Another in a series of my reviews that appeared in the online version of African Americans On Wheels, a now defunct automotive magazine that was included as an insert in the Sunday newspapers of major cities.
I remember two things about the 9-5. First, I had never before experienced ventilated seats. According to my wife, it was like getting an air enema. The second thing was taking the car up to Frederick, MD, to visit some friends of my parents, Les and Judi. We had lunch together, then I drove all of us to Antietam National Battlefield, which Les and Judi thought we would really enjoy. When we arrived, Les and Judi sat on a bench and told us to walk around. We asked them if they’d like to walk around with us, and they said that they’d been to the battlefield many times before and were bored with it. OK. We didn’t want to leave them on the bench by themselves for very long, so we spent about 15 minutes walking around and drove Les and Judi home. That was the last time we saw Les and Judi.
Please take my first line below in the context of the time. The Opel Vectra-based 900 (later 9-3) was well received and the 9-5 was considered an improvement over the 9000. However, GM only owned 50% of Saab and was not able to fully influence product decisions. When GM purchased the remaining 50% in 2000, they proceeded to fully screw up Saab. Apparently, anything with a Saab-like grille and an ignition located in the console qualified as a Saab, including Subaru Imprezas and Chevrolet Trailblazers.
With the all-new 9-5, it can be safely said that GM hasn’t screwed up Sweden’s Saab. As Ford has done with Jaguar, GM has provided mainly funds and assistance and left the majority of the engineering and styling to Saab. Thus, the new 9-5 has total “Saabness.”
The 9-5 replaces the 9000 at the top of Saab’s two-model range and is aimed just above the entry-level luxury field, where the Volvo S80, Audi A6, Acura 3.2TL, and the BMW 528i reside. Unlike the 9000, the 9-5 is only available as a sedan, although a wagon will soon join the lineup.
Buyers classically like the unique and quirky styling of Saabs, and the 9-5, with its Saab-family grill, up-swept beltline, steeply raked rear window, and thick C-pillars continue that tradition. Inside, the ignition is exactly where Saab buyers expect it: in the console behind the shifter. Drivers are enclosed in a cockpit-like environment where every control is at your fingertips. The 9-5 also comes with a “night panel” setting in which only the first 85 MPH of the speedometer are visible to help the “pilot” concentrate solely on the vehicle’s speed without distractions, with the darkened gauges showing only when necessary. Other interesting features of our test car include heated and ventilated front seats to stymie complaints of clammy leather in the summer, but the sensation takes a little getting used to. Rear passengers also have heated seats as well as plenty of head and leg room. The trunk is cavernous.
An asymmetrically turbocharged V6 that uses a light-pressure turbo on one bank of cylinders to provide power to both is standard on the SE. While most V6s in this class provide the same 200 horsepower, the 9-5’s, working hand-in-hand with the standard four-speed automatic transmission, feels more powerful. Handling and ride are what you’d expect from a European sports-sedan: excellent.
The only complaints are front seats that don’t grip you like the seats of a sports sedan should, and engine noise that passengers found intrusive.
The 9-5 will make Saab fans happy, but its styling, power, and features will probably draw other buyers into the Saab “cult” as well.
For more information contact 1-800-582-SAAB
SPECIFICATIONS
Type:4-Door Sedan
Engine:200-horsepower, 3.0-liter Turbocharged V6
Transmission:4-speed Automatic
EPA Mileage:18 city/26 highway
Tested Price:$38,870
I quite liked these, especially the wagon. For some reason, back then, I always considered them a half-step below the Audi A6 and BMW 5-series and likely unfairly the Volvo S80, but perhaps half a step above the Acura TL. The seats though were very comfortable and there was certainly enough interior space along with attractive materials and colors. These still show up regularly in junkyards, usually in decent shape bodywise although the seats look quite worn, especially the versions with the little ventilation holes. There are also a couple (but later versions) in my neighborhood adding more variety to the automotive landscape.
Good review!
Hey Adam- from the other Adam around here, thanks again for sharing this. Enjoyable as always.
