The Saab 9-5 is an executive car produced by the Swedish automaker Saab. It was introduced in 1997 as the replacement to the Saab 9000. The 9-5 replaced the 9000 in the spring of 1998 for the 1999 model year. At the time, the car represented a great leap forward for Saab.
| Saab 9-5 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Saab Automobile |
| Production | 1997–present |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Executive car |
| Body style | 4-door sedan 5-door station wagon |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Platform | GM2900 platform |
| Related | Opel Vectra Saab 9-3 Saturn L-series |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.9 L turbodiesel I4 2.0 L B205 I4 2.3 L B235 I4 3.0 L L81 V6 3.0 L Isuzu DMAX diesel V6 |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Saab 9000 |
The 9-5 is available with sedan and station wagon body styles. Aerodynamically, the sedan's drag coefficient is 0.29, and the station wagon's is 0.31, which was introduced in 2000. It features such innovations as tracks to secure cargo down and a sliding load floor to make loading easier.
Badged as a 95, Saab consistently advertises it as the 9-5. The name is pronounced "nine five" rather than "ninety five". This model should not be confused with the Saab 95, produced from 1959 to 1978.
Engines
The 9-5 is powered by Saab's B205 and B235 straight-4 engines, and in Europe by Isuzu's DMAX Diesel V6. A version of the GM 54° V6 powered by a unique asymmetrical low-pressure turbocharger was available from 1999 to 2003. This engine was available only with an automatic transmission, and cars with this engine installed are distinguishable by their twin tailpipes. It was only available on Arc models. On 2004, the V6 engine was replaced by a low pressure turbo V4 engine producing 220HP.
The high-powered version of the 9-5 is called the Aero, the current form producing 260 hp ECE (194 kW) and 350 N·m (258 ft·lbf) of torque (370 N·m or 272 ft·lbf with its 20-second overboost function accessible on the manual transmission equipped version). Hirsch Performance, a tuner specializing in Saab models, can increase this to a maximum of 305 hp ECE (224 kW). [1]
In 2005, an updated version of the 2.0 L turbocharged I4 was introduced in the European market together with the 2006 9-5. The engine is sold as 2.0t BioPower, and it is optimized to run on E85 producing 132 kW (180 hp) at 5500 r/min. Meanwhile, the only available engine became 2.3 L turbocharged straight-4 was bumped to 260 hp. With this new engine, every new 9-5 available in the US is now faster and more powerful than last year's 250 hp Aero.
Safety
The 9-5 continued Saab's long-running tradition of offering class leading safety features and pioneered the availability of ventilated seats with active headrests (SAHR, Saab Active Head Restraint) that moved up and forward to prevent whiplash when the car is struck from the rear. This feature won technology and safety awards, in Australia, Denmark and the United Kingdom.
Another Saab innovation is the 'Night Panel', which permits dousing of the instrument panel lighting, except for essential information, for less distraction when night driving.
Second generation
The 9-5 will be replaced by the end of this decade by a new model based on GM's Epsilon 2 platform, shared with the next generation 9-3.
Famous owners
External links
