What are Saab 9-5 aeros like?
Discussion
As a former Saab Service Manager I would ask what age of 9-5 you are looking at?
In my experience you will be possibly looking at a new turbo at circa 60-80 k
5th gear in the manuals had a problem ans did timing chains which all went at the same time to provide you with one nice big bill.
I did rather well out of it all actually! £kerching!!!
In my experience you will be possibly looking at a new turbo at circa 60-80 k
5th gear in the manuals had a problem ans did timing chains which all went at the same time to provide you with one nice big bill.
I did rather well out of it all actually! £kerching!!!
Not sure about the 60-80k timing chain thing. I ran a 2.3 9000 to 145k miles and my current 9-5 aero is on 108k with no problems.
For the money they are great. Economy is good for the size of car and performance on offer. On the motorway my 02 estate does 33mpg at 75, 30 at 85 and 27 at 95, as a guide. I've tried all three speeds over a full tank from cheshire to aberdeen. V. comfy too. Don't sound as good as a nice 6 cyl car though.
On paper they're hard to argue against really,
150mph
0-60 sub 7 secs (mid range is their forte though)
33mpg on motorway
loads of comfort/space practicality
leather
xenons
elec heated seats
climate control
6CD changer etc etc
My 02 is worth about 3k.
Go for it.
For the money they are great. Economy is good for the size of car and performance on offer. On the motorway my 02 estate does 33mpg at 75, 30 at 85 and 27 at 95, as a guide. I've tried all three speeds over a full tank from cheshire to aberdeen. V. comfy too. Don't sound as good as a nice 6 cyl car though.
On paper they're hard to argue against really,
150mph
0-60 sub 7 secs (mid range is their forte though)
33mpg on motorway
loads of comfort/space practicality
leather
xenons
elec heated seats
climate control
6CD changer etc etc
My 02 is worth about 3k.
Go for it.
own a volvo s60 t5 (worth looking into) and never owned the 9-5, though have test driven them quite a few times and looked into buying one quite a bit...
reliability wise they seem pretty sound... like all premium cars there are a few foibles and faults which can be expensive; but if you get a good one that's been looked after it should give you relatively hassle free motoring...
in terms of standard equipment it is pretty good, and the interiors are nice and very driver centric. got a nice cocooned feeling about them.
mid range punch from the engines is brilliant, and handling is nowhere near as bad as people make out; why do people keep expecting all saloons to handle like a 3 series??? 30+ mpg easily possible on the motorway though can head south as quickly as your right foot does...
overall, i chose the volvo, but it was a damned close run thing :-)
reliability wise they seem pretty sound... like all premium cars there are a few foibles and faults which can be expensive; but if you get a good one that's been looked after it should give you relatively hassle free motoring...
in terms of standard equipment it is pretty good, and the interiors are nice and very driver centric. got a nice cocooned feeling about them.
mid range punch from the engines is brilliant, and handling is nowhere near as bad as people make out; why do people keep expecting all saloons to handle like a 3 series??? 30+ mpg easily possible on the motorway though can head south as quickly as your right foot does...
overall, i chose the volvo, but it was a damned close run thing :-)
I've been running a MY2004 9-5 Aero auto for 6 years now.
24-26mpg on a daily commute in outer London area and an easy 30-34 on a run if you keep it below three figures.
Remaps...... err, waste of money unless you fit hardware as well as engine hardware is almost at limit of standard 250hp (pre-2006) and 230-240hp (pre- 2002) as it is - despite what some people will have you believe, so gets expensive to do right.
Better off spending the money on decent suspension and brakes to better make use of the standard power (which is what I did), as engine upgrades on a standard (and potentially one with aging chassis components) is next to pointless.
Very comfy if getting a post 2002 car with the sports seats, and can be found with lots of kit depending on spec.
IMHO, service history is a must. The B235R engine is fairly robust though if looked after, and in that case the TD04 turbo's will easily last beyond 100k miles.
They arn't without fault (what car isn't) but they are good value for money for a comfy cruiser that has stonking mid-range oooopmh.
24-26mpg on a daily commute in outer London area and an easy 30-34 on a run if you keep it below three figures.
Remaps...... err, waste of money unless you fit hardware as well as engine hardware is almost at limit of standard 250hp (pre-2006) and 230-240hp (pre- 2002) as it is - despite what some people will have you believe, so gets expensive to do right.
