I keep getting these stories and I’m so pleased to pass them on.
Again and again, the people who actually spend their hard-earned on a Saab end up being very, very happy.
Great to see a story come through from Germany, too. Just wonderful.
My thanks to Mikaik for sending his story through.
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Hi Swade,
I almost can’t believe how much happened with Saab in one year. First the shock of the announcement from GM, then the hopes of a Spyker deal and, finally, the happy moment when all became official; Saab was saved (at least for the moment). I was very impressed by the effort Saab fans invested in the convoys and all other forms of showing their support for the brand. But then I got a bit angry seeing that some people, although Saab fans, started complaining about silly things and basically, at some point trashed the 9-5 almost completely.
I figured that the best way to help Saab is to buy a new car (although at that point I was still 100% I’ll keep the 9-3). I test-drove a 9-5 over one week-end, and I knew from the first minutes that it’s a good car. Of course, this did not prevent me from thoroughly testing it for another 150 km J.
The Monday after the test drive, I put my money where my mouth is and placed an order. Finally, last Wednesday, I’ve got my new car. It’s great. And java. And powerful. And fast. Did I mention that it’s great?!
It’s the 2,8l V6, Hirsch-ed to 330 hp. With the drive-sense (it’s still an option in Germany) and the HUD (of course).
First of all, maybe some people have doubts about Java (I know I did), it’s a colour that doesn’t show its true potential in pictures. I can assure you it is great. I was afraid it’d look plain black when it’s cloudy, but it’s actually quite obvious it is not black. In the sunset it seems almost deep red…I honestly think java is the best car colour I’ve ever seen.
Build quality: I’m impressed. Compared to the 9-3 is a lot better. Compared to BMW is …the same. And it’s not only me; a friend of mine, a big BMW fan, and owner, thinks that the quality of the 9-5′s interior is on par with the bavarians.
I’ve seen some comments from people saying they’re not buying the car only/mainly because of that black fascia. Frankly, this is rubbish. I did say it after my test drive and I can confirm it now: it’s not bad at all. Yes, it is black, and not the fancy ice-block design, but at least it’s a nice plastic. Plus, you don’t touch it all that much anyway. And you don’t drive staring at it (at least I hope no one would). The steering wheel on the other hand…personally I think it feels a bit cheap. I like the size and the shape, but I wish it’d have a more textured surface. But it wouldn’t prevent me from buying the same car again.
Ride: It doesn’t feel as fast as the 9-3, but it is faster (no matter what, I end up doing 80 km/h). It’s just that you don’t hear much in it, so you think it’s ok to drive a bit faster. You reach 180 km/h effortlessly and it still pulls like a train. Then comes the shock, with the realization that you’re on a part of the motorway with a speed limit (yeah, there are some, even in Germany), and you see ahead of you the frame of the speed cameraJ. The car doesn’t feel big at all. Which is quite amazing, knowing that it is 5m long and about 7cm wider than the 9-3.
There’s nothing I don’t like about this car. My wife likes it as well, although she was very much against getting an automatic car.
I’m happy Saab made it so far, and I’m confident they’ll be with us for, at least, another 30 years.
