2008 Saab 9-5 BioPower (Linear) Estate & Sedan Review

Despite a decent engine the 9-5 is being left behind

Model tested:

• 2008 Saab 9-5 BioPower Linear Sport Estate and Sedan 2.3-litre turbo petrol automatic – $63,900 (RRP).
• Metallic Paint: $1300 (Fitted); Leather Seats: $4000 (Fitted); 17″ Alloys: $1250; Load Pack: $300; Tech Pack: $3000; Lux Pack: $4000; Sports Chassis: $750; Stereo Upgrade: $1500; Smoker’s Pack: $50 (Fitted); Roof Rails: $500 (Fitted); Walnut Veneer: $1250; Heated Rear Seats: $500aircraft maintenance engineer have even had the pleasure of working on Saab aircraft. The marque has a fine history and I always took Saab as a lovely luxury car that sat in that status of an elite few, a car you’d be proud to own. So would a week with the 9-5 change my mind?

  Now many Saab zealots will jump down my throat upon reading this, so please understand I am not being harsh just for the sake of being harsh, I’m simply trying to impress upon you that as someone who reviews dozens of cars a year I believe this vehicle is simply not worth the asking price. I mean option it up a little and you’re very quickly over the $80K mark!

  

  For starters, the design is out-dated, it desperately needs re-modeling and leaves the 9-5 ostracised from the more modern styling of its competitors, further stretching the argument that you’re getting a lot less for your coin than you could elsewhere.

  Sure, it’s comfortable and everything works rather well, especially the sometimes over zealous climate control, but it looks old, is rather basically spec’ed for a premium vehicle and lacks a lot of the character the brand had a decade ago. Frankly, it’s boring, uninspiring, and whilst it’s hardly likely to ever do anything wrong, you’re just missing out on so very much comparatively speaking.

  

  As a big car, I was expecting much more in terms of space, but sadly little is offered in the way of innovative storage, and the internal proportions are certainly no more than you would expect of even a medium sized modern wagon, most especially in the rear leg room department. Plastic rattles were noticeable on coarser roads and some of the fittings appear frightfully last decade.