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Just purchased my new Saab 9-5 Aero

14K views 44 replies 23 participants last post by  Stan95 
#1 ·
Hello everyone... hopefully I am not the only one that just purchased one... here is my feedback...

Overall a great looking car... love it.. getting lots of looks.

Very stable at high speed.

Firm ride.... just like BMW's.

Interior not up to BMW's or Audi Standards... however a lot cheaper too. Styling better than both in my opinion both inside and out.

Transmission hunts around a little, especially in intelligent mode.

HUD is great!! Much better than BMW's.

I have the HK stereo system.. a must upgrade if you like listening to music.

This car is larger than the new BMW 5 series... however a little smaller than the 7.

My car is pulling right and has vibration at high speed... so going in for a balance, etc.

Seats are firm..... but supportive.

Paint quality is excellent, and the interior is done very well.

No real dislikes yet...
 

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#7 ·
Very nice car. I really like the looks of the new 9-5. Mabye in a couple of years i can afford a nice used one:D
 
#9 ·
Transmission hunts around a little, especially in intelligent mode.
Nice ride. You apparently have a 2010, as the 2011 Aero comes with the panorama sunroof as standard equipment.

Sounds like the engine/tranny control software hasn't yet adapted to your driving style. Have the dealer reset the transmission memory to give you a fresh start at the learning process. Otherwise, you are in for several thousand miles of rough shifting before the drivetrain management software catches up with your foot.

I just test-drove this car and was very impressed. I am cross-shopping it against the 2011 Volvo S60 T6. So far I have things I like and don't like about both vehicles, with no clear advantage to either, so it will probably boil down to which offers the better value. My main gripes about the 9-5 Aero are the lack of BLIS and ACC options, which seem to be curious omissions in a car in this price range.
 
#16 ·
Hey everyone...

Wow... I completed one flight and the message board is alive...

yes a pilot here...

Regarding the blind spot monitoring and ACC.... BMW and Audi do not have it at this price point either. Hell my wife's new 335i Convertible was 64k and did not even come with premium audio. I think only Volvo and Infiniti has those at that point. I must say my wife's new X5 5.0 has ACC and I hate it..... they don't let you get close enough, so what happens if someone pulls out in front of you, you are thrown against your seatbelt as the car slows down. Call me old fashion, but I prefer not to have it.

However one item that is missing is the back up camera. This car is very LONG, so it is almost impossible to back up and not hit anything :p.

I drove the Volvo and I was not that impressed..... plus I like that Saab for its uniqueness. I was at a stoplight the other day and a guy in a new S550 rolled down his windows and complimented me on the ride. I don't think that would happen in a Volvo. So far this car has gotten more attention than my Audi R8.

My wife says it is the most comfortable car she has ridden in as a passenger, our past cars have been BMW 535i, X5 4.8, Jeep, Saab 9-3, Infiniti M45, Audi R8, Acura MDX, Infiniti FX45... you get the idea. Also, she was very impressed with how many ways the seat could move and how comfortable it was/is.

Regarding the deal... it was fantastic. The 2011's are due in at any point and they will go up in price by $3500 dollars, so my dealer wanted to do everything he could to get the 2010's off the lot before they roll in. Also the new "sun roof" is a large front to back glass piece that weights a lot. So much so that you don't get a spare tire or the car goes over the 5k mark and you get hit with a gas guzzler tax (this is what my GM for my dealership said). Saab wanted a lighter one, GM pulled one off another car and made some modifications.

Oh, one thing I don't like, when you aim the middle air vents away from you, there are still areas where the air hits you in your face. My eye's (and my wife's too are very dry all the time), so we end up closing off the center vents completely. Attached are more pictures....
 

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#19 ·
Regarding the blind spot monitoring and ACC.... BMW and Audi do not have it at this price point either.
Not true. BLIS and ACC are available on the Audi A4 Prestige, as well as the A6 and A8. ACC is available on the BMW 3, 5, & 7 series, and BLIS is available on the 5 & 7 series cars as well.

