Just done a first 'proper' road test in my life and like to share with you ppl. It's a SAAB 9-5 SportKombi 1.9 TiD Auto Vector. Please feel free to discuss cause it's really important to me now !
tinyurl.rzeszow.net/?show=1281
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Free enterprise is the basis of western democracy.
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Good Test, it's an ugly mother though with them chrome eyebrows.
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Oh you cynic you!
Great discussion of the merits (or none) of a Saab - I agree with you 100%.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Good pics. I went to see a pre facelift 05 plate (10k) 2.2TiD Linear Sport a few months ago. The plastics used are pretty airfix - scratched keyhole like your picture. The one I looked at also had rusty wheelbolts as well.
Considering SAAB are part of GM and are supposedly a premium brand, their choice of materials isn't even as good as Vauxhall.
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The one I looked at also had rusty wheelbolts as well.
'Mine' had them too, on every wheel. Look at this:
img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rust7it.jpg
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Free enterprise is the basis of western democracy.
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yes - that's what I noticed
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The dealer has just called. Offered 20% off any 9-5 I fancy. I'm sure that after a little chit-chat he would offer even more %. There's a little problem, though. I can feel no tempation whatsoever.
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Free enterprise is the basis of western democracy.
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And I can assure you that after owning a Saab and test driving a 9-3, I have no further temptation either. They have totally lost their way, and can only make proto-Saabs with ignition switches between the seats, rather than a real Saab. Volvo do much better under Ford than Saab have under GM.
The latest facelift of the 9-5 smacks of desperation to keep selling a car that's well past its sell-by date. Remember Rover?
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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The latest facelift of the 9-5 smacks of desperation to keep selling a car that's well past its sell-by date. Remember Rover?
IIRC, doesn't the 9-5 share some lineage, if not basic structure with the 9000 introduced in the late eighties?
S6 1SW
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IIRC, doesn't the 9-5 share some lineage, if not basic structure with the 9000 introduced in the late eighties?
Not much more than the engines and noble heritage, unfortunately. The 9000 was the last pre-GM design.
However, I still think the pre-2006 facelifted 9-5 is better looking than the latest 5-series...takes cover and runs....but I admit to some small bias.
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Not much more than the engines and noble heritage, unfortunately. The 9000 was the last pre-GM design. >>
Which reminds me that before I was a Chartered Surveyor, I was a polymer scientist and worked in Leyland for a rubber company that made the bump stops that stopped the boot lid in the 9000 from swinging into the rear screen and smashing it....Sorbothane it was called and was an impact absorbing polyurethane you could also put in shoes and cycle shorts!
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I was a polymer scientist and worked in Leyland for a rubber company that made the bump stops that stopped the boot lid in the 9000 from swinging into the rear screen and smashing it....Sorbothane it was called and was an impact absorbing >> polyurethane you could also put in shoes and cycle shorts!
There could have been an easier way... these days they just use special hinges, I guess ?
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Free enterprise is the basis of western democracy.
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That is without a doubt the ugliest nose since the last version of the Ford Scorpio.
Agree with Espada - the difference between GM's and Ford's stewardship of individual brands couldn't be more different. Despite the parts bin approach, Aston Martins, Volvos, Jaguars and Land Rovers still have the same qualities that have always attracted their buyers. Saabs on the other hand represent all that is bad about badge engineering. And yes, I have driven a recent 9-3 and 9-5.
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I heard the Saab 9-5 had won a prize of some sort in the US... or a satisfaction survey... about 3-4 years ago ? Safest car sold in the US ever... ?
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Free enterprise is the basis of western democracy.
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Thank you Vincent. As a former Saab owner, I have continued to feel some enthusiasm for the marque. However, you interesting review, those ludicrous 'spectacles' and a short lie-down, and I am now fully cured!
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nortones2: it's a motoring forum, so we really shouldn't go with such a debate here, but... I don't care about politics. I care about the economy. I'm self-employed and enjoy it a lot.
My note is not a political one... at least that's not what I meant. But maybe you're right in the end, maybe I should change it.
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Free enterprise is the basis of western democracy.
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nortones2: ok, changed 'democracy' to 'economy'...
now back to motoring - I guess I heard it on Top Gear about 3-4 years ago ? Specifically, that the 9-5 had won a prize of some sort in the US... or a satisfaction survey... Safest European car sold in the US ever... ?
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Free enterprise is the basis of western economy.
