Automotive Fleet
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan Named “Best Pick” in IIHS Crash Test

Saab’s safety philosophy helped earn the 2003 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan a “Best Pick” designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). In the most recent series of 40-mph frontal offset crash tests, IIHS tested seven new or redesigned vehicles, including the 2003 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan.

by Staff
September 29, 2003
2 min to read


Saab’s safety philosophy helped earn the 2003 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan a “Best Pick” designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). In the most recent series of 40-mph frontal offset crash tests, IIHS tested seven new or redesigned vehicles, including the 2003 Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan. The Saab was one of five vehicles that earned the Institute’s “Best Pick” honor in this round of testing. The crashworthiness test evaluates vehicles on three primary elements: • Ability of the structural cage to protect the occupant compartment. • Risk of occupant injury. • How well occupant movement is controlled by the vehicle’s restraint system. The Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan received the highest possible rating of "good" in all three categories. Among the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan’s standard safety features are adaptive, dual-stage front airbags, side-impact airbags engineered into the front seats, seat belts featuring crash pre-tensioners and load limiters, and Saab’s Active Head Restraint (SAHR 2). In a rear-end collision, the SAHR system is designed to limit an occupant’s head movement during the impact, helping reduce the risk of whiplash injuries. In addition to the seat-mounted side-impact airbags, the Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan also features side-curtain airbags that deploy from the ceiling, offering protection to front and rear occupants. The side-curtain airbags are activated in side impacts and also in severe frontal impacts, when stage 2 activation of the front airbags is deployed. The side-curtain airbags remain inflated for up to three seconds in order to help prevent a passenger’s head from striking the side windows, roof pillars or exterior objects during the course of an impact sequence. This added protection is especially effective during an offset frontal crash, as the IIHS test duplicates, when the vehicle rotates after the collision.

Topics:Operations

More Operations

Automotive Fleet news graphic featuring a woman pointing to the headline, “From AI Prompts to AI-Generated Safety Songs,” against a blue background.
Operationsby Faith HowellSeptember 4, 2026

From AI Prompts to AI-Generated Safety Songs | AF News Recap

Can better prompts make AI more useful for fleet managers? This week, we’re breaking down smarter fleet analysis, an AI-assisted experiment that turned safety training into music, and what happened to fuel prices in August.

Read More →
Interviewee photo and quote from her
Operationsby Chris BrownSeptember 1, 2026

How to Write Better AI Prompts for Fleet Analysis

Include these six elements in your fleet prompts to generate more relevant analysis and accurate answers.

Read More →
A Fleet Meets blue, red, and teal graphic with Eric Kilgore's headshot, title, and company.
Operationsby Faith HowellAugust 21, 2026

Fleet Meets: Eric Kilgore

This edition of the Fleet Meets series features one of the industry's best leaders driving multi-market and national operations.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
fleetio coast pay cost
SponsoredAugust 13, 2026

Why Reactive Fleet Management Is Becoming Too Expensive to Sustain

Research highlights a growing need for proactive management strategies to address rising costs in fleet operations effectively.

Read More →
"Element Mobility report cover with a utility fleet truck and the title 'What your fleet KPIs aren't telling you.'"
SponsoredAugust 12, 2026

What Your Fleet KPIs Aren’t Telling You

Tracking fleet metrics is only useful when the data leads to better decisions. This guide helps fleet leaders assess cost, utilization, and downtime more accurately, identify performance gaps, and prioritize the actions that can improve operational results.

Read More →
Cover of the AgileFleet white paper "Hidden in Plain Sight: Fleet Compliance Risks" with the AgileFleet logo and a photo of fleet vehicles parked outside a government building.
SponsoredAugust 7, 2026

Hidden in Plain Sight: Fleet Compliance Risks

Fleet compliance isn't just about having policies — it's about consistently enforcing them. This practical guide reveals six hidden compliance risks common in public sector and shared fleet operations and outlines proven strategies to improve visibility, accountability, and audit readiness

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Turning Fleet Payment data into executive insights blue podcast thumbnail
OperationsAugust 5, 2026

Turning Fleet Payment Data into Executive Insights

Does data alone drive results in operations?

Read More →
Graphic promoting Automotive Fleet's 2026 Personal Use Survey with the text "Have a Personal Use Policy? We Want to Know!" encouraging fleet managers to complete the annual industry survey.
Operationsby StaffAugust 5, 2026

Automotive Fleet Opens 2026 Personal Use Survey for Commercial Fleet Managers

Commercial and corporate fleet managers are invited to share how their organizations handle company vehicle personal-use policies, charges, and driver eligibility.

Read More →
Gary Van Orden Retirement
Operationsby Jeanny AbrahamJuly 31, 2026

Gary Van Orden Retires After Nearly Four Decades in Commercial Fleet

From answering customer calls at Ford Motor Company to leading fleet sales across multiple OEMs and a fleet management company, Gary Van Orden's career reflects nearly four decades of leadership in commercial fleet.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
an Automotive Fleet podcast thumbnail
OperationsJuly 31, 2026

How Stellantis Plans to Get Ahead of Fleet Downtime

Vehicle acquisition may grab the headlines, but fleet uptime increasingly determines operating success. Darren Bradshaw of ‪Mopar‬ North America gives the details.

Read More →