Overview & Reviews

A new wagon body style called the SportCombi has been added to the Saab 9-3 lineup for 2006. Additionally, Aero models get a new, more powerful turbocharged V6, which packs 250 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Linear and Arc trims have been merged into a single base 2.0T trim, and the Aero's old 210-hp turbo four is standard on this model. Finally, all 9-3s now come with body-colored door handles.

• Handles well for a front-drive car, frugal yet powerful engines, generous passenger room, class-leading trunk space, excellent crash test scores.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 182.00

• 

  I wish I never bought it - 2006 Saab 9-3
  By Topgun - June 14 - 3:50 am

  One of the first problems is poor support from the dealership. Within the first few months the leather seat split. Not in a seam but across the leather itself. Dealer couldnt tell the cause so they wouldnt stand by it. Front spoiler is so low you cant turn into a graded driveway without it scraping. I broke mine going through snow. So far the sunroof, Stability Control (ESC)have required repair. The windshield wipers have gone bad twice. To add insult to injury the colored plastic part of the front and rear medallions have come off. Top this off with a paltry 19 MPG and youll find that IKEA couch you bought was the best thing to come out of Sweden.

• 

  Stay away - 2006 Saab 9-3
  By JD - November 3 - 11:53 am

  My recommendation would be to stay away from saab. I have had it in the shop for major repairs of about $5,000 twice already. Thank god for my extended warranty. Multiple electrical issues with stability control failures, and steering wheel lock malfunctions. Also the plastic inside and emblems outside crack and fall apart. The car is fun to drive but could be better if it were AWD. Dont get me wrong BMW, Mercedes, and Audi have their share of problems and cost a lot to fix but at least they arent going under, and dealerships can still be found. My car is currently at the shop being fixed again, and once repaired will be going to a dealership to trade on a reliable vehicle

• 

  Saab repair - 2006 Saab 9-3
  By Mark - March 17 - 7:03 pm

  10K miles summary: - coolant reservoir broken - ABS pump replaced - air bypass valve replaced - software that control windows updated - HID leveling system replaced The car cannot survive a week without having to spend another week at the dealership. we made more miles on the courtesy cars than on our 9-3.

• 

  Wish wed bought Japanese! - 2006 Saab 9-3
  By UVAGirl - June 24 - 7:26 am

  We choose the Saab 9-3 Aero over the Audi(we previously had a new A4 with reliability issues), Mercedes, Volvo, and Acura (big mistake). In the past year, weve had to trek to the dealership monthly, weekly, even daily with issues like: radio, emblem falling off, multiple fog light replacements, tires, brake pads, repeated coolant issues, and today the engine started smoking (while driving home from the Saab service dept. after they fixed the engine yet again!) We didnt pay this much for a car to be driving a cheap Ford Focus loaner all the time. To those lucky souls who havent had reliability issues yet, I say wait until your mileage gets a little higher and check back, were at 50k mi

• 

  Disappointed with vehicle - 2006 Saab 9-3
  By 2006 Saab 9-3 - February 16 - 4:33 am

  From our purchase date we have been very disappointed with this car. You would think for the price of the vehicle it would hold up better. The car constantly has problems. Problems with the windshield wipers, windshield sprayers, headlights, gas tank cap, doors locking, ingition switch, sunroof, and it rattles. And the problems re-occur. We take it to the Saab dealership service department and two weeks later it is back in the shop for the exact same problem. The front leather seats are very uncomfortable. There is no support in the seat. When you are riding in the front you have a tendency to slip forward almost coming off of the seat. Cheap leather also. Very disappointed w/car.

• 

  Buying Saab was the worst decision of my - 2006 Saab 9-3
  By Nataliya - December 25 - 11:20 pm

  I can say now confidently that buying Saab from GM was the worst decision we made with my husband so far in our lives! The car design is simply put flawed, the car is constantly breaking and each morning you are praying that your 3-year old nice looking car will start. I had 6 battery problems – each time it is something new around the battery: faulty switch, wires, corrosion, alternator, throttle motor is draining it... 5 issues with coolant system, my AC was passing smoke into the cabin since antifreeze was leaking into AC system, ESP failure, faulty gas cap, etc. Not mentioning constantly peeling exterior, cracking knobs on the dashboard, leaking washer nozzles and tank...

• 

  Not Safe - 2006 Saab 9-3
  By brijitte - June 30 - 12:03 pm

  While driving at 11:30 pm on a small country (paved) road with my high beams on, my warning system indicated "Left High Beam Failure. About a minute later the left head light was in flames. Within 15 minutes the entire front half/engine of the car was in flames and subsequently burned/melted the entire front half of the car. There were less than 80,000 miles on the car. After month and a half Saab still has not investigated this issue and refuses to acknowledge the issue. I have pictures of the fire that I am happy to share. It was a horrible experience, and I am not sure how Saab can have such reputation for safety.

• 

  OOPS Wrong car. - 2006 Saab 9-3
  By notstock - July 17 - 2:39 am

  Well I got suckered by the lure of a Good deal" I needed a cheap family vehicle and I found a 2006 SportCombi Aero with 56K miles for only 11.5K, paid cash and now I know why it was so cheap. It started having problems on the way home from buying the stupid car. Its got this weird surging hesitation under partial throttle. A grinding clanking from the engine, and a weird high pitched whine from the audio system even if its turned off. This is a one owner dealer maintained car with full service records, so I know it was taken care of. Im really disappointed because I liked the performance in a car that I dont see dozens of every day. UNIQUE, I like that. Unreliable and broken NOPE.