Saab 9-3 Sportwagon (2005 - 2011) 1.9 TiD (150bhp) Turbo Edition 5d Owner Review

I have owned 75 cars over 42 years of driving and 50 years of spannering on cars and I bought my 2010 Sportwagon for £2300 in 2019. Bright red, black leather, everything works perfectly, parts are cheap and it's easy to DIY. My plan was to use it for a family holiday and then run it for no more than a year before moving it along, however, it is such a solid, comfortable car I decided to keep running the old bus. She tows my trailer, my boat and carries four adults in comfort. Now on 170k miles, in the last six months I've fitted a set of Brembo discs and pads, Goodyear tyres, changed the brake fluid for ATE Super Blue, changed the leak off pipe grommets and tubing, fitted brass replacements for the plastic swirl flap actuator arm, fitted a new clutch and flywheel, small section of exhaust flexi and changed the oil and coolant. I expect her to give another five years of service and totally recommend this model. I had thought it was a Vectra in a Swedish suit but that is far from the truth. Everything is sensibly laid out, seat controls you can reach easily, green back lit instruments, night time display, you can see that someone has actually thought about every aspect of the car and how it is used. Such a shame Saab are gone and the only Achilles heel on mine is probably that GM diesel with its fancy DPF, EGR, antipollution kit. However, so far the car has been 100% reliable, economical, good to drive (I have always like my sports cars and rebuilt several MGs and a TVR) and has ample space for my two six foot sons in the back. I know some owners have reported problems but my car has had never had an MOT advisory in its life, has been utterly pampered, and the only MOT fails (both were before I owned the car) were for tyre defects and worn ARB bushes.