1999 Saab 9-3
midsize luxury car / 4-door sedan
Moderate overlap front: original test
Rating applies to 1999-2002 models built after December 1998
Tested vehicle: 1999 Saab 9-3 4-door
The Saab 9-3 was restyled and renamed for the 1999 model year (it used to be called the Saab 900). All 9-3 models manufactured after December 1998 include structural changes to improve occupant protection in frontal crashes (note: information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door).
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has evaluated the crashworthiness of a 9-3 with the structural changes in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier.
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Leg/foot, left | |
| Leg/foot, right | |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Dummy movement wasn't well controlled. During rebound, the dummy moved toward the driver door, and its head went part of the way out the open window and hit the B-pillar. There was too much upward movement of the steering wheel. |
Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.
The driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well, although there was too much upward movement of the steering wheel and some buckling of the roof rail.
Smeared greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head hit the B-pillar during rebound, producing a high head acceleration.
The active head restraint design, new in 1999 Saabs, automatically moves into position to provide more effective protection from whiplash injuries in rear-end collisions.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | CF99004 |
|---|---|
| Footwell intrusion | |
| Footrest (cm) | 20 |
| Left (cm) | 24 |
| Center (cm) | 26 |
| Right (cm) | 21 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 15 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | |
| Left (cm) | 8 |
| Right (cm) | 7 |
| Steering column movement | |
| Upward (cm) | 14 |
| Rearward (cm) | 6 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 11 |
Driver injury measures
| Test ID | CF99004 |
|---|---|
| Head | |
| HIC-15 | 334 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | 92 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.4 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 26 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.31 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 29 |
| Legs | |
| Femur force - left (kN) | 3.0 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 2.6 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 7 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 4 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 0.44 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 0.84 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 1.1 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 4.4 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |
| Left | 78 |
| Right | 82 |