27 August 2009 - 15:00
Saab 9-5: properly officially real
Having seen the new 9-5 escape merrily onto the interweb a few weeks ago, Saab has now released official photos of its Ford Mondeo rival for careful perusal by your own eyes.
The 9-5 arrives in the UK next spring to replace the current model, which has reached a geriatric 12 years of age. It is based heavily on Insignia underpinnings, and will be powered by a range of GM-sourced engines fettled for a little extra power.
Expect 1.6- and 2.0-litre turbo petrols, along with a 300bhp V6 and a pair of 2.0-litre turbodiesels developing 160bhp and 190bhp.
Inevitably, the new 9-5 is considerably bigger than the outgoing car, growing in length by around 15cm, though only gaining around 50kg in weight.
Saab says it will not offer the 9-5 in hatchback form - the Insignia, remember, is available as a five-door - but has confirmed that an estate version will arrive later next year, expected to account for around 40 per cent of sales.
The 9-5 gets plenty of traditional Saab styling cues, from the egg-crate vents and green-hued instruments on the inside to the faux-wraparound windscreen and ‘hockey stick' kink to the rear pillar on the outside.
We particularly like those ‘ice effect' rear light clusters, and we're delighted to see the 9-5's traditional chrome sunglasses have been toned down a little, if not removed completely.
The 9-5 saloon will go on sale in two- and four-wheel-drive flavour early next year. Expect prices to be expressed in pound and also Euros.
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I think if I had £20-25,000 to spend on a new 4-door saloon, and judged purely based on looks alone, I would avoid the Saab dealership at all costs. I'm slightly ambivalent about the 9-3 but with this there is no question as to how much I dislike this car's looks.
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I like the front. Awful wheels. The rear overhang is a bit large for my liking.
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i looked at an old 9000 parked beside the 9-5 (not this one) and there were plenty of similarities it really made the 9-5 look old this should spruce things up for saab nicely. it is far better than the insignia because i dont like the soft styling of the insignia. i also hope saabs 1980's build quality comes back because under gm ownership they were not as tough as old models.
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I think it's a handsome thing. I like it in the same way as I like an A5 - a fairly anonymous, even plain, but very smart suit of a car. The interior looks particularly good too. It's big problem? You would have to get it in that silver because of the Dame Edna specs. They REALLY need to bin them altogether.......
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it looks a bit strange but the overall it's good. the best thing of it it's that it's not another audi-look-a-like sedan. Buy alfas, buy jags, buy saabs, buy somenthing else than black german sedan.
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Looks nice and comfortable inside... but quite frankly bloody awful from the outside!!
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The car is huge!!! I've been standing next to it and is way to big... and that tail, way too long!! You know what?? Buy one in white and call it moby dick!!
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Dame Edna's ditched her spectacles then, looks much better than the last one but will there be a hot version like the insignia VXR?
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hopefully those cool exhausts will be real and not like the ones in the mazda 6
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look at that front end but saab is now owned by Koenigsegg so are we going to see a v10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 engine in this and a rear wing
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I still think the rear windscreen starts too early and makes the rear end look stretched.
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twojags, the most Koenigsegg-ish it's likely to get is a Hot Aero version with twin superchargers and fettled suspension. Probably with GM AWD from the Insignia VXR.
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Thank you Topgear for the Insignia remarks, Anyone care to think the reason the Insignia has won European car of the year is because GM has had a bunch of SAAB engineers helping OPEL design a car that can go around a corner without huge amounts of under steer? GM AWD system in the VXR is SAAB's XWD system which was developed in conjunction with HALDEX (Without the knowledge of GM until it was too late). The Insignia is a great car but unfortunately GM isn't and the comments just come across derogatory of SAAB. I think SAAB is looking at taking on larger Luxury vehicles like the S-class and 7-Series with BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 pricing for this car. At over 5m in length this is a Limo for the financially conscious that understand that tuning up in a brash 'F-k me I got money' status symbol is not politically savvy these days. Personally I think the car looks too much like an A6, which should be a negative comment but it's also like saying a Jag XK looks too much like a DB9.
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^ How in the hell is this a S-Class rival? It's 5m long, whereas the WHEELBASE of a bic Merc is MORE than 5m. (Saab = 5009mm, Merc wheelbase = 5035/5165mm [SWB/LWB]). It's a 5-Series rival, just like the last.
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SAAB's strategy is often times a bit "off" and their timing is usually poor. And for 15 years, they have been starved. Their goal is usually to set the bar in the middle and not try harder. I don't think they are even trying to get new customers. They need to really get a hit with this product, but I think they have their strategy all backwards, and won't make it.
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buy an insignia and go on holiday with the change
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SAAB IS AWEOSME. We are geeting one
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PetrolheadViper commented on this article
27 August 2009
Nice interior and nice back end. Front still needs a bit of work though.
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