Better off spending the money on decent suspension and brakes to better make use of the standard power (which is what I did), as engine upgrades on a standard (and potentially one with aging chassis components) is next to pointless.
Very comfy if getting a post 2002 car with the sports seats, and can be found with lots of kit depending on spec.
IMHO, service history is a must. The B235R engine is fairly robust though if looked after, and in that case the TD04 turbo's will easily last beyond 100k miles.
They arn't without fault (what car isn't) but they are good value for money for a comfy cruiser that has stonking mid-range oooopmh.
So I might add I have a 2.0 Light Pressure Turbo and in all honesty I find the on paper performance figures hard to correlate to the day to day experience of driving it.
It has lovely mid range punch and the only thing that let it down a little are the soggy suspension and less than perfect brakes but actually it presents a lovely challenge to "make progress in"... I can say it does north of 35mpg on a good run (550 miles from a full tank) and will crack 1.3 leptons where permitted
Just my two penneth...
It has lovely mid range punch and the only thing that let it down a little are the soggy suspension and less than perfect brakes but actually it presents a lovely challenge to "make progress in"... I can say it does north of 35mpg on a good run (550 miles from a full tank) and will crack 1.3 leptons where permitted
Just my two penneth...
Good info....I'm looking for one of these......can't decide whether to go for a late pre-Dame Edna version or an Edna version.
Had a couple of Volvo's and loved them, but these just seem fantastic value, especially as most of my miles are m-way crunching. The handling of an M3 or MX-5 or what ever would be lost on most of my journeys. Plus experience with a friend who's a highly qualified pro driver has shown me that you (one can if trained....) embarrass quite exotic machinery with skill.
As Lance Armstrong once said....it's not about the bike....
Had a couple of Volvo's and loved them, but these just seem fantastic value, especially as most of my miles are m-way crunching. The handling of an M3 or MX-5 or what ever would be lost on most of my journeys. Plus experience with a friend who's a highly qualified pro driver has shown me that you (one can if trained....) embarrass quite exotic machinery with skill.
As Lance Armstrong once said....it's not about the bike....
XJR500bhp said:
Interior is a hideous design, real let down. I don't knwo why anyone would own one over any rwd or similar budgeted car.
mmm Have to disagree there if that was levelled at the Saab, I find it a nice place to spend time. Bloody comfy and well laid out, very well equipped and did I say comfy! The good lady has a late Lexus RX which are renowned for being comfy and I have to say the Saab is very much on a par. I've done 155k in a factory chipped 2001 (Y) 2.0lpt over the past nine years, and last week it let me down for the second time in its life when the (still original) alternator drive belt let go.
Aeros go very well indeed, the seats are the best money can buy for long trips - and who'd want to be seen in a Volvo?
Aeros go very well indeed, the seats are the best money can buy for long trips - and who'd want to be seen in a Volvo?
morgrp said:
If you want comfy, well made, turbocharged and swedish then a Volvo T5 is the way to go -
Very little in it really, just personal preferences.Only reasons I went for the Saab over the T5 (at the time in 2004) was I wanted an auto, and the Asin-Warner auto in the Saab was better than the Geartronic in the Volvo (IIRC Volvo introduced an stronger Geartronic 'box in 2006 I think) and the other reason was the much restricted steering lock/turning circle on the Volvo was would have been a PITA living in a narrow London suburban cul-de-sac.
I have a 2000 manual 9-5 Aero Estate. On the motorway at non licence losing speeds it'll do 30+ mpg quite easily, around town i'm getting 20-22mpg.
I looked very hard at the 850R or very early V70R's before buying mine and probably would have bought one if I could find one with similiar mileage for the price as I could a Saab and they didn't have such poor turning circle. The 9-5 even in 1998 scored very well with NCAP too, much higher IIRC than most 10 year old estate cars did.
I looked very hard at the 850R or very early V70R's before buying mine and probably would have bought one if I could find one with similiar mileage for the price as I could a Saab and they didn't have such poor turning circle. The 9-5 even in 1998 scored very well with NCAP too, much higher IIRC than most 10 year old estate cars did.
Used to have a chipped 2.3 LPT estate (220bhp vs 250 in the Aero)... Not the greatest driving tool on the bouncy original suspension but the Aero has a much better setup, very spacious (far more than the contemporary V70 for example), the comfiest car seats I've ever sat in, certainly fast enough, and they are very cheap these days.
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