Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Not only that they both belong to the large family car segment and utilize the same 5-door wagon body style, they are even powered by the same Opel-developed petrol engine! There is not much there to point us towards one vehicle or the other. Or is it?

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the SAAB being a slightly better choice apparently. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the German car offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, all the models observed together. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of SAAB, as well as Opel, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank 9-3 as average reliability-wise, and Vectra is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as these two vehicles rank it on average as 3.9 out of 5.

SAAB is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.9 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 225 kilometers per hour, 3km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Swedish car, averaging around 8.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (34 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 11% difference compared to the German car.

SAAB appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the Swedish car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with SAAB being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but SAAB. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.