Some good news from the US, to follow on from the 2011 Top Safety Pick awards previously given to these vehicles…..
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Trollhättan, Sweden: The Saab 9-4X crossover and the Saab 9-5 Sedan have both earned a ‘Top Safety Pick’ for 2012, the highest rating for crashworthiness awarded by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the United States for a second consecutive year.
“Saab Automobile prides itself on its ability to create vehicles which focus on the safety of the driver and its passengers in real-life situations,” said Per Lenhoff, Head of Safety Development at Saab Automobile. “It is rewarding to be recognized by IIHS for a Top Safety Pick award for two of our newest products.”
Saab’s Real-Life Safety philosophy is based on the fact that no two collisions are ever the same. Saab safety engineers continuously study how Saab cars behave in real collisions on public roads. The results of these studies are the basis for continued development of both design and safety solutions in cars as well as Saab’s in-house crash testing methods.
IIHS (www.iihs.org) is a research and communications organization funded by auto insurers in the US. The test procedures include front impact (offset) and side impact crashes. Seat/head restraints are also tested in a simulated rear-end impact to assess the mitigation of whiplash injuries and the roof structure is tested to assess a vehicle rollover crash.
Performance is rated as ’Good’, ’Acceptable’, ’Marginal’ or ’Poor’ in each of the tests and to achieve a ’Top Safety Pick’ award, cars must achieve the highest rating in all four procedures and should also be fitted with ESP®.
Earlier this year, the Saab 9-4X and the Saab 9-5 both earned a Top Safety Pick for 2011.
There were several articles online a few weeks ago about the Swedish police placing an order for 50 Volkswagens to be used as police cars. Several of them emphasised the fact that the police had not bought Saabs and used this as a judgement against Saab, as if the police didn’t find a current Saab suitable.
That’s some considerable distance from being accurate. The sad fact is that we weren’t able to fill an order for the Swedish police due to our production halt. We could not assure them of delivery by their required date and sadly, they had to shop elsewhere. It had nothing to do with any opinion they held about the car. In fact, they were very keen on the Saab 9-5, as you can see below.
The Swedish police evaluated the Saab 9-5 V6 for operational purposes in September 2010 and I’ve received the OK to share their findings here on Inside Saab. This is a public document and as such, can’t be altered from the original Swedish, but I have been allowed to provide a translation in text.
This is somewhat different to a regular road test. There’s no comments on who the car’s vehicular relatives might be, no whipcrack remarks about re-sale, interior materials or competitive placement. It’s all purely and simply about how the vehicle performs relative to the needs of the police force. The police have to be able to drive the pants off this car if necessary, and still feel confident that the car will be stable and dependable.
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Page 1 provides some details as to the test itself: location, who was present and the type of vehicle tested.
The car is a Saab 9-5 V6 and is noted as being a prototype (i.e. pre-production) vehicle with a chassis setup specifically for the police. The weather was 11 degrees C, with dry and sunny conditions. It also states in summary the tests performed and a pass or fail grade: Brakes, Konbana (slalom), Evasive Actions, Brakes with Evasive Actions, Emergency Driving on Public Roads.
At the bottom, you can see some green text with a check mark, stating that the vehicle is considered suitable as a police car.
Page 2 is concerned with the braking test, checking brake temperatures and braking distances over a session of 10 braking runs.
The tester notes the following:
The vehicle in question had an incorrect type of vacuum pump which affected the braking distance slightly. Overall, there was nothing to complain about, with no fading at all.
Page 3 – ‘Konbana’ is a slalom course (the fun stuff!). Note that the test course was driven without stability control up to 75km/h without incident or difficulty.
The drivers remarks translate as follows:
Fantastic handling, excellent response throughout the manoeuvre. The chassis is impressive. Even without the electronic stability control system there is no problem to run the course.
Page 4
Minimal notes on page 4.
Page 5 – This test was concerned with braking and evasive manoeuvres, conducted at increasing speeds.
The drivers notes from this test:
An extremely stable and flexible chassis. The car does exactly as the driver wants (with) a huge steering response. A really great car, very easy to drive with either under- or oversteer. It lets nothing on the outer wheel, the fact that you can travel at nearly 2.5 tonnes will not even notice. Power steering is very precise and easy to handle.
