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Totally out of sight
(Filed: 22/09/2001)
Saab has made more than 1,200 changes to its new 9-5, but, says Sue Baker, most can only be found on the inside.
When a car manufacturer is at pains to tell you that 1,265 changes have been made to a model, but hardly any of them are visible from the outside, you cannot help but wonder what the fuss is about.
So it is with the "new" Saab 9-5. The Swedish firm chose the echoing hall of an architecture college in Copenhagen, turned briefly but emphatically Scandinavian during its summer vacation, to reveal the changes to its executive range.
To set the scene, moody blue-and-white lighting and gossamer drapes slipped dramatically from display cars at the crescendo of a heavily stage-managed presentation. But the star of the show was visually an anti-climax, a much-feted new arrival turning up in familiar old clothes.
The 9-5 has undergone a mid-term refreshment, but it is hardly radical, and Saab president Peter Augustsson declined to reveal how much investment had gone into the facelift, which is almost entirely under the skin. Only a modestly restyled nose, new rear bumper and subtle trim changes identify the new 9-5 from the car launched four years ago. There are no alterations to the body panels, so it will take a keen-eyed Saab aficionado to spot the difference.
Once inside you finally start to see where some of the investment has been spent. The interior has been stylishly upgraded with new facias, some with swathes of brushed aluminium and others with warm tones of wood. Saab has introduced four distinct trim levels for the range, graded as Linear ("functionality"), Arc ("classic style"), Vector ("industrial high tech") and Aero ("the flagship of the range"). Anyone familiar with the upper-market end of Ikea furnishings will feel much at home in any of them.
A trawl through the 9-5's specification reveals more changes. Adaptive airbags, which inflate fully or partially depending on the severity of the accident and how far forward the seat is positioned, have been introduced as standard across the range. Automatic windscreen wipers are to become available as an option for the first time in the 9-5. The upgraded lights are Bi-xenon, which gives a brilliant illumination on either dipped or full beam. Until now, Saab has been reluctant to use xenon gas discharge lights because it was not satisfied with their full-beam performance.
It is not until you drive the big Saab, available in either saloon or estate guise, that the most important changes become apparent. They include significant chassis revisions, a new diesel, uprated petrol engine, an excellent new automatic transmission, upgraded brakes and an ESP electronic stability program.
The test route crossed the road bridge that connects the Danish capital with Malmo, Sweden, and on fast, mostly empty southern Swedish roads, the unseen improvements made themselves apparent. It feels tauter, rides more smoothly and is superior to its forebear.
The new 3.0-litre, V6 diesel engine, developed jointly with Japanese company Isuzu, also a member of General Motors' global family, is a significant addition to the range. Diesels have been this year's sales success story in the executive sector. So far they have accounted for 22 per cent of sales, compared with a little more than 13 per cent in the same period last year.
A modestly restyled nose and bumper and subtle trim changes are all that identify the new 9-5
The six-cylinder, 176bhp, common-rail turbodiesel (TiD) is strong, agreeably quiet and betrays its origins only mildly with a subdued rumble at start-up. When stretched, it settles into a refined thrum. It will be available from launch this autumn. An updated version of Saab's current direct-injection, 2.2-litre, four-cylinder TiD diesel, boosted to 125bhp, will join the range later this year.
The 2.3-litre turbo petrol engine in the 9-5 Aero has been upgraded to 250bhp. Saab calls it HOT (for High Performance Output).
Having been lectured with dry engineering authority about Saab's new five-speed automatic gearbox, I was unprepared for how impressive it would feel on the road. It is one of the best autos I have experienced, with a remarkably smooth, rapid shift between gears. It also benefits from hesitation-free kickdown. As you accelerate towards cruising speed, successive gearchanges are barely perceptible. This is for drivers who don't particularly like automatics, but appreciate the convenience.
On the Swedish test track, a course of cones was laid out to simulate sudden lane-change manoeuvres. We were invited to explore the effectiveness of the 9-5's electronic stability program - and the car felt significantly more controllable with the system switched on.
A note in the test route instructions reminded us why ESP is an important addition to the 9-5's armoury, particularly in its home market. Swerve manoeuvres are a necessity because about one in five collisions involves an elk or reindeer. An elk weighs 400lb and is two metres high. The adult elk's belly is exactly windscreen high so it's nice to know that you're driving a car engineered to steer safely round one.
Price/availability: petrol models from £21,395, V6 diesels from £24,495. On sale October 1.
Engine/transmission: 1,985cc, four-cylinder petrol turbo, 150bhp at 5,500rpm, 177lb ft of torque at 1,800-3,500rpm. 2,290cc, four-cylinder petrol turbo; 185bhp at 5,500rpm, 206lb ft at 1,800-3,500rpm. 2,290cc, four-cylinder petrol turbo; 250bhp at 5,300rpm, 258lb ft at 1,900-4,000rpm (273lb ft temporarily available on overboost). 2,962cc, V6 petrol turbo; 200bhp at 5,000rpm, 229lb ft at 2,500-4,000rpm. 2,962cc, V6 turbodiesel; 176bhp at 4,000rpm, 258lb ft at 1,800-3,000rpm. Five-speed manual or adaptive automatic gearbox, front-wheel drive (V6 automatic only, diesel manual only).
Performance: 1,985cc petrol manual; top speed 133mph (estate 131), 0-62mph in 9.8sec (10.2), EC Urban fuel economy 21.7mpg (21.2). 2,290cc (185bhp) petrol manual; 143 (140)/8.3 (8.8)/21.1 (21.1). 2,290cc (250bhp) petrol manual; 155 (152)/6.9 (7.3)/22.1 (21.9). 2,962cc V6 auto; 146 (143)/8.9 (9.4)/17.1 (16.6). 2,962cc diesel manual; 133 (131)/9.3 (9.6)/28.0 (27.4).
http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=P8&targetRule=5&xml=%2Fmotoring%2F2001%2F09%2F24%2Femfsab22.xml
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