"So don't let anyone have you..."
We took a Saab 9-3 1.9 TIDS during a very ambiguous period in the brand's history. Anyone with even a slight knowledge of the automotive world knows that the Swedes are no longer needed by the American concern General Motors. Other Swedes (those from Koenigsegg) decided at the very last moment not to buy their compatriots. The Dutch Spyker, the Chinese who were planning to "dismantle" the brand piece by piece, and Formula 1 promoter Bernie Ecclestone, who intended to buy the brand for a symbolic one dollar, were still thinking about the acquisition. True, GM is not currently counting on profit, but first and foremost does not want to lose its money — the concern's loss from closing Saab could amount to up to $100 million. Surprisingly, GM is also in no hurry to sell the Swedish manufacturer and at the beginning of January of the new year began the process of liquidating the brand. In this case, the American auto giant is somewhat similar to Karandyshev from "The Dowry", who, with the words "So don't let anyone have you", shoots the unfortunate Larisa. If things continue to follow the plot of Ostrovsky's play, then we can assume that our test will be one of the last in the brand's history. Which, by the way, began in 1944...
It was then that the Swedish company Saab, which was engaged in the production of aircraft for the Swedish Air Force, came up with an idea called "Project 92". In '49, this project, in fact, materialized in the passenger car 92. Six years later, it was replaced by a modernized version with the index 93. Well, in 1990, the General Motors concern bought 50% of the shares of the Swedish company's automotive division, and 10 years later, it bought the remaining half. You know the rest of the story yourself, and I will probably tell you about my personal experience.
First there was the "hat", more precisely Project 92 (top), and then the Saab 92, which was modernized into the 93 (center, left to right), and at the bottom is our handsome 9-3. Photo: Autowp.ru, Avto.Ytro©
A love story for Swedish conciseness
Stage No. 1
I don't know why, but as long as I can remember, I have always liked Saab cars. Same with the 9-3 — when I first saw the restyled second generation on the road, I realized that I felt something more than just sympathy.
This is definitely a man's car, "a steadfast, Nordic character". A friend of mine once noted that by the design of a Saab, you can immediately tell that these guys make airplanes. Jet features, laconic execution, the stern "squint" of the parking lights. And at the same time, it's hard to call its appearance extraordinary — it's just, in my opinion, made the way a mid-size car for a man should look.
Stage No. 2
At that time, I really wanted this car for myself, but the desire, alas, was short-lived. Once I got to sit behind the wheel of a 9-3. At one of the exhibitions, I just decided to evaluate it from the inside. And all my bright feelings evaporated. The interior seemed not at all as attractive as the exterior — something between the cabin of a multi-ton Scania and IKEA furniture from the early 90s. I thought that was the end and we "parted like ships at sea". Or, given the aviation orientation of the car — flew apart like planes in the sky.
But a few years later, we met again. And here I am standing by a started, rattling diesel 9-3 with a turbocharged 1.9-liter engine and a manual gearbox in the Vector trim. The sympathy for the exterior design remained unchanged, but what about the inside and, most importantly, how does it perform? To find out, I open the door of the dark blue sedan.
Saab in the sky and on the ground. Photo: Wikipedia, Avto.Ytro©
Stage No. 3, final
Perhaps I've matured, but this time, getting behind the wheel, I was much more tolerant. I even began to like the interior. Medium-quality plastic here is combined with good leather seats, and the interior design itself is called "back to the 90s". Yes, these guys are terrible conservatives. But only later do you realize that this is largely the main feature of the car — to be different from everyone else and not chase trends.
The test of the city and the cold
The cabin smelled of diesel fuel, the engine was very loud, I think that at six in the morning most of the residents of my house quietly hated the guy who started this "Ivanovets". But the thermometer in the car showed minus 25 and many that day humbly headed towards the metro instead of driving their own car. This fate especially affected owners of diesel engines, and I, albeit with "music", still went to work in the heated and comfortable seat of the 9-3. On the snow, it drifted a bit; the all-wheel drive, which is on the 9-3 XWD version, was clearly lacking. But if our version costs about 1,030 thousand rubles, then the price of the all-wheel drive in the Aero trim starts from 1,400 thousand.
Minus 18 - just hardening, it can handle 25 too. Photo: Avto.Ytro©
Overall, the car left a very good impression. A clear 6-speed gearbox, a loud but very elastic and torquey engine, a moderately stiff suspension, thanks to which you immediately forget about accidentally unnoticed potholes — this is the diesel 9-3. Although, a herd of 150 "horses" sometimes seems a bit weak and you want to add a little more, but behind the wheel of this car you feel extremely comfortable, you don't even want to get out.
Medium-quality plastic here is combined with solid leather seats, and the pleasant-to-the-touch key needs to be inserted into the center console. Photo: Avto.Ytro©
Saab trade union
I'll repeat myself, but it seems to me that the main feature of Saab cars is their exceptional unpopularity on the Russian market. It can be said that only true fans of the brand buy these cars. And as for solidarity with fellow tribesmen — there's nothing to say — it's incredibly noticeable on the road.
It all started with the fact that in the first days, in heavy traffic, the driver of another 9-3 pulled up next to me and, smiling, waved his hand. One could, of course, chalk it up to the good nature of a particular motorist, but when the next evening at an intersection someone let me through and only in the rearview mirror I saw another 9-3 — I realized it wasn't a coincidence. And even though Kurt Vonnegut's hero would call it pure granfalloonism, it's still nice. And you're unlikely to see such an attitude towards each other among owners of, say, Mitsubishi or Toyota, of which there are thousands. Even if spare parts come to them faster, service is cheaper, and no one plans to liquidate the brand itself, Saab is original.
- Would you buy a Saab for yourself?
My second friend ("the one who was worth two and wasn't used to waiting"), with whom I took a ride around the city in the car, answered this question very originally. "I would want it, but only as a gift, otherwise I wouldn't buy it," he said, and he himself was considering buying a Toyota Camry precisely because of its ordinariness.
Why hide it, I myself would hardly take a 9-3. And even though its gaze is magnificent in the dark, and in the light the car somewhat resembles a Swedish fighter, you want something more suitable for Russian reality. It's just the way it is: beauties are beauties, but as a rule, they marry completely different ones.
Jet features, laconic execution, the stern "squint" of the parking lights. Photo: Avto.Ytro©
Light at the end of the tunnel
So the time has come to return the 9-3. I took the pleasant-to-the-touch key and went out into the yard to the frozen "Swede". Outside it was again more than minus 10 and the leather seat once again froze my whole body. I started it for the last time, waking up, probably, more than a dozen neighbors again. I warmed up the engine, involuntarily inhaled another dose of exhaust fumes and set off.
At some point, I realized that I had gotten used to this car. It feels like we became good friends. Yes, it has many disadvantages, but friends are chosen by other criteria. It was different from everyone else, and it was a pity that there were fewer and fewer of them and its hour, perhaps, was also near.
I drove into a tunnel and the light sensor turned on the low beams, ahead I could see the exit in a halo of daylight, nothing else was visible except the bright white arch. It was as if my Saab had gotten into the situation in which the brand currently finds itself. As you might guess, I drove out of the gloomy tunnel and continued my journey — I would like the Swedish manufacturer to succeed in the same way.
Remember this magnificent gaze. Photo: Avto.Ytro©
Grigory Nemirovsky