SAAB 9-3 SALOON 2.0T AERO 4DR

"You'd certainly need a lot of BMW to outpace the Aero"

SAAB 9-3 SALOON 2.0T AERO 4DR

Whilst many will be familiar with the Saab 9-3 Aero designation, few will appreciate quite how much work Saab have done to turn this car into a sporting saloon worthy of note. The overriding memory of the old 9-3 Aero 2.0T was a car that had a little too much engine for its chassis, a car that, when you planted the accelerator, either spun its front wheels impotently or gave in to manic torque steer. Subtle it was not.

This 9-3 consigned this sort of behaviour to history, based as it is on an entirely different chassis and suspension set up. The engine remains largely the same, 210bhp of turbocharged wallop emanating from a 2.0-litre four-cylinder powerplant and it's as good as ever, catapulting the £26,485 Aero 2.0T to 60mph in 7.3 seconds and then on to 145mph.

If you want to make sure that all that power gets to the tarmac whatever the weather, then you'll want to tick the options box for Saab's latest XWD all-wheel drive system. XWD's 'cross-wheel-drive' configuration means that as well as distributing torque between the front and rear sets of wheels, it can also send differing quantities to each of the rear wheels. This is achieved through a second Haldex limited slip differential that Saab has christened the eLSD.

SAAB 9-3 SALOON 2.0T AERO 4DR

If grip is lost at the front of the car, the XWD system can send up to 85% of the engine's power to the rear wheels. That driving force can then be divided up again between the two rear wheels by the eLSD which can make a split as dramatic as 80:20. The result is an extremely stable and well-balanced driving experience as the XWD predicts road conditions and optimises the way in which the power is deployed. This has major safety advantages in wet or icy weather and will also help buyers of the 9-3 2.0t Aero XWD make the most of their engine's 207bhp performance.

If you want grip and more power, there's a 2.8T V6 Aero model which comes with XWD as standard, capable of rest to 60mph in 5.9s. Either way, Saab's quoted performance figures are usually decidedly conservative. You'd certainly need a lot of BMW to outpace the Aero.

This is where the Saab drives home what looks to be an irrepressible advantage. To get a BMW 3 Series that can equal even the 2.0T's performance figures and offer a similar level of trim, you'll need to find around £28,000. Audi will charge you around the same for a broadly equivalent A4 and Mercedes will want a larger sum still for a C-Class.

Purists trying the standard 2-wheel drive version will point to the fact that drive is directed to the front wheels and sniffily dismiss it as a less balanced set up than a rear or a four-wheel drive. This issue is of course solved by the XWD version but in any case, these purists will invariably be the ones who've yet to drive a modern front wheel drive car like the Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon. In absolute terms, rear or all-wheel drive is a superior solution, but in every day driving we never deal in absolutes. Instead, we work with compromise and the Saab 9-3 Aero manages those compromises better than most. A combination of clever chassis and suspension design coupled with formidable electronics mean that traction is rarely a problem and such is the safety net available, the Saab engenders a huge feeling of confidence.

Passenger space is exemplary, with superbly designed seats and easily enough room for three abreast in the back. It's also one of the few cars in its class that offers a standard split/fold rear seat, operable by a pair of levers in the boot. Along with the ever-astonishing cupholders, notch this up as another example of smart design from Saab.

The Aero is also something of a looker. The familiar clamshell bonnet visually widens the front of the car and this variant of course features the most recent 9-3 revisions, all external rubbing strips having been removed to give a cleaner look. There's a classier finish to the front grille and a set of LED light strips that sit across the top of the headlamp pod while the rear light clusters are shrouded in smoked glass. The Aero sits lower than any other 9-3, and the bi-xenon headlamps give it an imperious look. There's also a SportWagon estate model, offering extra carrying capacity for a £1,000 premium.

The cabin of the 9-3 remains resolutely Saab with all the controls angled towards the perpetually grinning pilot. The 9-3 Sports Saloon features a dash that's more upright than Dixon of Dock Green, the ignition next to the handbrake and a cupholder mechanism that can reduce design students to hushed reverence. Safety provision runs to active head restraints plus front, side and curtain airbags. All models feature dual zone climate control and most get an MP3-compatible CD player with an auxiliary audio input to attach your iPod.

The Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon has proved itself a worthy addition at the top table of compact executive cars and the 2.0T Aero variant is well worth a look in its latest guise. Forget what you may have heard about powerful Saabs. This car rewrites the rules.

SAAB 9-3 SALOON 2.0T AERO 4DR

Facts At A Glance

CAR: Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon 2.0T Aero

PRICE: £26,485-£27,585 [2WD models] - on the road

INSURANCE GROUP: 16

CO2 EMISSIONS: 202g/km

PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 7.3s / Max Speed 145mph

FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 33.2mpg

STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front & side airbags, ABS with EBD, Brake Assist, Traction Control, Stability Control, Cornering Braking Control, Saab Active Head Restraints

WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 4635/2038/1466mm