The Saab 9-5: A Luxury Sedan that Falls Short of Expectations
The Saab 9-5 is a luxury sedan that replaces a model that was on sale unchanged for about a dozen years, an extremely long time in the modern competitive automotive world. The new 9/5 shares its platform with the Buick LaCrosse and Regal sedans, like those Buicks. It's a significant development for Saab, as it marks a major step forward for the brand.
The Saab 9-5 rides well, being fairly nimble in steering, with responsive handling and decent feedback. However, this is somewhat offset by the fact that the steering effort can be a bit high at parking lot speeds, making it less than ideal for everyday driving. Furthermore, the ride quality of the Saab is not what's expected in a $46,000 sedan. The Saab rides stiffly, transmitting bumps as hard hits, and overall, the ride motions are quick and abrupt.
One feature that seems out of place in this price class is the turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which sounds wheezy. While performance is decent, it doesn't match that of most V6 engines. In fact, there isn't even any mileage advantage over many other sedans with V6 engines, and some can match the Saab's fuel economy and are even faster. Moreover, a V6 engine can be had in the Saab but only with all-wheel-drive, which adds to its expense.
Another aspect of the Saab 9-5 that's less than ideal is its visibility. The wraparound front windshield is small, while the roof pillars are thick, making it hard to see out of the car. Additionally, the upward sweeping belt line shrinks the size of the windows, further diminishing the view. Furthermore, despite having an optional navigation system in our car, there's no backup camera, which is insulting at this price point.
On a more positive note, the interior measures up to the price of the Saab 9-5. The dash and touch points are nicely padded, with detailed stitching and numerous panels of wood trim. Some traditional Saab interior features, such as joystick vent controls or night panel setting, which shuts off unneeded dashboard lights at night, can be endearing enough. However, some other quirks in the controls can be more annoying. For instance, the ignition button is on the center console, but the night panel control is placed on the dashboard right where other car companies place the ignition button.
This led to a situation where some people would try to turn off the car by pressing the night panel switch instead of the ignition button. Other problems with the controls include a jumbled mess of small low-mounted buttons and knobs for the radio and climate controls, as well as a power/lock button that's hidden on the dash.
Despite these issues, the Saab 9-5 does have some redeeming features. The large and firm front seats are well padded, with cushion support holding up well on long trips. However, shorter drivers may find the lower cushion to be a bit too long for comfort. Rear seat access is made difficult by the narrow door opening in the tall sill.
Fortunately, there's room enough for three adults in the rear, although it's not particularly spacious. On the plus side, at least the Saab has a large trunk and unlike many other luxury sedans, can fold the rear seat from our cargo space.
Overall, we weren't really impressed with the Saab 9-5. Not only does it fail to measure up to its competitors in terms of performance and features, but it's also expensive. The fact that Buicks that share its platform are both nicer and cheaper in the end is a stark reminder of where the money should be spent.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis saab 9-5 replaces a model that was on sale unchanged for about a dozen years that's an extremely long time in the modern competitive automotive world was this new 9/5 worth the weight the 95 was developed when General Motors owned Saab and it shares its platform with the Buick LaCrosse and Regal sedans like those Buicks the Saab rides well it's fairly nimble in steering's responsive with decent feedback unfortunately steering effort is a bit high at parking lot speeds however the ride is less agreeable the Saab rides stiffly and transmits bumps as hard hits the ride motions are quick and abrupt and overall the ride quality isn't what's expected in a $46,000 sedan noise levels don't measure up as well tire and wind noise levels are elevated for a vehicle in this price class what also seems out of place in this price class is our Saabs turbocharged four-cylinder engine it sounds wheezy and while performance is decent it doesn't match that of most v6 engines there isn't even any mileage advantage quite a few v6 sedans can match the Saabs fuel economy and they're faster you can get a v6 engine the Saab but only with all-wheel-drive it's hard to see out of the Saab the wraparound front windshield is small and the roof pillars are thick plus the upward sweeping belt line shrinks the size of the windows and despite having the optional navigation system in our car there's no backup camera that's insulting at this price point at least the interior measures up to the price the dash and touch points are nicely padded there's detailed stitching and there's numerous panels of wood trim you also get some of the traditional Saab interior features some of these are endearing enough like the joystick vent controls or the night panel setting which shuts off unneeded dashboard lights at night some of the other quirks are more annoying for example Saab has the ignition button on the center console which would be okay except that they place the night panel control on the dashboard right where other car companies place the ignition button that led to some of us trying to turn the car off by pressing the night panel switch there are other problems with the controls as well the radio and climate controls are a jumbled mess of small low mounted buttons and knobs and the power/lock button is way up here hidden on the dash on the plus side the large and firm front seats are well padded cushion support holds up well on long trips but shorter drivers said that the lower cushion was a bit too long for comfort rear seat access is made difficult by the narrow door opening in the tall sill there's room enough for three adults in the rear but it's not that comfortable five supports lacking and there's not that much ko room on the plus side at least the Saab has a large trunk and unlike many other luxury sedans you can fold the rear seat from our cargo space we weren't really that impressed with the saab 9-5 not only does it not measure up to the competition but it's expensive as well and the buicks that share its platform are both nicer and cheaper in the end the 9 5 isn't enough to save saab sagging fortunes in the united statesthis saab 9-5 replaces a model that was on sale unchanged for about a dozen years that's an extremely long time in the modern competitive automotive world was this new 9/5 worth the weight the 95 was developed when General Motors owned Saab and it shares its platform with the Buick LaCrosse and Regal sedans like those Buicks the Saab rides well it's fairly nimble in steering's responsive with decent feedback unfortunately steering effort is a bit high at parking lot speeds however the ride is less agreeable the Saab rides stiffly and transmits bumps as hard hits the ride motions are quick and abrupt and overall the ride quality isn't what's expected in a $46,000 sedan noise levels don't measure up as well tire and wind noise levels are elevated for a vehicle in this price class what also seems out of place in this price class is our Saabs turbocharged four-cylinder engine it sounds wheezy and while performance is decent it doesn't match that of most v6 engines there isn't even any mileage advantage quite a few v6 sedans can match the Saabs fuel economy and they're faster you can get a v6 engine the Saab but only with all-wheel-drive it's hard to see out of the Saab the wraparound front windshield is small and the roof pillars are thick plus the upward sweeping belt line shrinks the size of the windows and despite having the optional navigation system in our car there's no backup camera that's insulting at this price point at least the interior measures up to the price the dash and touch points are nicely padded there's detailed stitching and there's numerous panels of wood trim you also get some of the traditional Saab interior features some of these are endearing enough like the joystick vent controls or the night panel setting which shuts off unneeded dashboard lights at night some of the other quirks are more annoying for example Saab has the ignition button on the center console which would be okay except that they place the night panel control on the dashboard right where other car companies place the ignition button that led to some of us trying to turn the car off by pressing the night panel switch there are other problems with the controls as well the radio and climate controls are a jumbled mess of small low mounted buttons and knobs and the power/lock button is way up here hidden on the dash on the plus side the large and firm front seats are well padded cushion support holds up well on long trips but shorter drivers said that the lower cushion was a bit too long for comfort rear seat access is made difficult by the narrow door opening in the tall sill there's room enough for three adults in the rear but it's not that comfortable five supports lacking and there's not that much ko room on the plus side at least the Saab has a large trunk and unlike many other luxury sedans you can fold the rear seat from our cargo space we weren't really that impressed with the saab 9-5 not only does it not measure up to the competition but it's expensive as well and the buicks that share its platform are both nicer and cheaper in the end the 9 5 isn't enough to save saab sagging fortunes in the united states\n"
