By Justin Lee

BANKING ON PRODUCING safe cars has clearly paid off for Saab with the 9-3 sedan winning U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) top honours for the luxury segment for the fifth consecutive year.

IIHS awards vehicles with ratings of good, acceptable, marginal, or poor based on their performance in high-speed front and side impact crash tests plus evaluations of seat and head restraints for protection against neck injuries. Winning vehicles must earn good ratings in all three tests and offer electronic stability control.

In 2007, the 9-3 sedan earned the Top Safety Pick Award, and in 2006 it earned the Top Safety Pick – Gold Award. The 9-3 also received a Double Best Pick crash-test rating in 2005.

The institute began crash testing convertibles in 2007 and the 9-3 Convertible took top spot in the inaugural year of testing. This is the third year running that the 9-3 Convertible has earned the Top Safety Pick Award.

Head of safety at Saab Automobile AB in Sweden Per Lenhoff said Saab is delighted that these IIHS findings confirm their own crash test results.

“This reassures consumers that the 9-3 is among the very best in its class for crash safety,” he added.