Saab 9-5 Estate 1.9 TiD Reviews

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Good Points: Great value for the specification you getPowerful but economicalExtremely comfortableLeather seats and a huge boot

Bad Points: Poor boot release designVery large clutch pedal travel

General comments: I have been looking at a new car for some time. My wife dictated an estate so we started looking. We wanted a car with some trappings of luxury which wouldn ' t break the bank. The spec of the Saab 9-5 Estate Turbo Edition is very good, namely leather front and rear seats (all heated, which is great), rear-parking assistance, heated electric mirrors, electric windows (front and rear), bi-xenon headlights, cruise control, 7 speaker stereo, automatic climate control and top class safety features.So what of the car? It is an extremely pleasant car to drive, low cabin noise at motorway speeds, tight turn circle for a vehicle of its size with light responsive steering. I have not (and do not) drive cars like the boys on Top Gear so I couldn ' t tell you any of its handling vices; it goes round corners nicely at up to 70mph. It accelerates very well up to 95mph. Whether its suitable for Le Mans I am neither qualified to say, nor interested. The cockpit ergonomics are very good (some have said that the trim looks cheap but I do not think this is a fair accusation). A lot of thought has gone into the human-machine interface and all the controls are easy to use. The comfort of the seat is second to none. You arrive at your destination feeling relaxed and unstressed which is surely one of the major aims of a luxury car. The boot is very large with lots of storage compartments in the sides and under the floor. It also comes with cargo nets as standard. The fuel efficiency is fair at the moment (hovering around 41mpg) but I ' m hoping that this will improve as the engine loosens up. The Saab salesman was very helpful (as you ' d expect) and gave us a very good deal (after some extensive haggling). We paid £3500 less than the book price for the car prior to taking off £1300 using GM card points. I would recommend using a GM card which gives you 3% from all your purchases meaning that you can knock off a maximum of £2500 from the agreed price. This was considerably better than could be offered by Audi and BMW. Of note, to get a similar spec from either of these dealers was going to cost approximately £10-15000 more with no haggling on the price. OK, so a 5 series Beemer is allegedly a superior car but I ' m not driven by image enough to pay the premium for the badge.What are the down sides? The clutch travel is very long. I am six-feet tall and have to sit closer than normal to the wheel to fully depress the clutch pedal. There is no option to add a DAB radio (albeit this not standard in most UK cars yet). The boot release button is located directly above the number plate facing down. This means all the dirt is sprayed upwards onto it. Therefore, every time you open the boot your fingers get filthy. This may sound like small beer, but the rear boot cover is cream so you have to wipe your hand on your trousers prior to putting anything in the boot or get grimy finger marks all over your new car ' s upholstery. Notwithstanding these minor criticisms, the Saab 9-5 Estate Turbo Edition is thoroughly enjoyable, practical, luxurious car which represents fantastic value for money and I thoroughly recommend it.