The chassis is so well prepared and adapted to the weight, to manoeuvre clear without a hitch. Even without a ESP system switched on, no problem taking the car through the course at 105 km/h – which must be considered a new record!
And the final page:
Final remarks:
There is nothing negative to say at all, a fantastic chassis.
Lateral movements at high speeds (~ 220 km / h) are very stable and safe.
Altogether it is estimated that this chassis is the best thing that has ever been tested and therefore awarded the highest rating class: full marks
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So there you see the results for yourself.
These vehicles would have been supplied in the Swedish market and I spoke briefly with Saab’s Director for the Nordic region, Magnus Hansson.
We received great feedback from the Swedish Police, who are as heartbroken as we are that we weren’t able to deliver cars to them this year. Based on their tests, the looks of the car, and word of mouth amongst the Swedish police etc, they would really love to get into our new 9-5s. We can’t wait to renew our relationship with them in the near future.
It’s to our detriment that we weren’t able to fill the order, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be doing our utmost to do so in the future. We’re very proud of our history in terms of supplying quality vehicles for emergency services in Sweden.
It’s a little unusual for me to do a Saabosphere in the middle of the week, but there were a few good things out there worth sharing.
Via Saabworld, here’s a great video from Autoweek.nl. They travelled to Trollhattan recently to have a chat with some Saab employees, as well as some of the locals. Their interviews gauged feelings about the recently announced Memorandum of Understanding with Youngman and Pang Da. It should be noted that the interviews were conducted before General Motors made their preliminary announcement of not supporting the deal.
The video is mostly in Dutch, however the interviews are conducted in English.
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Is it time for another poll?
Auto Express have also written a story about the Saab/Youngman/Pang Da deal, with their focus being on future Saab models.
They claim an image of the Saab 9-3 replacement vehicle in the story, however it should be noted that it’s not an official image and not one that we have any comment on. All images claimed or shown by magazines should be viewed as their own. We’ll show ours when we’re good and ready 🙂
Seriously, if you’re within reasonable distance of Saab of North Olmsted and you haven’t submitted an application for Week 4 of this competition, you’re missing out on what is possibly your best opportunity to win a new Saab of your choice.
All it will take is a week’s hard work, showing the car around and getting your friends and connections to share the vehicle as well.
The author, Arild, has achieved fuel consumption figures under 5 liters per 100km. That’s 47mpg for you folks in the USA and 56mpg for folks in the UK.
That’s pretty darn good for a car with that much space. Sure beats the carrying capacity of a Yaris.
Ramon Cano and his co-driver, a local journalist from magazine Autofacil, employed some efficient driving techniques and guided their Saab 9-5 to a 17% improvement over the official fuel economy figures for the car.
That was in a Saab 9-5 TiD with an automatic gearbox. Ramon really wanted a petrol/manual version of the car to show the percentage reductions that were really possible, but it wasn’t to be. A similar challenge has just taken place in the UK and this time, the drivers got the car they wanted.
Once again the 9-5 has impressed with a huge 27% improvement over published fuel economy figures. The release from Saab Great Britain:
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Saab’s commitment to delivering a more fuel efficient drive for its customers was demonstrated amply, when it entered a 2.0-litre petrol turbo 9-5 Saloon Aero in the 2011 ALD Automotive /Shell Fuel Save MPG Marathon; an annual fuel economy driving challenge held over two days and covering a challenging 370-miles designed to replicate a typical motorist’s driving route.
Saab’s 9-5 2.0-litre petrol turbo, driven by motoring journalist Iain Robertson, one of the UK’s top eco drivers, accompanied by his experienced navigator, Robert Marshall, returned an impressive 43.81 mpg, a 27.35% improvement over its official combined fuel figure of 34.4 mpg and a victorious place on the podium.
Iain Robertson commented, “We employed neither ‘tricks’ nor ‘cheats’ to prove the immense potential of the car’s engine. In other words, we relied on the Saab’s engine technology to cut fuel usage and its superior amount of torque, at remarkably low engine speeds, to achieve the improved figure.
