CARDIFF-based dealer, Concept Saab, can now boast a five star range as EuroNCAP has awarded the Saab 9-3 Convertible with a maximum safety rating - the first ever soft-top car to achieve this.

The latest round of crash test results, released by the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP), provides motoring consumers with a realistic and entirely independent assessment of the safety performance of this stunning model.

"We always knew that the 9-3 Convertible would live up to Saab's high standards for safety," said Gary Clay, dealer principal at Concept Saab. "We're delighted with this latest endorsement from EuroNCAP, which comes at a great time for us as people start to consider convertibles for the summer".

Saab's reputation for driver safety has been cultivated over a number of years and is based on Saab's 'real life' safety philosophy, which Saab calls upon when developing safety features for real life collisions. The 9-3 Convertible was developed alongside its saloon sibling and, despite its drophead design, Saab engineers adopted the same crash safety performance targets for both products.

These latest accolades for the 9-3 Convertible follow hot on the heels of the Sporting Open Top Award, which was presented to Saab at this year's Motor Show by the Institute of Vehicle Engineers. Saab beat off stiff competition from Audi, BMW and Mercedes models to take the title.

For further information on the award-winning Saab 9-3 Convertible visit Concept Saab in Penarth Road. For further information on EuroNCAP visit www.euroncap.com.