Saab 9-5 Saloon 1997 - 2005

Saab’s 9-5 is an executive car that slips under the radar more often than it should.  It’s often overlooked for the likes of BMW and Audi, and while it could be argued that is understandable, the big Swede is priced more competitively than it’s German rivals, but still feels high quality for both drivers and passengers alike.  Unfortunately we only got to drive the 2.3 turbo automatic, but it certainly gave us a flavour for what the Saab can do.

At first glance the 9-5 looks refined and lean.  On the inside the seats are very comfortable with decent levels of leg room front and back, although rear headroom could have been more generous.  The front seats offer an authentic drivers position to the occupants and remain comfortable even for long journeys.  The back seats have an armrest that pulls down and therefore the middle seat is probably for short journeys only, unless the occupant is young.  The seats front and rear have heated options which are good for those winter mornings.

Once you pull off you have a completely different perspective of the car.  While it looks quite statesmen like, albeit purposeful, but on the road the model that we drove was fast.  The 0 - 60 time was 7.5 seconds and the top speed was 146 mph.  The sports button on the gearsitck give a quicker throttle response and hold the car in the gear it’s in for longer to ensure the car’s in it’s power band for the optimum time.  The handling was reasonably assured, although the feedback through the steering wheel was limited.  Cornering is reasonable and the 9-5 holds the road well, although there was a tendency to understeer.  This felt as if it was down to the weight of the car as much as anything.  The fuel consumption quoted was 31 mpg but we had trouble getting much better than 25, although we weren’t thinking about economy when driving.

The boot space was very big and the boot shaped to be extremely useful.  The tool kit that was tucked in to the side of the boot was a nice touch, although the spare wheel was a temporary one.  The sound system was built in and offered good sounds with CD, radio and tape available. Once in the car there was little intrusion from the outside world, although the engine could roar nicely if pushed.

The Saab 9-5 may not have quite the same kudos as some of it’s German rivals, but it costs less and offers an engaging drive.  They can be picked up on the used market at quite low costs, presenting a lot of car for the money, an indication of it's trouble with depreciation.  Costly to run though, so you may well end up paying no matter how you buy...

Leave a comment

Type into the box below