Saab shows how to let your hair down in style

Maybe it's to do with global warming. Perhaps it's more to do with our increasing wealth. Or even the growing desire to recapture youth. Whatever the rerason for it, convertible sales are rocketing. In the premium segment - among the professional classes in particular - convertibles are up by more than 50 per cent since 1998.

One of the long-terms players in this market has been Swedish marque Saab, accounting for as much as 50 per cent of sales in some European markets. Here Saab has held 30 per cent of the premium convertible market sector.

Saab drivers have long had a reputation of choosing to stand out from the crowd, and the Saab 9-3 convertible audience chooses to do so with that little bit more of a public statement. The mainly professional set that make up the Swedish car firm's pool of motorists here have always taken a shine to letting the wind blow through their hair, receding or otherwise.

So, in spite of the timing of its arrival - in fairness due more to Ireland's registration system than meteorological influences - the latest incarnation of the soft-top 9-3 should be a welcome addition to the range. The car looks more of a true soft-top, and Saab's engineers highlight the fact that consideration of the soft-top variant was taken into account from day one of the latest 9-3's development. The longer, wider body means there was more space for engineers to work with, when faced with housing back-seat passengers, folded roof and some boot space.

The roof is stowed away in a flush cover above the boot, and deploys in an impressive 20 seconds. However, the price paid for this is a limited amount of boot space once the roof is down.

The cabin is also more in keeping with the open motoring tradition, brighter than its predecessor and more comfortable as well. It's available in the usual three versions - Linear, Vector and Aero - all powered by the two-litre units of varying horsepower, from 175 bhp to 210 bhp in the Aero. Prices start at €48,500 ex-works for the 150 bhp 1.8t Linear and €50,000 for the 2.0t 175 bhp; Vector prices are €54,500 and €55,950; and the 210 bhp 2.0T Aero comes at €60,650.