Planning a getaway on the 9-5 shift

Judith Edwards • Published 4 Oct 2010 12:00

The launch of the all-new 9-5 saloon signals the start of a new era for the Saab brand. And so it was that Victoria Insley, my feature-writing colleague, and I headed off to Farnborough's Aviator hotel to see what all the fuss was about.

The press conference and technical briefing, on an overcast morning, was scheduled for 10am, but we were given special dispensation to take the new 9-5 crossover saloon for an 8.30am spin. The immediate priority was to get behind the wheel. From a keyless remote start to a gentle cruise into Farnborough traffic, my co-pilot Victoria ably navigated the route, thoughtfully provided by the Saab PR team, taking us on a country road circuit in the direction of Pangbourne.

In a Thelma and Louise moment, and by mutual agreement, we ditched the map and headed straight for the M3. While speed is there in buckets, so is enjoyment and confidence. It is a car that makes a statement. It makes several, mostly to do with style, stability and power.

My navigator companion and I pondered, for a moment, on how far we could drive before anyone would miss us.

Too soon, back at the press launch, my pen was recording the technical detail of the car and the company, but head and heart were still in transit on the M3, somewhere just south of Basingstoke.

The 9-5 we tested has a centre-mounted ignition system, three types of speedometer: horizontal - flight control-style, a traditional analogue dial and a head-up information display (projected onto the windscreen) - excessive speed prompting.

Partly designed by Swedish air force pilots, the aircraft heritage is evident not only in the dashboard controls, but in the wraparound seats and the various knobs, dials and buttons that create a familiar control environment for aviators. The all-new 9-5 is so called because most of its notable features are new or have been re-designed, including the automatic damping.

The Saab XWD cross-wheel drive system gives faster acceleration, more agile cornering and improved stability, where power and torque from the state-of-the-art V6 generation-4 engine move from front to rear and left to right, a feature previously only found on world-class rally cars. It has nine audio speakers, iPod controls, Bluetooth as standard, DAB, rear-seat mini cinema entertainment, smart beans (Bi-xenon lighting) and adaptive parking assistance. Also, to ensure the car performs to its Euro Ncap 5-star rating, the engineers have crashed over 100 of these vehicles with an assurance that not much damage is sustained if a driver hits a moose at 60mph.

The price is from £26,495 to £37,995.

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This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 15 Sep 10

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