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Respectifully, if the sound system is the major sticking point, then I think you may be missing the point about what's great in the car. Others might disagree, but we found sufficient difference in the designs and features between the 9-5 and X70 to be convinced long before we turned on the radio.
basson: I purchased the 4 cylinder 9-5 wagon (the v-6 is currently unavailable). Initially I was disappointed that there was no traction control available, But I've come through the worst two winters on record in Boston (93-4 and 95-6) with old SAAB 900's with no problems. In Boston, it would be my preference to get a FWD over AWD. A recent Car and Driver comparison test of AWD versus snow tires essentially showed that AWD only had an advantage with regard to acceleration and hill climbing. Two wheel drive with snow tires was better with regard to lateral acceleration grip and braking (the extra weight of an AWD system represents a disadvantage in here).
the 4 cyl is an inline 4
the 6 cyl is a v-6
Any similar experiences? I'm buying the Volvo!
4 Cyl. I would guess most people reflexively prefer the V-6, 3.0 L...and it just may be a better option. But (1) they weren't available (2) we couldn't/didn't want to wait until September when the sales guy told us they'd be in and (3) I wasn't able to ascertain if the delay is due to manufacturing/component problems they had to solve or mere supply/demand problems. That said, the 4 cyl 2.3 L. is a proven engine in Saabs, if a little underpowered. I'm learning to love it and that little growl it makes. With the no-lag turbo, it has proven more than adequate to power the car and it offered excellent freeway acceleration (read "afterburners") when I was dodging the *$^&$##%* pebbles trickling off the bed of the landscaping company truck 4 car lengths ahead.
Grey Leather. Just another perspective on color choice. Our car is garaged morning noon and night, so heat retention wasn't a concern. DIRT is, and our beige leather Infiniti never seems to come clean to our satisfaction.
Steering. We read a couple of reviews that had knocks on the steering. No complaints as yet.
Buffeting. Interesting observation. Will check out tonight. It's a steamy summer in DC and that means cranking that auto climate control down to 64 and Recirc, baby!
When pondering our interior options on the 9-5 wagon, I was noted the poor condition of the fabric upholstery on a couple of older 900s in for service at the dealership. The paint on some of those older Saabs was in poor shape too (topside surfaces were oxidized).
Is this a unique Saab problem? Or are the owners of these older 900s just Slaabs?
Does anyone have any experience to share?
Interesting to hear that someone else had the same experience. It was a very loud, throbbing bass that hurt the ears worse than any subwoofer I've heard. Won't put me off from buying the car, but certainly curious that such a flaw made it through engineering.
Like CKamm, we won't be deterred. In fact, we can't be, since we already own. One of the reasons we missed this little feature in the test drive was the incredible heat wave going on this summer. So we had the excellent AC cranked down for the durations of our test drives. We'll develop a work around. And all the while, we'll take advantage of the superior climate control built into the car.
To judge this car on this minor shortcoming alone would be to shortchange the overall benefit. Did anyone notice the triple sealed doors and the lack of wind noise while cruising? In fact, by the same standard (i.e. miscellaneous design flaws here and there), many other cars should never even make it off the design floors. I stack our Saab 9-5 Wagon against any competing American, European or Japanese wagon. New buyers considering Saabs ought to perform this buffeting test, determine their tolerance, and perform the same test on the other wagons during test drives. I'd like to know the results.
I hope that Saab marketing reps monitor these boards. And I hope they convey our severe disappointment to the guys in Sweden at this little design flaw. (That, and positioning on the control stalks...they can't been seen behind the steering wheel spokes!. And why don't they illuminate the stalks and steering wheel controls in the first place?) Fixes anyone?
Fire Away! For if we don't disclose these little things, we can't expect them to improve.
I would agree with Glennn though, that I wouldn't hold this "design flaw" against the Saab -- its still on our short list for the next family vehicle.
Just my 0.02
George
Opening the sunroof relieves the noise quite a bit.
I also test drove the Audi station wagon. I thought it was a marvelous car EXCEPT it was underpowered. I would never consider buying it because of this one flaw. If they came out with a V-8 version...
It seems to be an opportune time to buy one since every dealer I talked to is expecting Saab to increase the prices on these cars 3% next year and to make some standard features like the sunroof options on the 2000 models. I got the same info when I called Saab to ask about pricing for the 2000's. I'm sure that as the month draws to a close there will be even better deals available on these cars. And next month the deals will probably get even better. But we were afraid to wait that long, since for this price, we decided we really did want a particular color. For those not so choosy, I hope you can get an even better deal than we did. In the meantime, my wife absolutely loves driving the car!!
Congratulations on your new 9-5. I had a similar experience in terms of dealer competition for my business. I live in NY and have been a BMW owner for about 10 years. I decided to by my car at Garden City Saab. They were competitive on price, but seemed to offer personalized service at the level that I was used to at BMW.
Like you, I love the 9-5 Wagon. I bought the 4Cylndr and still can't believe the acceleration in Sport Mode. My highway mileage has been good. Around town has been fairly poor. Hopefully, it is due to the break in of the engine. What octane gas have you used? The manual says 87, but recommends 90. Where I live, the choices are 87, 89, 93, 94. My only gripe about the car.... the tires transmit a fair amount of road noise into the car, especially on bumpy roads.
