Saab 9-5 Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Saab 9-5 range
Prices: £25,000-£35,000 – on the road [est] INSURANCE GROUPS: 14-18 [est]
Emissions: 139-269g/km
Performance: [2.0T XWD] top speed 143mph / 0-60mph 8.0s
Fuel Consumption: [2.0 TiD] (combined) 53.3mpg
Safety: front, side and curtain airbags, ABS, ESC [est]
Dimensions: length/width/heightmm 4600/2000/1450mm [est]

COME FLY WITH ME

Our Rating: 7.1 / 10

Saab’s latest 9-5 aims to propel it back into the executive car mainstream. Steve Walker takes a look.

The latest 9-5 is a thorough update on familiar Saab themes. The turbocharged engines and aeronautical styling devices are present and correct but so are a variety of interesting technological features. Saab will be looking to set the car up as a more individualist alternative to the German executive car options.

Saab is a company with a proud and vibrant history but it may have taken its fondness for the past a little too far with the twelve-year production run of the original 9-5. For a good few years before news of this replacement model broke, the old timer was feeling elderly in the extreme and well off the pace set by rivals in the executive car segment. In light of this, it’s hard to see a way in which the latest 9-5 could be anything but a huge step forward from its predecessor, but will its stride be long enough to close the gap to the competition?

The 9-5’s inordinate stay of execution was at least partly due to a lack of investment in the Saab brand by its then owners General Motors. Developing an executive saloon to rival the likes of BMW’s 5-Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a major financial undertaking and GM appeared to dither over committing to it. The green light was finally given, however, and this 9-5 is the result. It’s a car designed to embrace modern technology while remaining firmly in touch with the brand’s heritage. Crucially, it displays that most Saab-like of qualities - the will to do things a little bit differently.

There aren’t many surprises brewing in the 9-5 engine range, at least not for those with a passing knowledge of Saab’s form. Every unit is turbocharged, the more powerful ones have a lively turn of speed and all have been seen before in the UK powering Saab and/or Vauxhall products. More interesting is the 9-5’s method for making the most of its power. The car comes in either front-wheel-drive guise or with Saab’s acclaimed XWD all-wheel-drive system but there’s also three different suspension arrangements and Saab’s DriveSense adaptive damping control system to consider.

The entry-level 180bhp 1.6-litre turbo petrol engine and the 160bhp 2.0-litre common-rail diesel have MacPherson strut front suspension and a multi-link arrangement at the rear. Where things break with convention is in the 220bhp 2.0T petrol and the varian

Buyers of the more powerful 9-5 models can also specify the DriveSense system that allows them to select Sport, Comfort or Intelligent setting for the car’s adaptive dampers. In Intelligent mode, the system monitors the way in which the 9-5 is being driven and acts to stiffen the dampers under hard cornering or soften them up for a smoother ride at lower speeds. The technology also sharpens throttle and steering responses in line with driving conditions.

It’s never difficult to spot a Saab and the people behind the looks of the latest 9-5 had no intention of breaking with the marque’s established design language. Many of the old Saab trademarks that evolved from its aircraft manufacturing heritage are still present inside and out. The nose of the car is a progression from the 9-3 and old 9-5 models with chrome boarders for the headlamps and the large grille but there’s more subtlety in the execution. The A and B pillars are blacked out to create a wraparound effect for the glasshouse in the style of an aircraft cockpit and the roofline tapers down gently at the rear, suggesting a hatchback on what is actually a four-door saloon.

The rear view could well be the car’s most appealing with the gentle curves of the bodywork meeting in sharper creases along the boot lid and the bumper. An unbroken streak of chrome runs across the boot, connecting the light clusters and visually widening the car.

Inside that boot, there’s a 515-litre capacity and the cabin is no less generous from a space point of view. The wheelbase of this 9-5 is 134mm longer than that of its predecessor, enabling a boost to rear legroom or 58mm. Saab design cues continue inside, with the controls angled towards the driver, instruments illuminated in green and joystick controls for the air vents. The dash itself is less steep than on older Saabs but it’s still set on quite a gradient.

Even on the standard 9-5, there’s a good amount of equipment. The specification includes keyless start, six-way a