I must say my wife's new X5 5.0 has ACC and I hate it..... they don't let you get close enough, so what happens if someone pulls out in front of you, you are thrown against your seatbelt as the car slows down. Call me old fashion, but I prefer not to have it.
Either the Bimmer has a bad implementation of the technology or else it isn't set up correctly. The Volvo version of ACC is integrated with Queue Assist, which allows the driver to regulate the distance (in time units, not feet) from the car ahead. It works very well at all speeds, with no lurches or surprises. After having used it for five months, it is very much missed when I drive my wife's S40, which has just standard cruise control.

However one item that is missing is the back up camera. This car is very LONG, so it is almost impossible to back up and not hit anything
For sure. Also, the rear window field of vision as seen through the rearview mirror is *very* small, especially top to bottom. And the driver really has no sense whatsoever where the tail of the car is. I suspect that is why Saab has made front and back parking sensors standard on all models now. Of course, a backup camera, which is standard on Volvos with nav systems, is a far better solution. I have never been a big fan of parking by ear.

I drove the Volvo and I was not that impressed..... plus I like that Saab for its uniqueness. I was at a stoplight the other day and a guy in a new S550 rolled down his windows and complimented me on the ride. I don't think that would happen in a Volvo. So far this car has gotten more attention than my Audi R8.
I fully agree that the Saab 9-5 exterior is much more attractive than the Volvo S60, which is why I looked into the Saab in the first place. Too bad that the Saab interior is cheapened by the cheesy plastic trim parts on the center console. Probably taken from the GM parts bin. In any event, I am secure enough in my tastes and choices in cars that I neither seek nor welcome validation from some DB driving a Benz or Bimmer. My cars only have to please me.

My wife says it is the most comfortable car she has ridden in as a passenger, our past cars have been BMW 535i, X5 4.8, Jeep, Saab 9-3, Infiniti M45, Audi R8, Acura MDX, Infiniti FX45... you get the idea. Also, she was very impressed with how many ways the seat could move and how comfortable it was/is.
I find the Saab 9-5 seats to be very good, but the Volvo seats are even better. They provide better support and yet are also more comfortable. However, tastes in furniture are very much a personal matter.

Regarding the deal... it was fantastic. The 2011's are due in at any point and they will go up in price by $3500 dollars, so my dealer wanted to do everything he could to get the 2010's off the lot before they roll in.
For sure. The 2011s are already arriving at dealerships in my area. What I found a bit annoying is that Saab kept the MSRPs pretty much where they were for 2010, but raised the invoice prices by c. $3K. So there is no longer the big $5K delta between list and invoice; now it is more like $2K. There is some great money back on the 2010s, but relatively little on the 2011s, which is making them a lot less competitive. Given that most dealers seem to have a lot of 2010s and a fair number of 2011s now, Spyker is going to have to put a fair amount more money on the hood to get buyers' attention and move them off the lots.

Also the new "sun roof" is a large front to back glass piece that weights a lot. So much so that you don't get a spare tire or the car goes over the 5k mark and you get hit with a gas guzzler tax (this is what my GM for my dealership said). Saab wanted a lighter one, GM pulled one off another car and made some modifications.
Very interesting info. My dealer told me that the spare was no longer available as a factory option, but it could still be supplied as a dealer option. I guess they just wanted to keep it off the sticker. I thought that the gas guzzler tax trigger was determined by the final drive gear ratio, but that may have changed in recent years. The last car I owned that was saddled with the GGT was a 2001 BMW 740i with sport package. The non-sport package models were exempt from the tax, however.

Oh, one thing I don't like, when you aim the middle air vents away from you, there are still areas where the air hits you in your face. My eye's (and my wife's too are very dry all the time), so we end up closing off the center vents completely. Attached are more pictures....
A few comments on other aspects of the 9-5 vs. the S60: I found the Volvo drivetrain to be much smoother than the Saab. The latter seemed at odds with itself in some traffic situations. I also found the ride in the Saab, after having fiddled around considerably with both the DriveSense control and the Sport Suspension and Sport Steering settings in the Configuration menu, to be in general a bit busy and jittery on some surfaces; the ride in the Volvo S60 seemed to be smoother, more solid, and better modulated overall, regardless of whether I was driving a car with Touring Chassis, Dynamic Chassis, or 4-C. The latter is similar to Saab's DriveSense, but it impacts only suspension, not all the other parameters. There are three steering settings, but they are selected independently through a menu. I welcome comments from other drivers on these issues.
 
