Behind the Wheel
Saab is caught between a rock-solid dedication and hard placement of its cars.
Regular customers, of course, come first.
Saab feeds their devotion by gentle, periodic stroking of disciples’ loved ones with no sudden moves that might shrivel the car’s aviation heritage. Or dilute its harmless quirks that have made owning a Saab a social statement. Like polka dot bow ties.
Devotees, however, are typically a smallish population that doesn’t get any younger.
Ergo, the huge key to a car maker’s survival is its talent for attracting incoming generations, while winning uncommitted converts from other brands. That takes dramatic originality in mechanical offerings and drastic reinvention of styling and format. As with Smash Mouth and Ally McBeal.
Unfortunately, the 1999 Saab 9-5 doesn’t strike that precise pitch. Styling changes remain glued to the traditional and, with a brushing here and a whisper there, simply woo the choir. And although the car’s engineering improvements fall just short of enormous, they are invisible and will be lost on mainstream shoppers who usually are sucked into a showroom by strong visuals, not mechanical niceties.
About that look. To examine next year’s car is to see a larger version of last year’s compact Saab 900SE, although the 9-5 actually replaces the mid-size, more angular Saab 9000. Same 900 windshield rake, and wing shape in the grille that connects the car to Saab’s aviation bloodline. Same concave rear window, clamshell hood, and dashboard as flat as a cliff. And same wedge shape with a short, high, heavy rear end that tucks up.
The 9-5 (forget the hyphen; it is pronounced “nine five”) is certain to reassure Saab-aholics who approach periodic model changes with the same fear and loathing stirred by messy divorces. Even their pacifier has been left intact--an ignition key between the seats where (say Saab safety folk, and somewhat lamely in the absence of any statistics on the issue) it won’t skewer your right kneecap in an accident.
But as an instrument to serenade the uncommitted--or as a vehicle to raid the ranks of Volvo, BMW and Mercedes owners--the 9-5 may well fall on its nose.
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Therein an enormous paradox:
Those whose decisions are based on what they see, but who are inclined to pass on what they might experience during a demonstration drive, will miss the rush of piloting one of the world’s safest, most intelligent, best-performing mid-size sedans in the near-luxury market.
You want security amid all of today’s smashing and bashing?
This car--which comes with standard air bags, anti-lock brakes, traction controls, integrated child seats and pre-tensioning seat belts--is the first in the industry to subdue the ogre of whiplash from rear-end collisions.
Slamming into the rear bumper of a 9-5 will force body weight into the cushions, which activates a pressure plate in the seat back. Levers and springs then move head rests up and forward to catch the occupant’s neck and neutralize the bullwhip effect.
On a majority of automobiles, seat belts that snug up as crash forces take effect are found on front seats only. In the 9-5, they are standard rear seat equipment.
Side air bags are mounted in front seat backrests so no portion of the upper torso is unprotected, no matter how far forward--or back--the seat is adjusted. New and sophisticated positioning and construction of cabin and chassis beams are computer designed to soak up and deflect impact forces--even when the crash involves gross weight imbalances, such as your Saab versus some lumbering great sport-utility.
You want conveniences? There are six, count ‘em, high pressure jets for cleaning the windshield. Turn them sideways and you become a carwash for the guy in the next lane. Ducted air keeps the glove box at an even 45 degrees. That’s the same temperature as the Kenmore in your kitchen, and chilly enough to harden a Hershey bar in August. Interior door handles are chrome because they are easier to see in the dark.
All premium sedans have automatic air-conditioning separating left and right sides of the cabin. Yet Saab studies show that a driver’s most comfortable region usually is several degrees warmer or cooler than the passengers’. So the 9-5’s system lumps passengers in one environment while the driver is given a personal air cell that is adjustable--nine degrees warmer or cooler--to his or her personal need.
Yet the ultimate goodie is ventilated seats, another industry first. Wafer-thin fans in backrests and bottom cushions, working through perforations in the upholstery, suck out all the warm and humid air that bodies will generate when in constant contact with seating surfaces.
And there are elasticized net pockets on the lower part of each central door pillar for storing an umbrella, magazine, sawed-off shotgun or loaf of French bread.
Power--long the curse of Saab, which has always opted for handling over raw muscle--comes of age in the 9-5. There are two new engines: a 170-horsepower, 2.3-liter, in-line four; and a 3.0-liter V-6 good for 200 horsepower. Both are turbocharged, and go like bats out of Goteborg.
Although horsepower ratings are almost identical to the old 9000, engineers have massaged the mechanicals of both engines, adding the turbocharging to the V-6 and rearranging the torque curves until the big power comes on earlier in the acceleration cycles.
That translates to grand stoplight acceleration and vastly improved 0-to-60-mph times that are well up to par for the status and price of the car.
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We tested both 9-5s on roads around the Catalina Mountains, the tiara of Tucson. Our favorite was the V-6, not for the additional power but for longer gears and more low-end oomph for navigating the really twisty bits con brio.
It’s a front-driven car, so understeer was to be expected, particularly with 200 horsepower loading up the fo’ard end. But the steering serves much notice before wheels start losing their grip, and traction information through wheels to fingertips is an instant relay.
Aiding all this flat, predictable and thoroughly civilized handling is a reworked, flex-free chassis, some fine rubber on 16-inch wheels, and an independent,multi-link suspension setup.
9-5s will be in showrooms the first week in April. A companion 9-3--as a compact convertible, coupe and hatchback replacing Saab’s 900 series--will arrive the following month.
Prices for the 9-5 have not been announced. But expect somewhere south of $40,000 for the big-engined guy without the SE option package, and somewhere north of $30,000 for his little buddy.
For discerning newcomers, that’s a one-time fee for joining a 51-year-old Swedish club whose affiance is for doing things with class and just a little differently.
In that context, see your sticker price as a religious donation.
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1999 Saab 9-5 SE
The Good: Vastly improved low-end performance at last, and interior luxuries that should carry the car further up market. Safety innovations to live for. Longer and taller, so tons of room for passengers and cargo. Maneuvers just like a rally car--which is where Saab earned most of its reputation. Lengthy list of exotic standard features.
The Bad: Styling that’s geared more to die-hard owners than to enticing new buyers. Quieter, but still some slight wind noise.
The Ugly: Fuel economy still nothing to rave about.
1999 Saab 9-5 SE
Cost
* Base, and as tested, estimated: $40,000 (includes standard dual front- and side-impact air bags, automatic air-conditioning, nine-speaker CD audio system, automatic transmission, alloy wheels, leather upholstery, power sunroof, active head restraints, anti-lock brakes, power windows and door, antitheft system, remote locking / unlocking, walnut trim, cruise control, overhead grab handles, front and rear fog lights, cornering lights--and that refrigerated glove box).
Engine
* 3.0-liter, turbocharged V-6 developing 200 horsepower.
Type
* Front-engine, front-drive, five-passenger, near-luxury mid-size.
Performance
* 0-60 mph, manufacturer’s estimate, 7.4 seconds.
* Top speed, manufacturer’s figure, 146 mph, electronically limited.
* Fuel consumption, EPA city and highway, 18 and 26 mpg.
Curb Weight
* 3,500 pounds.
