2010 Saab 9-5

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They don't even appear to have been designed, more drawn onto a napkin with a crayon by a 4 year old and then put into production.

I know personal preference counts for a lot but I'm struggling to see how you think it's that awful.
 
I can sort of see why he hates them, but as far as I'm concerned it's one of the things that makes it a Saab. Or one of the few things that separates it from a Vauxhall. Pick your favourite.
 
The swedes have always done things differently. and I mean EVERYTHING

Example:

swedturb.jpg


This is a steam turbine locomotive. The Pennsylvania Railroad had...one. The London Midland Scottish Railway had...one. Sweden...had several of them. Even more, they actually worked satisfactorily, and still work today!

as well, don't forget Sweden's upside-down spark arrestor stack, with the arrestor at the bottom instead of the top!

SJ_Ma779.jpg


See the donut shaped thing at the base of the stack...that replaces the balloon shaped things atop them on American Locomotives.

sk37.jpg


Here is the Saab Viggen. Take a good look at the back...this fighter jet has reverse thrust vents. Why? so it can land on a highway without a parachute. Sweden figured at the time that airfields would be first to go in a major war, so they figured, "hey, why not make these things so they can use roads as airstrips?" Sadly not a feature on the new Gripen.

Swedish engineers do things their way. In the grand scheme of things, waffle-iron heater vents in the dash of a car is small potatoes.
 
Not really a fan, The interior isnt bad, aside from the vents, the center counsil would take a few minutes to get familour with, but what I really do like, is the taillights, they look pretty neat

What i don't like, is the Nissan GTR styling of the roof, or is that just me?
 
The swedes have always done things differently. and I mean EVERYTHING

Swedish engineers do things their way. In the grand scheme of things, waffle-iron heater vents in the dash of a car is small potatoes.

I think you probably just have to appreciate Saabs in general first before you learn to like things like the heater vents. We've had three Saabs in our family and I like all the little deatils that make them Saabs, especially as the brand got more diluted as it shared more with other GM cars. I'm glad to see that the new one has regained a little character despite it still being based on a GM platform.
 
Don't get me wrong, I do like Saabs, and the rest of the car looks great, it just doesn't make sense to use something so hideous just to be 'unique'. Surely they've got enough design experience to know you can be unique without making something that looks like it was taken from a cheap early 90's hatchback? The rest of the interior looks such high quality and so classy (yet still unique!) it seems like a very stupid decision to whack those bloody great vents there!
 
I'm surprised you haven't complained about the ignition key being on the center console. Right where cookie crumbs, chocolate, or an ice cold coke can fall in there and ruin the unit.

But it's s Saab, so you deal with it. You do not own the Saab, the Saab owns you.
 
The C-pillar is the worst part of any car I've ever seen.
 
It looks like a SAAB, and I could never mistake it for anything else. It has the dash, with the key (and I suppose the shifter-lock to go with it) in the middle and the signature C-pillar that just about every SAAB has ever had. The shape is SAAB, the proportions and details are SAAB.

It's a SAAB. Love it. Let's hope the testers think it feels like one, too.
 
I'm surprised you haven't complained about the ignition key being on the center console. Right where cookie crumbs, chocolate, or an ice cold coke can fall in there and ruin the unit.

But it's s Saab, so you deal with it. You do not own the Saab, the Saab owns you.

As I said, I like the rest of the interior, the button and the center console look brilliant. The placing of things like that really doesn't bother me, my car has a USB slot right infront of the drinks holders in the center console and it gets filthy when drinks and food are in the car!
 
Honestly, I can't believe people would care about a Saab!
 
Honestly, I can't believe people would care about a Saab!

Same reason people care about Alfas, or Citroens, or Volvos, or rotary powered Mazdas. They are the automotive equivalents of crack cocaine. Quirky, different, exciting, makes you crazy enough to not care about servicing costs, that kind of thing. Once you've been in one, you never want to drive anything else, because everything else becomes boring. ;) :lol:
 
It looks like a SAAB, and I could never mistake it for anything else. It has the dash, with the key (and I suppose the shifter-lock to go with it) in the middle and the signature C-pillar that just about every SAAB has ever had. The shape is SAAB, the proportions and details are SAAB.

It's a SAAB. Love it. Let's hope the testers think it feels like one, too.

If it's anything like the current shape 9-3 it won't have that feature. In my dad's car you can leave it in any gear you please. The key no longer activates any mechanical lock on the transmission. In fact, it's hardly even a key:

93_CONV_EKEY.jpg
 
Anyone notice how big the car actually is? It's a shade over five meters long
 
Its not that big, but large nevertheless. The 200in club has a lot of members here in the States, and actually seems to be growing slightly. Nothing wrong with a 5-series sized car though. That is what the 9-5 is supposed to be going after anyway.
 
Yeah, well the current 5-series couldn't exactly be called "compact" so I don't see the issue with the 9-5 being fairly large.
 
I had always thought of the 9-3 as a 3-series competitor and a 9-5 as a 5-series sized car. Unless the new one is the size of a 7-series, I'm not too worried about how big the thing is.
 
If its floating around 200 inches, it is (give or take) about the same size as a Cadillac CTS in length. Which, as I recall, is just shy of the 5-series in size.
 
Well it might not be big by US standards but it's big for a european car.

Comparisons

SAAB 9-5 2010 5.01

BMW 5-series 4.84
Audi A6 4.92
Volvo S80 4.85
Mercedes E-class 4.86


It's even longer than the large Citroen C6 which measures 4.90 and only 6 cm shorter that the BMW 7 series (at 5.07)

The old 9-5 is only 4.83
 
I had always thought of the 9-3 as a 3-series competitor and a 9-5 as a 5-series sized car. Unless the new one is the size of a 7-series, I'm not too worried about how big the thing is.

When the first 9-5 came out Saab said they were specifically using "5" and more recently "3" in the name to make it obvious to buyers that they were 5- and 3-series rivals 👍

Well it might not be big by US standards but it's big for a european car.

All those cars you posted will likely grow in their next incarnations anyway. Saab are just making their car similar in length to the 5-Series.

Anyway, the length isn't the biggest issue - more interesting will be finding out how much/little it weighs.
 
All those cars you posted will likely grow in their next incarnations anyway. Saab are just making their car similar in length to the 5-Series.

Well the Mercedes is the brand spanking new E-class and it is actually only four cm longer than the old one. Historically european cars in this class have more or less always been between 4.80 and 4.90 and very seldom crossed over into 5 meter land for the sedans. I honestly think that this car is a bit too long for the european market unless Saabs intentions are to compete with the A8/7-series rather than the 5-series/S80/A6 which obviously would be a serious error on their part.
 
When you're in the 5-metre ballpark a few centimetres here and there won't make much difference. It's more important that the car is exactly the way Saab want it to be (and, as I mentioned, that it isn't a heavy old lump).
 
The old 9-5 wasn't significantly bigger than the 9-3, in my mind, to really separate the two. And I see the cars all the time.
 
I think the trouble with the old 9-5 was that they made the 9-3 look much bigger when they moved from a hatchback to a saloon. In reality there were only a few milimetres in it but in making the 9-3 a saloon it immediately looked like a slightly smaller and sportier 9-5 rather than a model in the class below.
 
You also have to wonder how big the next 5-series will actually be. The new E Class is 4.85 meters. But I wonder if the new Bimmer will stick to that same size.
 
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