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May 2013
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![2008 Saab Turbo X 9-3: The Cruiserweight Champ](http://sharpformen.com/wp-content/gallery/2008-saab-turbo-x-9-3-the-cruiserweight-champ-gallery/2008-saab-turbo-x-9-3-the-cruiserweight-champ-gallery00152-04_4.jpg "<div id='nr_fo_top_of_post'></div><p><b>Saab knows they scored big time with this limited edition piece of motor mastery. What Saab may not know is that they’ve just created a monster.</b></p>
<p>Think of car segments as weight classes in pro boxing. The huskier they are (torque, horsepower, etc.) – the harder the knockout.</p>
<p>Europe’s luxury sports sedan segment has seen its fair share of prized street fighters. Take BMW’s 3 series, which for obvious reasons, is the benchmark of its class: complete, powerful and always a looker. A real Roy Jones Jr., if you will. Then there’s Audi’s S4, perhaps the car world’s version of a young Mike Tyson: fearless, furious and maybe even a bit faster than the competition – on a good day anyway.</p>
<p>But as the great Sugar Ray Robinson would expound – it’s not always about how hard you can punch, but how fast you can dance.</p>
<p>This is something that Saab has typified, particularly with their revered 9 series, which historically may have lacked the marbles to pummel someone like Tyson to the ground, but it’ll be damned if it didn’t go the whole 12 rounds. </p>
<p>Saab’s new Turbo X 9-3 just might turn that tide. </p>
<p>With their loins well girded and their joints generously oiled, we took these little black demons (three in total; a “SportCombi” wagon, a manual sedan and a tiptronic sedan) to Niagara’s International Airport on the hottest afternoon of this young year of our Lord – two thousand and eight. </p>
<p>Call it training day. After jumping into the cockpit of the meaner-looking wagon, beads of sweat start trickling off my brow and I haven’t even turned the key yet. This may or may not have had something to do with the Turbo’s inside out jet-black finish beckoning the sun to “come on in." Or maybe it was the slight leer that took shape on it’s grill, surely the car’s way of letting me know that my world was about to get seriously rocked. Either way, it made little difference once I started rolling. With the car’s 2.8-Litre V6 twin-scroll turbo engine firing at full-steam, I arrow ahead through the mouth of the test circuit. A blackish-orange blur of pylons and asphalt whiz by in my periphery and before I know it, 280 angry horses have suddenly come alive. So far, so good.</p>
<p>Next comes the wet turn spot where 80 Km’s in second gear feels like a rollercoaster possessed by all hell. This is where the Turbo performs marvelously. This, folks, is where the Turbo can dance any opponent into a dizzying spell of defeat and burning rubber – kind of like a budding Cassius Clay. It’s all thanks to their new AWD system (or Cross Wheel Drive, as the Swedes put it). </p>
<p>Operating automatically, it sends 100% of power surging to the front wheels as needed and uses an electronically controlled, rear limited-slip differential to send up to 40% of torque to the rear wheels where the car’s impeccably taut traction is felt. Now rocketing through the final straightaway, I floor the gas in an effort to make the twin turbo engine work like it’s meant to. Since I’m coming off a corner, it’s impossible to not feel a bit of lag, which is slightly disappointing for a high-end European machine but nonetheless understandable. After all, this isn’t an F1. </p>
<p>The engine picks up and roars again to a fiery finish where the automatic and tiptronic sedans await. “I’ll pass,” I thought. “I just drove the best one here.” </p>
<p>Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Sure, it sounds nice and all, but why would I pay upwards of $40,000 for something that likely underperforms its competitors in this class?” Last year, I would have agreed with that notion. But this model is just too good to be deemed the underdog again. This isn’t the Aero X, nor is it the 900 (both of which influenced the Turbo’s design). This is a new breed of sport luxury. This is – hands down – the best damn car Saab has ever built. Pity that Canada only gets 100 (70 sedans, 30 wagons) of the 2000 that will be available worldwide. </p>
<p>Word around town is that they’re selling out lickety split, too. So if you’re looking to knock out a couple Germans this summer, take this Swede into the ring before it dissapears. With a little luck and some finesse, you just might win. And if you don’t, you’ll look like a champ anyhow.</p>
<p><a href=\"http://www.saabcanada.com\" onclick=\"javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.saabcanada.com']);\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">www.saabcanada.com</span></a></p>
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