“It is only by adopting a series of carefully applied driving techniques that we know the savings were possible. Yet, they are techniques that can be applied by any careful driver.”
It has long been expected that drivers seeking greater fuel economy would creep along main roads and cause other road-users some inconvenience. The Saab entry in the MPG Marathon has disproved that contention.
“The key to obtaining a good fuel return,” continued Iain, “lies in reaching a sensible and legal cruising speed and maintaining it with little more than a whisker of throttle depression. Planning as far ahead as possible, to avoid unnecessary fuel-sapping stops, and accelerating progressively, to pass slower vehicles, are by far the most effective means to driving economically.”
With a company history based on producing vehicles possessing an engineering conscience, Saab endeavours to ensure that even its highly-powered petrol turbo models can return extraordinarily good fuel figures.
Charles Toosey, Managing Director of Saab GB, said, “Excellent on-road performance can still work hand-in-hand with respectable fuel consumption. Even though Saab produces a number of high-performance petrol cars, developing well in excess of 220 hp, allied to exceptional pulling potency of 350 Nm, high fuel costs need not be a consideration, as long as the car is driven in a judicious manner.”
Avoiding harsh acceleration is key but, reaching the required cruising speed, without indulging in the car’s cruise control technology, is also crucial. In fact, maintaining momentum is every bit as important and this is where the ability to plan and look beyond the normal driver’s range of sight is imperative. Block gear shifting (such as going directly from second to fifth gears) and avoiding harsh braking are additional techniques that can be applied.
Naturally, traffic snarl-ups that occur for commuters on today’s roads are known to increase fuel consumption. Yet, Iain Robertson offers an antidote to that situation.
“If a driver is caught up in traffic,” he proposed, “losing one’s cool is an unfortunate by-product. By concentrating, avoiding stop-start scenarios and even seeking alternative routes or departure times, to miss out the traffic build-up, a car’s fuel economy will benefit to new and measurable peaks.”
The Saab 9-5 all turbo powertrain line-up starts at 1.6-litres and carries forward Saab’s rightsizing engine strategy, which focuses on responsible performance through the development of highly efficient and smaller capacity four cylinder turbo engines. Both petrol and diesel engines are offered, with diesel CO2 emissions as low as 125g/km. Prices start from £26,995. For more details on the Saab 9-5 range, visit www.saab.co.uk.
It’s been a bunch of months now where the focus seems to have been on the business of Saab rather than on the cars. It’s a pity, too, because the cars are better than ever.
It was really pleasing, therefore, to receive an email a few days ago from a guy in North America named Glen M. It’s always great to hear customers’ stories about their new vehicles, what they’re doing and how much they’re enjoying them.
I’ll let Glen tell the story:
My family recently purchased a 2011 Saab 9-5 2.0t with 6 speed transmission to replace our 1999 Saab 9-5 wagon. We had been waiting for the new 9-5 SportCombi, but we had plans to head across the country to Canada for the summer and needed to update our automotive machinery.
We picked up the Saab roof racks and a Thule cargo carrier and made our way across the country in triple digit heat with punishing humidity. The new 9-5 was an absolute joy to drive, tracking straight and solid. Flawless performance after 15,000 miles and would gladly take it on the road again. That thing practically drives itself.
I am looking at snapping up an Aero version, but would like to get the wagon.
This is my third SAAB now. I still miss my Edwardian Grey 1989 900 SPG. The new 9-5 has been an absolute revolution and advancement in the state of the art for SAAB. I’ve attached a few snaps of our cross-country adventure. I did not go to any great lengths to pose her, but I had noticed the light playing off the sheet metal when we had stopped at Jocelyn Park at sunset, and I couldn’t resist.
Also, for the record … my absolutely favourite view of this car is the rear three quarter. Sublime. Hunkered down. Biomorphic. Unlike anything out there on the market today in this class and far better in my humble opinion.
Remember a time when we used to talk about Saab Cars?
I’m in the middle of a big series of posts right now, but I just received a reference to this road test from a friend in the US. I figured it’d be good to post it straight away.
