I have owned a 9-5 Aero for 3 years, and I am right at the point of finishing my lease and considering other cars. I have looked at almost every car that you have considered (except the VW), and then some, like Infiniti, Lexus, Lincoln and so on. The difficult part about the decision that you are trying to make, is that you can't truly appreciate what a great car the 9-5 is until you have owned one for a while. Everything about the car is inuitive, simple and just plain makes sense. Let me go through my thoughts on the cars you have looked at:

Audi - IMHO they have a very plain, organic style to them that I don't particularly like. The interior is dimension for dimension almost identical to the 9-5. I hate the red instrument panel lights. Some small touches are nice, but the layout of the dash, and especially the HVAC controls, seems less user friendly to me than the 9-5. By the way, when I took an Audi A6 2.7T for a test drive, and pushed the car hard, the front transaxle starting making some strange grinding and squealing noise - definitely not a good sign.

BMW - much smaller inside than the 9-5. No rear seat leg room at all. Again, I hate the red on the instrument panel. Great car and feel for the driver. Not alot of gadgets here, but some of the controls are small and confusing. They seem to hold their value, probably because of the BMW mystique, but I know people that own them, and have owned them, and most can't wait to get rid of them.

Saab 9-5 Aero - great car. I love the Instrumentation and controls. The lighting at night is excellent, dash is very easy to read. All the controls have good sized buttons and are easy to use. You gotta love the cup holder!You can get ventilated and cooled seats, which most of these others do not offer (except I think Infiniti offers these in their new M45). They have a "cooled" glove box. (I've never used it, but it impresses the hell out of people when I tell them it has it!). The overall package is very hard to beat. Plus you will generally get much better gas mileage than on most of the others.

The biggest thing that Saab has to offer is a unique owners experience. You will likely be the only one in your neighborhood with one. You are not going to see a car just like yours every time you turn a corner. They possess a sense of exclusivity that most of the other brands don't.

I have spent the last 6 weeks looking at almost every 4 door sedan on the market between $30,000 and $50,000 and I keep coming back to the Saab. Dollar for Dollar, you can't beat it. That's why I am going to the dealer tomorrow to order my new 2003 Aero.

I hope that helps.

Good luck.

Tom

posted by 205.158.1...

• Saab 9-5, MS, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 16:45:12
  • 9-5 and 9-3 have optional Bi-Xenon Headlamps...., b.flippo, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 10:48:14
  • Re: Saab 9-5, Coolknight, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 03:57:35
  • Re: Saab 9-5, Karen, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 02:28:33
  • A BMW is no Saab, David G. Mills, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 20:08:41
    • One LAST WORD, Phil, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 16:49:33
    • real world crash data, not_too_shabby, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 10:38:46
      • Re: real world crash data, David G. Mills, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 23:00:33
    • link to the government's auto fatality website? n/m, Aero'ed, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 12:24:03
      • Re: link to the government's auto fatality website? n/m, David G. Mills, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 17:33:21
    • Excellent point !, No.9, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 23:07:11
  • Re: Saab 9-5, Tom, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 19:58:20 <-- Viewing This Message
  • Yes, a really cool look, Dennis, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 18:42:35
  • Re: Saab 9-5, saab newbe, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 11:46:08
  • From a former 528 owner, Phil, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 09:46:44
    • The Aero is no BMW..., Hammer, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 11:46:26
      • Correctly stated: The BMW is no Aero..., b.flippo, Thu, 30 Jan 2003 10:22:43
      • Re: The Aero is no BMW..., Phil, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 23:39:16
      • wrong!, Jason 0W-40, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 23:20:41
      • Nah...., MisplacedYankee , Wed, 29 Jan 2003 17:38:25
      • I'm glad it's not....., Raymond, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 14:59:01
      • Re: The Aero is no BMW..., lowbar, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 12:40:56
        • Moreover...., Sieglo, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 12:49:39
  • Re: Saab 9-5, Dave, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 09:30:50
  • Re: Saab 9-5, dwin, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 23:42:33
  • No comparison – Truly, Pauld02aero, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 23:15:08
  • Re: Saab 9-5, Karl D, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 22:54:25
  • The "Un-cola" of European luxury sedans. . ., Allan, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 19:45:26
    • Re: The "Un-cola" of European luxury sedans. . ., Mre, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 22:54:54
  • Re: Saab 9-5, washaero, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 18:06:55
  • Re: Saab 9-5, Scotty , Tue, 28 Jan 2003 17:31:36
  • Re: Saab 9-5, lowbar, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 17:31:01
  • Re: Saab 9-5, MisplacedYankee , Tue, 28 Jan 2003 17:26:14
  • Re: Saab 9-5, MS, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 16:55:22
    • schedule a test drive at night, I really like it n/m, Aero'ed, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 17:49:32
    • intrigue is the word, Nsteph, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 19:57:31
      • warning, Nsteph, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 20:10:57
    • Gagets in 9-5, ThomasY, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 18:02:53
      • It will touch all your senses…, Joe , Thu, 30 Jan 2003 13:38:42
      • Re: Gagets in 9-5, ken , Wed, 29 Jan 2003 05:54:54
        • RTFM!, Simon Watkins, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 06:42:34
          • NPR stations for RDS time sync?, Aero'ed, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 17:56:28
            • Re: NPR stations for RDS time sync?, keeton, Fri, 31 Jan 2003 22:22:21
    • Bi-Xenons, Philly, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 17:52:17
      • Re: Bi-Xenons on BMW, Jason 0W-40, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 06:24:47
        • Re: Bi-Xenons on BMW, murphwiz, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 08:13:45
          • rewiring for bi-xenons+halogens on in hi-beam mode, Jason 0W-40, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 23:24:54
    • Re: Saab 9-5, Robert L, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 17:38:22
    • 9-5 lighting, bRAD, Tue, 28 Jan 2003 17:37:38
      • Re: 9-5 lighting, Schu, Wed, 29 Jan 2003 07:24:40

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