#32 ·
Why are you so offensive?
Do you have power steering, electric windows, AC, adjustable seats, radio, etc. in your car? (If you do, should one recommend you to go and learn how to drive?)
Why don`t you throw them away? Those are all unnecessary for driving.

All these toys, back up cameras etc. are becoming more and more common in new cars.
You can hate them, but they are still there, and will be.
But judging somebody`s driving skills by their preferences of new gadgets in their car is pretty silly.
 
#33 ·
I think he's just being cynical about people's ever-increasing reliance on all of these "toys" manufacturers are putting in vehicles. I myself would never use a back-up camera to pull out of ANY situation, and if the rear windshield on the vehicle made it difficult to see out of the back then I wouldn't buy that vehicle. Just a personal belief, so to each their own. Driving is a huge responsibility, because usually you're liable for not only your own life, but others on the road. I see people doing things on the road that simply boggle my mind, things that any sensible person would just know better than not to do, and as I catch a glimpse of the driver (who is usually older than I am, at 23) the expression void of concern is all I ever see. You need to be constantly aware of the things you do behind the wheel is all I'm sayin'. Thinking twice doesn't hurt nearly as much as not thinking at all.

Nice car, I'm excited for some new 93s though! :cool:
 
#38 ·
Driving is a huge responsibility, because usually you're liable for not only your own life, but others on the road. I see people doing things on the road that simply boggle my mind, things that any sensible person would just know better than not to do, and as I catch a glimpse of the driver (who is usually older than I am, at 23) the expression void of concern is all I ever see. You need to be constantly aware of the things you do behind the wheel is all I'm sayin'.
Nice car, I'm excited for some new 93s though! :cool:
Thanks for having that attitude; more drivers should be so inclined.

However, it's definitely not limited to those over 23!! My gosh, how many young people's cars are banged up, because they were too busy texting to miss the telephone pole / fire hydrant / other vehicle? The Allstate commercial with the actor portraying the teenage girl is so funny (and scarily true).

I guess I knew that mom & dad weren't going to buy me a new one if I smashed mine, that I took the attitude of Beyonce and took driving very seriously. Not that I can claim to have never made any stupid errors...

You're a pilot, arent you!
That was answered in post #16
 
#41 ·
There are still some 2010 leftovers/former demos where I live that have been greatly reduced. My hesitation is that the 2010 has no sunroof. Even my 2002 Honda Civic had a sunroof... my questions is, do you miss it? I'm contemplating buying a 2010 or waiting for the 2012's to come out (and thus 2011s are clearanced) but that could be a while.
 
#42 ·
How much do you use one now is the question? Everyone is different and for myself, If it's a cool night or just need to let some heat out for a bit, thats about it. The AC is on most of the time. You just have to think of how much you use the sun roof and how important it is to you. I have had many Classic 900's and only one had no sunroof. I was fine without the thing and even without the AC. If you have it, Im sure you will use it. If you don't have one, will you miss it? that is up to you.
 
#43 ·
I went through the same decision, when I did the math it was hard to jusify what having a sunroof was going to cost me, picked up a 52k 2010 Aero with 9k on it for 33.5 in December so I overlooked the roof since a 11 was going to be a lot more. I live in Atlanta so actually not having the sunroof seems to allows the car to stay cooler and cool faster(maybe it's just me or a good AC unit). I can't say I miss it that much. My understanding is the 2010's not having a sunroof was due to supplier issues coming out of the GM buy out and they were trying to get the car launched. BTW, love the car, it handles and drives awesome, it handles like a much smaller car.
 
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