Saab 9-5 gets another nip and tuck

The car's reprofiled beak is said to be inspired by the 9X concept, unveiled at the 2001 Frankfurt show, but there also appear to be some Subaru-esque design elements -- not entirely surprising, given the close relationship between the two GM stablemates. An unusual (make that weird) touch is the mini-grille that flanks each of the headlights.

Its engine line-up will be largely as is now, but the range-topping Aero's 2.3-litre turbo four is set to gain slight power and torque hikes over the current model's 184kW/350Nm engine. Unfortunately, the acclaimed Holden-sourced 2.8-litre V6 turbo unit offered in the new 9-3 SportCombi won't be available in the 9-5.

Saab says it has tweaked the chassis with the aim of sharpening responses and reducing understeer. Originally derived from GM's Vectra platform, the 9-5 received a thorough fettling in mid-2001 -- Saab claimed at the time that it had implemented 1200 improvements -- but there's no getting around the fact that this is now a distinctly long-in-the-tooth platform.

Due to be unveiled at the upcoming Frankfurt motor show, the updated model is due here in the second quarter of 2006. An all-new 9-5 replacement isn't due until about 2007-08, which means the facelifted car must soldier on for another two to three years.