Top Safety Pick

2009 Saab 9-3

midsize luxury car / 2-door convertible

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Head restraints & seats

Key

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Rating applies to 2004-11 models

Tested vehicle: 2007 Saab 9-3 2.0T 2-door convertible

The Saab 9-3 convertible was redesigned for the 2004 model year.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

Intrusion measurements taken after the crash test indicate that the driver's survival space was maintained well.

During rebound, the dummy's head hit only the head restraint as indicated by smeared greasepaint.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and all leg and foot injury measures were low.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEF0716
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	5
Left (cm)	8
Center (cm)	11
Right (cm)	13
Brake pedal (cm)	7
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	2
Right (cm)	1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	0
Rearward (cm)	-1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	2

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEF0716
Head
HIC-15	240
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm)	20
Maximum Nij	0.22
Chest maximum compression (mm)	30
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	2.6
Femur force - right (kN)	3.4
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	0
Maximum tibia index - left	0.23
Maximum tibia index - right	0.60
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	1.5
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	1.9
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	67
Right	92

Rating applies to 2004-11 models

Tested vehicle: 2007 Saab 9-3 2.0T 2-door convertible with standard front seat-mounted combination head and torso airbags

The Saab 9-3 convertible was redesigned for the 2004 model year.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection The dummy's head was hit by the interior side trim. This impact did not produce high head injury measures, but the head protection is inadequate.

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with door removed, showing the side airbag, pop-up rollover bars, and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side airbag.

Smeared yellow, red, and green greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was hit by the interior side trim.

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	CES0707
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-16.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0707
Head HIC-15	523
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.0
Compression (kN)	0.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	40
Lateral force (kN)	1.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	33
Average deflection (mm)	24
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.09
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.42
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.1
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.2
Combined force (kN)	2.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.9
L-M moment (Nm)	197
A-P moment (Nm)	18

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0707
Head HIC-15	527
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.5
Compression (kN)	0.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	37
Lateral force (kN)	2.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	21
Average deflection (mm)	17
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	2.30
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.22
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.6
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.8
Combined force (kN)	3.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.2
L-M moment (Nm)	25
A-P moment (Nm)	12

Seat type: Power leather seats AHR

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.