IMPORTANT NEWS: National Electric Vehicle Sweden has agreed to buy the assets of Saab Automobile and the sale is expected to be finalized during the summer.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Saab 9-5 testing

A couple of Saab 9-5 reviews have turned up this weekend.

Car and Driver reviews the 2011 Saab 9-5 Sedan 2.0T and they seem to like it:
The 9-5’s tailored sheetmetal, approachable price, and roomy cabin provide an attractive way to enter the premium segment.  
British The Independent has test driven the upcoming Saab 9-5 Sportwagon, also known av SportCombi. I assume this is a test drive of a pre-production car. The British press was quite negative to the ride quality of the 9-5 Sedan when it first came out. Now Saab's engineers have worked to improve the suspension so that it will ride better on UK roads. And it looks like they have improved the car. The Independent especially likes the version with the two liter turbo engine and HiPer strut suspension:
That final car had the HiPer strut suspension in Sport specification, a smooth and lusty 220bhp petrol turbo engine, and standard, non-adaptive dampers. This was the one; its steering was crisp, progressive and natural, its ride was supple but controlled. This is how a 9-5 should be, even on 18in wheels, and it shows how good a 9-5 can be. Saab's own engineers like it best, and so do I.
Would it make me buy a 9-5 Sportwagon over an obvious German rival? I do believe it would, not least because it's a refreshing and worthwhile break from the default choices.
Finally a web page called Mother Proof has checked the 9-5 Sedan to see how easy it is to fit child-safety seats in the car. It seems they had to struggle a bit to fit the seats, but in the end it looks like they all was fastened. One thing to note is that they did not have to move the front passenger seat forward to fit the rear-facing child-safety seat.