Saab 9-5 TiD4 Vector 2011 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $71,900
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Metallic Paint $1750
Crash rating: Five-star (EuroNCAP)
Fuel: Diesel
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 6.7
CO2 emissions (g/km): 177
Also consider: Audi A6 2.0 TDI, BMW 520d, Mercedes-Benz E 220 CDI, Volvo V60 D5

Saab’s new 9-5, and the company’s fitful re-emergence into the auto market, brings more questions than answers.

Offloaded by General Motors -- who never seemed to really understand what the Saab brand stood for anyway -- to be taken under the tiny wing of Dutch automaker Spyker, Saab then became involved in a heart-stopping game of ping-pong deciding which Chinese manufacturer would be its major financial benefactor.

It finally settled into a seemingly robust financial position with two -- Pang Da Automobile and car manufacturer Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile -- although it would be right to suggest Saab is still far from being out of the woods. Production could best be described as erratic as suppliers hold out for payments amid Saab assurances that the cash injections from China will take care of outstanding debts.

As the drama unfolds in Sweden and China, Saab’s far-flung Australian outpost hangs on grimly. It has recently launched a new 9-5 flagship, and is upbeat about future models and future plans -- a not-too-easy mindset given the worrying background static from head office.

The new pride of the Saab fleet is an accomplished, individual and thoroughly competitive car to the extent that it imbues all this uncertainty with a certain sense of injustice. One doesn’t worry too much when a stable car-maker occasionally bombs out with a dodgy model, but it is a somewhat different situation when a decent, all-new car backed by plenty of company pride has a sword of Damocles constantly hanging over it.

That’s largely the case with the Saab 9-5.

In just about every way the long overdue large Saab sits right up there with its luxury market competition, better than many and priced to tempt.

Test mules were spotted many times during its development and the impressions were that this was to be a significant Saab -- undoubtedly a pretty big car and showing the styling individuality to which the company has clung resolutely ever since other interests have attempted to guide its fortunes.

Whether Saab as a car company will ever rise to heady premium-market heights is one thing; the other is that the new 9-5 is an impressive car showing very little sign of being designed, developed and built under an often-ominous cloud.

Judging the car out of this context is important for a car reviewer, but for prospective buyers the future of the car, and the company itself, is something about which assurances are needed. Investing more than $70,000 in a new car with an unsure future is not something to be done lightly, unless you are that rich it doesn’t matter, a rabid Saab enthusiast, or just plain silly.

So, what of the new 9-5 itself? Is it a car so good it has the potential to lift the company up by its bootstraps, or is it merely another contender – competent but nothing really outstanding?

After some time with a Vector TiD4 turbodiesel, we can say the new 9-5, in less fraught circumstances, would be a car to throw a serious challenge to the lower end of the luxury segment.

It is that far from its predecessor -- and so it should be, given the original was introduced to Australia in late 1997 -- that it virtually redefines the 9-5 badge.
Not only does it take on board enough new technology to compete in a tech-rich segment, it is almost a class bigger than the first 9-5. And it looks good.

All the Saab styling cues are there, from the beetle-browed windscreen to the hefty C-pillars and the iconic grille shape, all brought together in a way that gives a look of real substance. High, narrow side windows borrow something of the theme seen in the current crop of four-door “coupes” but are really more along the lines of Chrysler’s chunky 300C sedan. Pronounced wedge themes have been avoided.

Built on the long wheelbase version of GM’s Epsilon II platform, the 9-5 measures just over five metres long, which makes it longer than an E-Class Benz, BMW 5 Series or Audi A6, although at 2837mm it has a shorter wheelbase than any of its competitors. Other dimensions are pretty comparable although the Saab, with a wider body than Benz or BMW, has narrower front and rear track measurements.

The bottom line though is that the 9-5 fits comfortably in a category where all contenders already receive pretty high acclaim, with the advantage that its transverse front-drive engine layout frees more centimetres for maximising both passenger and load space. That said, the boot, while unquestionably large and well-shaped, doesn‘t quite amaze with a capacity of 513 litres. But it does offer a 60:40 split-fold back seat which makes it a very handy luggage carrier if you aren’t fully loaded with passengers.

