower petrol 2.0 engine and manual still come out cheaper.
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Manufacturer's data
ENGINE
1910 cm³ diesel, 4 cylinders
150 hp at 4000 rpm,
320 Nm at 2000 rpm.
TRANSMISSION
Manual, 6 gears,
front-wheel drive.
DYNAMICS
max speed – 210 km/h,
acceleration 0-100 km/h – 9.5 s
DIMENSIONS (mm)
length – 4635
width – 1762
height – 1466
FUEL ECONOMY
average consumption – 5.8 l/100 km.