Best of luck with your car!
We just filled the car today. I told my wife the manual recommended 90 octane, but she used 93 since she thought the car needed at least 90. I happened to talk to our dealer today and they said 89 was what they recommended. Good thing given the price of 93 octane gas these days. As far as mileage, I haven't paid much attention to it yet. Thought we'd let the engine break in a bit.
We took the car on a road trip from DC to NY and were AMAZED at the cargo capacity with the seats down. And the car handled well fully loaded. No complaints on the road.
For the record, we're using 92 or 93. I can't bring myself to put "lower grade" juice in the tank.
Any news on the 2000's retail prices and changes?
Like any car maker, the possibility of lemons is omnipresent. And certainly there are people in the world who, having bought a lemon, will have an ax to grind forevermore, proclaiming to the world that "Car Maker A is the worst auto maker bar none." Some guy even has a web site somewhere trashing Saab for the horrible injustice his 900 has been. Gosh, I think by that measure the American car manufacturers would have lots to answer for. I'll bet there are more Saabs (and in fairness, Volvos) out there running strong at 100K plus miles than many other makes. How many American cars manufactured between, say 1973 and 1989 are still on the road? As a percenatage of the total cars manufactured, I'm willing to bet the Swedes are ahead of most everyone but the Japanese. Maintenance, however, is another issue on which I have no basis for comment, except that if Saab wants to grow its market share, it ought to make maintaining its cars less expensive.
lifetime together and they are dream cars. The
Saabs have been through a rigorous beating with our family and have outlasted Fords, Buicks and
chevys owned by other family members who put their
cars through similar paces. I am now in the market for a wagon, and thought I would abandon Saab to go to a Subaru or Saturn, when to my
surprise...Saab came up with this wagon!! I am
delighted. As for service and the expense; I am
no expert, however, we have had our Saabs serviced in 4 different stations, located in 3 different states (we moved a couple of times!)and
I think that the conclusion that I must draw from the variance in price, would be that the cost of service is highly dependent upon region and the owner of the dealership.
Overall...we have been extremely satisfied with our Saabs, and with the quality-to-cost ratio of
service that we have received.
Wayne
I've read contradicting reviews on the V-6. Some loved it. Others thought it was rough. Can't recall where or which, but they were among the 15 or so we found all over the Net from professional, published car reviewers prior to buying the car.
My curiousity is in our 4. The engine seems to growl when accelerating up a hill or under acceleration at speed. Now, pick-up isn't a problem...this car zooms. It just sounds like the engine is working kind of hard to do the job, which doesn't seem so out of the realm for a 4 cyl 2.3, no matter how much the turbo boosts the HP and torque.
Anyway, whenever I feel like there's not enough GO in the 9-5, I rationalize the growl with the following: Some people claim that Saabs are underpowered. On the contrary, considering the circumstances of operating cars in Sweden, where environmental mandates are no doubt strict and gas costs a fortune, Saabs aren't underpowered... they're just not OVERpowered like so many other cars. The curves representing fuel economy, emissions, HP and torque all seem to intersect at Saab's proven 2.3.
Face it, the 9-5 isn't designed for the Autobahn. It's designed to haul you back and forth safely, with a large margin for error. It results from a sober, but nevertheless well conceived Scandinavian utilitarian design philosophy.
Am I an apologist for Saab? Maybe. Maybe not. Read my ticked off post #10: Is Manby Listening? in the "Who owns a Saab" board elswhere on the site.
Now I'm curious about the 2.0 in the 9-3. How does that do?
Whenever I saw Infiniti G20's, I used to laugh and think to myself, "What's the point?" The G20 is to Infiniti what the Cimarron was to Cadillac. And then I see Audi A4 zooming around with 1.8 liter engines. I don't care about turbo and gear ratios, I'm just not going to believe that this car performs with four adults plus luggage on a return trip from the airport. 1.8 liters? C'mon. Then again, I've never driven one. I'd like to know if I'm wrong.
G
Incidently, the wagon (known over here as the combi in Germany and estate in UK) will come in an Aero version in Europe. Edmunds is claiming it will be available in the U.S. as well, but I don't see confirmation of that on Saab's website.
of the Aero wagon and engine details.
Go to: www.saabsverige.com, then
click 9-5 Kombi, then Prestanda, then
Motorer. Alas, still no news on
the USA site.
I drive a Volvo 850 and am 5'6". I don't have a height problem but I do have small feet and had to have the gas pedal adjusted so that I could keep my heel on the ground in the correct position while pressing on the gas. Bit of an odd problem to haved, but fixable. I recently test drove the 9-5 wagon and had no problems. That will be my next car.
Also see what a real car review is like. Edmunds take note, the subjective esoteric crap you turn out as "journalism" lacks substance and research. try to lose the cuteness and stick to an objective review.
http://www.fia.com/tourisme/crash4/contents.htm
The 9-5 (sedan) received their highest mark according to the text. Interestingly the S70 got only a 3 star (it was dinged for its offset frontal protection)