General Motors South Africa breaks new ground for the company today with the launch of the new SAAB range that includes, for the first time, the Sportcombi model. SAAB has been in South Africa for many years, however the Sportcombi derivative has never made its way into the line-up, ‘til now. Although Europe has had the refaced 9 - 3 since July 2007, a number of other markets around the world are only getting it now.

Three models, the Sportcombi, Convertible and sedan are up for grabs for lovers of this quirky Scandanavian brand. Engines are all turbocharged, with power outputs of 110kW, 129kW, 154kW and 184kW for the 2.8-litre V6. SAAB’s future seem to be rooted in sportiness so as not to compete directly with GM’s luxury brand Cadillac, so these and future SAABs will concentrate a lot more on the driving aspects of dynamics, comfort, power and delivery.

SAAB SA has made a new multi-million dollar investment in new facilities as well as upgrading showrooms where SAAB, HUMMER and Cadillac are all sold together as GM Premium products.

Pricing was announced as:

2.0 LPT Linear sedan – R227,500 /€20,200
1.9 TiD Linear sedan – R252,500/ €22,428
2.0 TS Vector sedan a/t – R296,300/ €26,322
2.8 V6 Aero a/t – R360,500/ €32,021

2.0 T Linear SportCombi a/t – R262,500/ €23,317

2.0 T Linear convertible – R406,500/ €36,118
2.0 T Linear convertible a/t – R420,000/ €37,306
2.6 V6 Aero convertible a/t - R460,000/ €40,845