The seats in our old 2003 Vector were a bit "cheap", but they had the cloth centres and the leather was thin.
The seats in the Carlsson are made of much thicker leather and feel a lot better. Although I find the 9-3 seat base is a bit short for me. The headrest goes a lot higher than the one in the 9-5, so I find it better for me, but I'm an odd shape. 6'-1" with relatively short legs and a long body. I can't fit in a car with a sunroof...
My friend is a similar age to me, 70 years old, and really likes the 9-3X. He has come from an Alfa 156 and his wife has a BMW 320 convertible, but prefers the Saab for longer drives. He doesn't find the handling a problem. He's investigating getting a remap to take advantage of the way it goes!!