9-5 occupants will find however that the rear seats actually do amaze. Glancing rearwards from the driver’s seat, the back seat looks a long way off, even if the driver is using a fair bit of aft adjustment. Taking up a position in the back confirms the 9-5 does indeed have almost limo-like stretching room. There’s plenty of width and leg space as passengers nestle into the comfortable, supportive leather cushions.

But although the front-seat passengers are equally as well dealt with as those up back, the 9-5 really comes home to roost where the driver is concerned.

Both front seats are heated, large and well-shaped, with plenty of power adjustment (but no memory settings in the test car) to suit any size frame. The control layout, although complex at first, actually proves to be quite intuitive and is easily adapted to.

Steering wheel buttons look after cruise control, radio and Bluetooth functions and the main instruments feature the aircraft-style lighting and presentation that remind one of the company’s aeronautical connections. And there’s the Night Panel function that kills all but the major dial lights for minimally distractive night driving. Between the seats resides the ignition switch and starter button, complete with key-free locking/unlocking and push-button engine start-up.

The standard SatNav system uses touch-screen technology and there’s a powerful Harmon Kardon 11-speaker sound system incorporating a 10GB music jukebox with a USB connection.

Remembering that this is the base 9-5, the level of standard equipment is reassuringly high. The 9-5 TiD4 Vector gets bi-Xenon headlights with washers, 17-inch alloy wheels (with a full-size steel spare), parking sensors, auto-dimming rearview mirror, dual-zone climate control and leather seats, along with six airbags and dynamic safety aids including stability control (with traction control, cornering brake control and a rollover sensor) and anti-lock brakes incorporating brake assist and electronic brakeforce distribution. All enough to give the Saab a full five-star EuroNCAP rating.

Being so well loaded, and running on the big Epsilon platform, the 9-5, not surprisingly, ends up being pretty hefty, although the TiD4 Vector, which the specifications tell us can weigh between 1725kg and 1915kg “depending on equipment”, comes in well below the top of the range Aero that tips the scales at two tonnes or more.

This would appear a major task for a 2.0-litre turbodiesel producing a mild 118kW and the claimed performance figures, which quote zero to 100km/h in 10.1 seconds, tend to confirm this. This is generally borne out on the road, although the TiD4 is not about to leave the driver in an embarrassing situation.

In a general sense, the 9-5’s diesel behaves with as much quietness and smoothness as you’d expect of a modern oil-burner, only revealing itself at lower speeds with a distant, far from intrusive clatter.

And driven at low to middling speeds, the engine’s typically strong low-speed torque (350Nm between 1750 and 2500rpm) takes care of any requests for acceleration. Only when the accelerator is tromped at higher speeds is the driver reminded that only a mildly tuned 2.0 litres are at play here.

The payoff of course is at the bowser where the big Saab returns a combined consumption figure of 6.7L/100km and emits 177g/km of CO2 -- both notably better than the already relatively efficient turbo petrol 162kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 221kW 2.8-litre V6 9-5s. Our test TiD4 averaged 7.2L/100km over a mix of urban and freeway driving.

Both diesel and petrol Vector 9-5 models drive the front wheels through a six-speed auto transmission, while the Aero gets the benefit of on-demand all-wheel drive. With the 9-5’s weight, and the relatively gentle behaviour of the TiD4 engine, it could hardly be said the car is intrusively front wheel drive. The Saab generally keeps this knowledge to itself.

With relatively quick, nicely weighted steering that swings from lock-to-lock in less than three turns, and the ready initial response of the turbodiesel, the 9-5 feels quite sporty for a big car and rides very well except for one caveat: the suspension doesn’t like small, abrupt bumps and crashes unexpectedly when it finds them. It has been reported that Saab is aware of, and has addressed this issue, although not at the time our test car came off the production line.

The general sense is one of refined competence with low road and wind noise, easy if not spirited performance and a comfortable, spacious, well fitted out cabin. Build quality didn’t draw any complaints apart from the dash area where the panel fit, in places, looked a bit underdone.

The bottom line is that Saab’s new generation 9-5 places itself neatly and comfortably into the lower end of the luxury segment and presents a brave, distinctive face in a region where only the best dare to tread.

Saab has the product. All it needs to do now is assure would-be customers it has everything in place to ensure the 9-5 will be alive and kicking as a luxury contender 12 months down the track.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site