FOLLOWING A SLEW of leaked images and details, Saab had no option but to release official information and photos of the new 9-5 Sedan prior to its launch at this week’s Frankfurt Motor Show.
Today, that launch has come, and Saab has issued a new batch of images and further details on its first all-new large sedan in 13 years.
The new 9-5’s development has been a long path for the Swedish manufacturer, with much of it mired by an uncertain future. That changed with the announcement that the Koenigsegg Group had closed the deal to purchase the ailing carmaker from owner General Motors.
Saab acknowledged this week that in order to break even on the 9-5, it would need to sell approximately 50,000 cars globally.
In Europe, the 9-5 range will begin with a 119kW 2.0 litre turbo-diesel four, although a 1.6 litre petrol turbo engine will become the new base powertrain when it arrives sometime after the model’s launch.
A 164kW 2.0 litre turbocharged petrol four will be the mid-range engine from launch and a 2.8 litre V6 will be the range-topper, delivering 224kW and 400Nm of torque thanks to a pair of turbochargers.
Further down the track, an E85-compatible BioPower variant of the 2.0 litre petrol motor will be added to the range.
All 9-5 models will come with six-speed automatic transmission; a six-speed manual will be offered as an option.
The 2.0 litre and 2.8 litre petrol engines will be available with Saab’s XWD all-wheel-drive drivetrain, with the V6 featuring XWD as standard.
A choice of two suspensions will underpin the new 9-5, one of them incorporating adaptive damper technology. Both suspension layouts will be available with a sports-tuned version.
The interior of the new 9-5 is traditional Saab, albeit with a modern execution.
Green-illuminated dials and displays are housed in Saab’s signature driver-centric dash design, and the marque’s characteristic centre console-mounted ignition barrel has been replaced by a push-button starter.
Options include a heads-up display for the driver, an eight-inch touchscreen sat-nav unit incorporating a 10GB harddrive for music storage, a premium Harman Kardon sound system and seatback-mounted DVD screens for the rear passengers.
Saab has not yet confirmed pricing or availability, however an announcement is expected in coming weeks.
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Its Just Beauty looks very elegant,
there are so few ways to make a 3-box sedan stand out and the Saab certainly does without being offensive.
Saab’s ready to get its bite back into the market… now it takes a bit of human civilisation to realise how awesome this car ought to be
This and the new Liberty fighting it out for ugliest sedan award. I got my money on the Liberty but it will be close.
“2.8 litre V6 will be the range topper, delivering 224kW and 400Nm of torque”
THATS the engine that should be going to the new Commodore, not the wheezy 290Nm thing they are going to use
I take it you’ve driven the new MY10 Commodore 3.0 SIDI, Matt?
Anyways I think this new Saab looks great! Love the HUD
looks like a saab / new wrx slapped together. pretty ugly.
A new DESIGN-ICON!. Absolutely brillant! Cool! Same class as APPLE Product design. My next car: SAAB!
This is a very attractive sedan. The new alternative to the Germans.
Most of it comes from the GM parts bin, and it’s still going to be made in Sweden. Both of which are highly likely to assure that it will be as faulty and unreliable as ever. Unless Saab have learnt any lessons at all from their history of being rated bottom of the pile in the vast number of car reliability surveys carried out over the years (and the evidence is that they never seem to have learnt much in this regard), I suspect that if you buy one of these you’ll spend more time taking it into the shop to have it fixed than you will spend with it out on the roads. Which will be a shame, because whilst you do have it out on the roads, it will likely be a great deal of comfortable fun. It’s just that the fun may well be painfully short-lived.