Testing cars at altitude can be frustrating ? especially when you compare your figures with those claimed by manufacturers. Mostly they do make sense, knowing that our figures should be lower due to our low-grade fuels and more so our 17 to 20 percent oxygen-depleted atmosphere on the Reef.

Turbo-assisted engines get away with this bugbear by adding more boost at altitude and concomitantly, more oxygen. At the coast, turbochargers will reduce boost via clever waste-gates in an effort to reduce compression loads for the sake of durability.

Common knowledge is that at the coast, turbo-assisted cars should be some 3.0 to 5.0 percent quicker than at Reef altitudes. But not so with the SAAB Aero ? it proved 0.70 seconds quicker to 100km/h on the Reef ? 7.4 seconds compared to the factory-claimed 8.1. Confusing to say the least.

Other than that the V6 is now much sweeter engine than the lumpy in-line-five, especially at idling speed where it?s a honey by comparison. What surprises though is SAAB was one of the originators of the 'downsizing' philosophy, now a prime objective of automakers ? what with the high cost of fuel and the aims of lowering fuel consumption and unwanted exhaust emissions. In fact, GM has now decided to eliminate larger cubic capacity engines in an effort to achieve such results.

Road holding is good, the 'tracking four-link rear and front MacPherson strut suspension with light alloy lower swing arms offering improved road feel and more responsive road holding characteristics... keeping in mind it is a convertible. As with any convertible, no matter how hard manufacturers try, chassis flex is still a problem and scuttle shake still in evidence. And when chassis flex is part of big power and torque outputs, torque-steer remains a negative issue.

But, then again, does anyone but the true petrol-head really bother about such matters? To 'convertible converts' it?s more about 'open sky above' and 'whistling wind' issues. Furthermore, even though the SAAB looks good with the top up, it looks better with it down, the metamorphosis being achieved effortlessly via a single button.

The cabin is in smart Scandinavian minimalism style ? good-looking without being overdone. In fact the pleasing and flowing lines of the exterior are well reflected in the interior. As mentioned, the automatic soft-top operates fully at the push of a button and deploys speedily, especially for those unforeseen squalls. And, just in case, the seat upholstery is water repellent.

Smooth revving, there is little turbo lag discernable the inter-cooled twin-scroll water-cooled Mitsubishi TDO4-15TK turbocharger with waste-gate doing the job well. Mated to the slick SAAB Sentronic automatic transmission with sequential manual gearshift the shift lever can be moved across the gate to the 'manual' Sentronic mode, with which 'up' and 'down' changes can be made with full lock-up in third ,fourth, fifth and sixth gears. This process can be taken a step further by the option of steering wheel buttons that offer F1-style gear changing.