The 2009 Saab 9-3 is a compact entry-level luxury car available as a sedan, wagon (dubbed "SportCombi") or convertible. It comes in a copious number of trim levels -- five each on the sedan and SportCombi and four on the convertible.The base sedan and SportCombi (1SA) includes 16-inch alloy wheels, leather upholstery, faux wood interior trim, cruise control, an eight-way power driver seat, dual-zone automatic climate control, a 60/40-split rear seat, Bluetooth and a seven-speaker audio system with satellite radio, a CD/MP3 player and an auxiliary audio jack. The next trim level up (1SB) comes standard with 17-inch alloy wheels and adds a sunroof, heated front seats, power express-up windows and an auto-dimming rearview mirror with a compass.
Step up to the 1SC trim level and Saab adds roof rails, a rear integrated antenna and genuine wood interior trim. In addition, the sedan gets self-leveling rear shock absorbers; the SportCombi gets a lowered, sport-tuned chassis and Saab's XWD AWD system. The even-more-feature-packed 1SD trim level doesn't have the special shocks or XWD, but the sedan at this trim level also gets the lowered sport-tuned chassis, xenon adaptive headlights, foglights, rear park assist, an 11-speaker Bose surround-sound system with six-CD changer, sport seats and an eight-way power passenger seat. The top-of-the-line Aero trim level includes all of the 1SC's handling features and 1SD's luxury features, plus a limited-slip differential.
On the convertible, there are a few notable equipment differences: The 60/40-split rear seat is not available on any trim, and a fully automatic cloth top replaces the roof. (A sunroof, not surprisingly, is not available.) Also, the intermediate 1SC trim is not available in a soft-top version. All other trim levels are largely comparable to their hardtop counterparts. A navigation system is also available on all trims except the base in each body style.
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