Has the Saab 9-5 got what it takes to succeed? Fleet Voice
Wednesday 1 September 2010: The Fleet Voice Column.
Are you a Saab person? If you’re an independent thinker, not one to follow the crowd and see yourself as someone who takes their own direction rather than following the herd, then the newly Dutch-owned Swedish car company reckons you are.
Only problem here is, every other car company on the planet credits their customers with the same set of values and ideals. From the humblest city car to the most opulent luxo gin palace, no car company is going to dare insult its customers by saying you’re just another style junky, Johnny come lately trend trailer.
So, what makes the new Saab 9-5 different and is it a car fleet drivers should be pestering their company fleet manager to get on the car list?
Certainly on the style front, the new 9-5 has what it takes to cut a dash in the corporate car park. The front is more handsome than the slitty-eyed model it replaces yet is still easily, quickly and definitely Saab. There’s still something of the chisel-chinned handsome profile seen in the original 9-5 launched way back in 1999, while round the back this latest 9-5 is positively curvaceous – in a J-Lo way rather than Su-Bo.
The traditional Saab style brought up to date continues inside with a dash that is clear, logical and yet just quirky enough in the way it curves towards the driver. Believe in the 9-5 enough and you’ll buy into the whole ‘designed like a jet fighter’s cockpit’ blarney. Either way, the 9-5’s dash is sufficiently different from its rivals and, thankfully, Saab has refrained from adding an i-Drive-style control. Good old-fashioned buttons are the order of the day.
The reason for no fancy human-machine interface is probably more to do with Saab’s miniscule budget when it came to finishing the 9-5. However, the deeper reason is the 9-5 is based on the Vauxhall Insignia, which does without such a control, and General Motors knew the writing was on the wall for its relationship with Saab long before Spyker signed on the dotted line to buy the Swedish outfit.
This lack of interest from GM, more than anything, is apparent in the details of the 9-5. Yes, the cabin offers generous space and the boot is a large, practical depository for all manner of luggage, but build quality is not where we’d expect a Saab to be. Saabs should be bomb-proof, but the new 9-5 looks like a mild assault from 2.4 kids will leave a lasting mark.
Even more concerning is the way the new 9-5 drives. In the last year or so, we’ve seen the arrival of new executive class cars from Mercedes and BMW, and Audi is not far behind with its next A6. Add in the superb Jaguar XF, Volvo V70 and S80 models, and the unerring quality and reliability of the Lexus GS, which also offers hybrid power to beat London’s Congestion Charge zone, and the Saab has more than a few serious competitors.
The 9-5’s 1.6- and 2.0-litre turbo petrol engines appear, on paper, like sound choices given the move towards small petrol motors. However, the swiftest glance at their emissions shows these engines will have little appeal for company drivers. As for the 2.8-litre V6 twin turbo, forget it. This engine may come with four-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic gearbox as standard, but its emissions cripple it, though no more than many of its direct rivals.
Over to the diesel side of the engine range, we have a 160bhp 2.0-litre turbodiesel that is the same as used in the Vauxhall Insignia. In the Vauxhall, this engine acquits itself well enough to be the solid best seller in the range. In the 9-5, it may prove the most popular choice, but this is more by default as the petrol engines are largely unattractive options.
Emissions of 139g/km for the 2.0-litre turbodiesel are decent, if not earth huggingly impressive, while economy of 53.2mpg is good without being class-leading. Granted, these figures will be enough to satisfy the true Saab aficionado that the 9-5 is the fleet choice for them, but for the rest of us there are better options out there.
These other options make put themselves head and shoulders above the Saab in the pecking order as soon as you venture onto the road. Saab has changed the gearing of the 2.0-litre turbodiesel’s six-speed manual gearbox from the Insignia’s, mostly to lower revs at a motorway cruise to help with economy and refinement.
Sadly, this has the effect of making this particular 9-5, which is aimed at fleet drivers, feel wheezy and underpowered. The driver has to drop a gear or two just to keep pace with the flow of traffic too often. It makes the 9-5 seem underwhelming when it should simply flow.
Further hindering the 9-5’s ability to flow is the lumpen ride quality. Every 9-5 we’ve driven has suffered from a ride quality that is best described as firm. A better description is simply that it’s not nearly as compliant or supple as the best the executive class has to offer. A Jaguar XF, even on substantial 21-inch alloy wheels and thin-walled low profile tyres, shows how an exec class car should cope with bumps: calmly, efficiently and with barely a fluster noticed inside the cabin. Saab, take note.
Throw in average for the class refinement and the new Saab 9-5 is seriously below par in almost every area that counts for executive buyers.
Coming back to that question of whether or not you’re a ‘Saab’ kind of person, if you really want something individual, independent of thought and that follows its own path, we suggest the Citroen C6 is the true guardian of this flame now in the executive sector.
Alisdair Suttie
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