On the last post I was asked how the Saab has been treating me. I’ve put probably about 500 miles on it so far and they’ve been mostly pain-free. Compared to the Accord the Saab is a freaking muscle car, with 60 more horsepower and a greater willingness to chirp the tires around corners. It proved its load-carrying ability the day I picked it up by swallowing a wagon (one of Soren’s birthday presents).

One of the questions I haven’t been asked is why I chose a 9-3. I went into it briefly back in August and most of those reasons hold true. The power is a welcome jump from what I had without being too much. It’s still very versatile, and has a great level of standard features (heated seats, side airbags, etc). I like that it’s a four door but not a sedan, and I like that it’s not a big car. Most of all, I find 9-3’s to be very, very attractive looking cars.

What I think is interesting is that despite all the visual similarities between the 900 and 9-3, it’s easy to tell which is newer. Thanks to small touches like more modern wheels, different bumpers, updated taillights and a standard spoiler the 9-3 starts to look the part of a sport sedan.

One of the other fun things about the Saab is all the little extras it has that I continue to discover:

  • Each fog light assembly contains two bulbs. One is for the fog light itself, and the other, interestingly enough, is for a cornering light that turns on when you signal in that direction; it’s kind of like the swiveling headlamp concept on newer Lexus’ and VW Passats, but simpler.
  • Heated mirrors. I wasn’t sure if it had these or not, since its kind of tough to check with the weather we’ve had lately.
  • If you have the wipers on and shift into reverse, the rear wiper automatically activates. This confused the hell out of me the first time it happened.
  • Not a surprise, but an awesome Euro car trait: the headlights turn off with the ignition.
  • When the ignition is turned off but the key is not removed, the radio is still usable.
  • Another non-surprise: rear fog light. Not overly common; it’s just an extra light you can turn on in the back when it’s foggy.

For now, that’s pretty much it. I plan on ordering some new tires in pretty short order, but I’m foregoing the wheels for now. After that the to-do list is nearly complete.