If any car is the true icon of a convertible, it is probably the Saab 9-3. It seems to have been there forever, and the fact that in some European markets it holds half the market share for the genre is itself a testament to its perceived position. But in fact, the 9-3 Convertible has only been wheeling about for 20 years, although the company did show a concept soft-top - the Sonnet - as far back as 1956 at the Stockholm Motor Show. Probably not the biggest automotive showcase, that.

Fast forward to 1983, and the much bigger platform of the Frankfurt Motor Show, and a 900-based 4-seater opentop was the subject of many admiring glances. It wasn't spartan, either, with electric power to work the hood. Still, it took another three years before the company built a limited run of 400 to sell in the US, a country with a strong tradition of cars to pose in. Twelve months later there was a 2-year waiting list.

Generation 2 of the Convertible was revealed in 1993, and a year later actually got its European launch in Ireland. It doesn't seem that long ago that I drove one up from the launch base in Limerick to Dublin, which is what the Irish motoring journalists got to do after all the international guys had circuited from base up through the Burren to Galway, stopping off for lunch at Morans of the Weir!

A really important car for Saab, accounting for 24 per cent of total car production between 1994-2002, it has achieved an annual share of 30 per cent of the premium convertible market across Europe and the US combined.

Now we have the new one, revealed at the recent Geneva Motor Show and 'catching up' on its latest 9-3 Sport Saloon, with a few tricks of its own. And if the outgoing version was considered at its conception to be the defining luxury segment Convertible, a few hundred miles of driving it in its native Sweden has got me thinking there's a completely new level to be aimed for by the competition.

We're already familiar with some of the power units and underpinnings: the 175 and 210 bhp versions of the 2-litre engine, differentiated by their turbocharging. And though it wasn't mentioned at the international launch, I'm told there WILL be a 150 bhp version for the Irish market, in line with the engine range used in the Sports Saloon.

At first glance, the new car might not seem so different stylistically, but that's a credit to the design department at Saab, who have managed to retain all the familiar cues and yet provide a totally fresh car. Viewed side by side with the older version, you see the differences. Otherwise there's a complete sense of continuity.

So who would buy a convertible at this level, especially in a climate like Ireland's? And why, if there are apparently relatively few days when you could use it? Funny thing is, the biggest open-top car markets are NOT the sunniest countries, but places like Germany and Britain. Perhaps out of a desire to make the most of any sunlight that does happen. And my recent encounter with the latest 9-3 Convertible was in conditions of some sun and mostly cloud. But all of it with the top down, as it should be.

Saab make a strong point of the latest Convertible being an 'all season' car. They were also very anxious to find out how we liked it on a long run, because sometimes the combination of 'scuttle shake' and less-than-best seating can make this kind of car a pain in the distance. For a start, the scuttle shake problem endemic in convertibles (because the lack of a roof normally drastically reduces the torsional stiffness of such cars, even with extra stiffening of the sills) seems to have been licked by Saab. They've achieved both by the extensive use of ultra-high strength steel and an integrated additional strengthening system linking the front, rear and side structures. Secondly, the seats are perhaps the best Saab has ever made.

So the car feels just like the Sport Saloon in driving terms.

OK, it's a little harder on the hair, maybe a problem for those with more than I've got. There's a raisable windshield behind the front seats if there are only two people on board, the other bit of it a neat cover to hide anything left on the back seats. If there are four people in, the back ones presumably act as the windbreaker.

If rain does happen, the electric roof can be put in place with the press of a single button, in just 20 seconds. AND that can be accomplished while the car is moving at up to 30 km/h. Which could cause some funny looks as you tootle along O'Connell St. And if there's a shower while the car is parked with the roof down, the seat fabrics are treated to be water repellant, so there won't be too much drying out to be done.

People buy convertibles largely for emotional reasons. With Saabs there may also be a separate strong emotional element of the traditional ethos of Saab itself. Different. Powerful. Strong from a country of many extremes. In Europe particularly, Saab buyers tend to be professional people, successful, and with higher educational qualifications than those who buy competing cars in the segment.

"They're progressive, with a liking for fine design, but they don't want to be associated with the usual status symbols," one of their marketing people put it. And in Ireland, the bulk of Saab Convertible buyers in recent years - there are about 130 of them annually - have gone for the more upmarket SE version, currently priced at around E49,500. They've increasingly been going, too, for automatic transmission.

When the new one comes at the end of October, they'll be getting a car that steps them up - if they are already previous Convertible customers. And if they are newcomers to the brand and the genre, they may well be very surprised at what they've put their money down for.

I can't tell you much about the engines most of them will have, because in Sweden we only got to drive the 210 bhp Aero option, which naturally spoilt us. But I have no doubt the new Convertible will stir the emotions in any format.