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It's the Dame Edna of all cars.
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Looks better in silver IMO.
The last Saab that stirred my soul was the 99 Turbo. What a car, turbo lag or not.
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DO you think some company will make a kit to cover over the chrome bits at the front because the next car we're getting is a 1.9 diesel.
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Wait a sec... are you serious ?
Are you really, really serious or is my ability to understand written English so bad ? You're not going to buy this car, are you ?
However, if you really have to, choose a silver one so those chrome bits would mix with the paint.
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Free enterprise is the basis of western economy.
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Well we've got one of the older veriety anyway and like it alot.
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When people say that Gm have ruined it and that it's not a true saab, well the 9000 was a joint effort from saab, lancia and someone else that I can't remember.
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When people say that Gm have ruined it and that it's not a true saab, well the 9000 was a joint effort from saab, lancia and someone else that I can't remember.
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Alfa 164 was the other car, I think.
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Lancia Thema, all three were cracking motors, (a friend has a Thema and he swears by and at it !) the 164 was a pretty car and especially good with that soulful twinspark engine.
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Well we've got one of the older veriety anyway and like it alot.
OK, I got it, but me... I wouldn't touch the one I had with a barepole. It's not the same SAAB anymore. I guess those well informed will second that.
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Free enterprise is the basis of western economy.
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Lancia Thema, all three were cracking motors, (a friend has a Thema and he swears by and at it !) the 164 was a pretty car and especially good with that soulful twinspark engine.
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I test drove a Thema on a couple of occasions but eventually settled for an Alfa 75. The Thema was a nice car but didn't have the sporting edge that the Alfa had. Mind you, I would probably choose the Thema if I were to make the choice now.
Wasn't the Fiat Croma based on the same platform too?
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I've not seen this thread until just now and found it really interesting. It sums up perfectly that people base their opinions on cars on either deep rooted prejudice or personal experience. I should know as I'm one of the biggest VW haters on this website (because of three rubbish ones) and yet have loved the two 9-3s I've had since. I looked at all the obvious alternatives and the only one I'd have bought was the Volvo S40/S60 which I thought were very nice. I hated the German cars (because of the arrogance of the dealers even though I do accept that a BMW 3 series is a better car than my 9-3) and also because of the image they all have i.e. everybody hates BMW drivers.
I thought the SAABs and Volvos were more upmarket than my previois VWs even though VW expected me to pay the same sort of money.
So as always people will base their opinions on what I said before. I would happily have another SAAB and never again a VW. But, equally, there will be people who say the opposite. You pays your money and you takes your choice.
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everybody hates BMW drivers - My wife says she loves me.
I saw three of these SAABs (complete with chrome eyebrows) in Mid Wales today, they were all estates and all within a few miles of each other....
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'I guess those well informed will second that.'
What an arrogant statement! The assumption is that anyone who likes Saabs is ill-informed. I drive an older 9-5 , my fourth Saab, and am very happy with it. I like the solidity of the cars and their understatement. I rarely bother to visit this forum these days as it's become a haven for the argumentative know-alls who make statements like those above about what ever car it is that they have taken a dislike to. I do agree the new 9-5 is a bit strange looking and not to my taste, but Saabs have always been a bit left-field.
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I find it strange that Saab is often held to have lost much of its prestige brand credibility for using adapted GM chassis and engines (among many other shared components), yet Audi uses a multitude of donor parts that feature in some pretty humble VWs and Skodas without apparent ill-effect.
As for the 9-5, my Dad is one of those lifelong Saabophiles (drives a 53-reg 9-5 Aero that's been fautless) and he reckons it still has the Saab USPs: lots of space, powerful turbo engines, huge boot, ultra-comfortable seats and lots of kit for a *lot* less cash than equivalently fast and specced Germans.
I suspect the next-gen cars will be very competitive; Saab just need to concentrate on the detailing (some of the 9-3s interior trim is not of good enough quality) and ensure build quality, already quite good, continues to improve.
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What an arrogant statement! The assumption is that anyone who likes Saabs is ill-informed.
Not at all. The assumption is that anyone who experienced facelifted 9-5 himself/herself would second my opinion regarding poor quality interior when comparing it directly with the pre-facelift version. It is not just a matter of like/dislike.
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Free enterprise is the basis of western economy.
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Wasn't the Fiat Croma based on the same platform too?
Sure was:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_Four_chassis
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excellant pictures and comments Vincent de Marco
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