Never had a 9-5 but did have multiple 9000. Learned to drive on my mom’s 1988 2.0 5MT. I had a 1988 9000 2.0T 4AT and a 1987 9000 2.0 4AT, plus a few others in the UK I bought/ sold as flippers. IMHO the 2.0 light pressure turbo is the best all around: the 2.3T pulls like a bloody train but just too much for the chassis and FWD. Solid comfortable cars, but the ZF auto box was garbage. I’ll never forget seeing my turbo housing glowing red hot on a fuel stop. 😳… and no, the oil wasn’t low, we had just been driving the car at high speeds for a long time 🙃
Thank you for an interesting reading. The little Saab-specific things appeal to me. I would love to experience a Saab properly and preferably drive one, since my only time was in a passenger seat of a first gen 9-3, being chauffeured in an overly intoxicated state from a house party in Finland. We remember only little from the party (Roosa, the stunning blonde birthday girl, drove a Mercedes W124 wagon. As soon as I discovered this, I asked my friend if they sell engagement rings in a supermarket!) and my friend was surprised I remembered what car we rode to our place.
Few days ago, since I was supposed to study for my exams, I stumbled upon a dark blue 9-5 with an interesting history – at first in the service of the Prague Castle (seat of the Czech Republic’s president) and then in the service of Czech Secret Service. Sadly, its original license plates, which I’m a sucker for in all possible vehicles, are no more used. The ad is written in Czech, but I’ll post it anyway.
https://auto.bazos.cz/inzerat/119890708/saab-9-5-vladni-special.php
How much are they asking for that Saab?
119 000 CZK is now ~$4700. And that in my humble opinion is a bit overpriced.
I feel like you (and many writers) are a little harsh on GM compared to where SAAB really was in 1990. I’ve often heard of the frustration they had with GM, but it cuts both ways. Despite their variations selling for 2x or more relative to the Opel, they managed to engineer the profit out at every turn. You see these in junkyards because things like the fiber optic systems get glitchy that shouldn’t have been there to begin with. These were comfortable enhancements applied to a competent Vectra, then made too weird And expensive to be used indefinitely like older SAABs and Volvos for that matter. It’s a nice car, but it’s not GM’s fault it didn’t dominate the market.
I disagree. If you read the article, I complement GM in the review. It’s in the preface that I trash GM for what they did with SAAB in the 2000’s. They tried too hard to take SAAB mainstream with their bread-and-butter cars – the 9-3 and 9-5 – then tarnished the brand with rebadge jobs. This accomplished alienating most of their loyal customers while failing to bring in new customers. They just didn’t understand what made SAAB unique.
The original GM-era 900 was not very well-received. I drove one (moons ago), directly after trying a late SAAB of the old type: it felt most ordinary indeed.
I recall that the updated and strengthened 9-3 was better-liked, but not anything especially special. And this 9-5 was built on the Vectra platform too, but widened. I haven’t driven one, and don’t recall any outstanding reviews, just an impression of decent competence that receded as the car aged over its long lifespan.
Your review seems to reflect similar sentiments of non-committance. For the considerable money charged, there were better cars.
I giggled at the comment about air enemas. It’s normally the other way round for standard car seats, really, so SAAB did at least do one thing truly different.
Regarding the 9-3, I remember the reverse. My boss had a early 900 Vectra-based hatchback and loved it. While it was in for servicing, he sat in a 9-3 (first generation, which was just an updated 900), and noticed the interior felt significantly cheaper. Maybe SAAB/GM cheapened the smaller 9 to help pay for the bigger 9? Who knows.
I had a UK-spec 9-3 (year model 2000, 2.0 LPT, 5MT) as my daily driver for about a year. That car carried me across Europe to my university graduation in Heidelberg (DE) from Cambridge (UK) and back. It was definitely a Saab with Saab idiosyncrasies and comforts. Admittedly also beset with GM2900 platform squeaks and rattles, but still a solid enjoyable car. Sadly I sold to a friend and it was stolen and chopped within a few months.