I first drove a Saab 9-5 mule in 2009 and right then and there I knew that the 4-cyl version of the car was going to be an absolute ball to drive. That’s the model in this test from the National Motorists Association in the US.
It’s a comprehensive review, written by Eric Peters.
Here are a few of my favourite quotes. What you need to do, though, is read the review for yourself.
So many new cars are lifeless, personality-free appliances that it’s a real treat for someone like me (and maybe someone like you, too) to find one with a pulse.
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….the 2.0 liter is a strong performer when called upon that also delivers not-bad gas mileage for a mid-sized performance sedan: 20 city and 33 highway. It’s also 10 hp stronger than the 2012 Audi A6′s base engine and competitive with the $7k more expensive-to-start BMW 528i’s 240 hp six.
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Owning a Saab is not unlike owning a Ferrari or other rare exotic. You will receive looks and attention — and everyone will know, “hey there goes Fred.” Do not use the Saab to make a furtive midnight rendezvous with your money-launderer or girlfriend-on-the-side.
I made this video last year, whilst at the launch for the new Saab 9-5 in Sweden. We were at Volvo’s test track, which Saab had hired for the launch. I stumbled upon the video today as I was tidying up my hard drive and it reminded me of just how incredibly good the XWD system is.
You’ll need to be patient with this one. It’s around 9.5 minutes long and it shows a few different things. I think your patience will be rewarded, however, with an exhibition of just how incredibly intelligent and effective Saab’s XWD really is.
The video starts off looking at Drivesense, the switchable vehicle setting that debuted in the Saab 9-5. Drivesense changes the steering, suspension and throttle response settings according to selections made by the driver: comfort, sport or intelligent. In the video, a display is connected to show how intelligent mode varies the inputs according to conditions (and how it delays those variations if required – e.g. not changing steering settings whilst you’re cornering).
Later on (at around 5:30 in the video), there are some amazing displays of grip thanks to the Saab XWD system. Consider the conditions (very wet), the speed and the way that Stefan is pulling the steering wheel. The car just never got out of control. Absolutely amazing.
It’s time for our wrap of what happened in the Saabosphere over the last week or so.
Of course, our ongoing situation continues to make the headlines. There are some good services and some not-so-good services for keeping up with that. A few of the good enthusiast sites who cover the news in detail are Life with Saab and Saabs United.
If you want a great single piece of news coverage to show where things are at, then this piece from Go Auto is a very accurate and independent summary piece.
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I’ve heard of the Saab bull-nose era, but the long-nose? And it’s for sale!
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Another interesting tranche of historic Saabs for sale was noted by Saabworld. The collection comprises six vehicles, including a couple of very nice Saab 99 Turbos, a Commemorative Edition Convertible, a custom Saab 96 convertible, and others. All look to be in very good condition.
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Wondering how the Saab 9-4x stacks up physically against it’s GM-built Saab 9-7x SUV segment predecessor?
Wonder no more. Just Saab, a Saab dealer in Ohio, have put the two side-by-side for an album of comparison photos and measurements. It’s quite amazing how well packaged and good looking the 9-4x is compared to it’s brand forebear.
PlayboyTV took one of their centerfolds up to the Ice Hotel in Kiruna to participate in the Saab Ice Experience. Relax, the vision is safe to watch and it’s a great, non-automotive perspective on just how good an experience it is that Saab and the Ice Hotel have provided in past years.
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Your must-read piece for this week is this review of the Saab 9-5 2.0T from LeftLane News. If you’ve read my own Saab 9-5 reviews on Saabs United a year or so ago, you’ll know that the 2.0T was my personal pick of the bunch. It’s lighter engine and good equipment level make for a fantastic, engaging driving experience. I’m glad LLN seemed to enjoy it just as much.
During our time with the 9-5, we couldn’t help but compare the big Saab to one of its chief rivals, the BMW 528i. It might be powered by the wrong wheels and it might have too many GM bits, but the 9-5 just became the driver’s choice between the two. Where the BMW felt cold and artificial, the 9-5 delighted with its sporty responses and thoughtful touches.
Now if only Saab can find a few more buyers for what might be the best car that nobody’s noticing.
If you’ve read Pierre’s work before, then you’ll know that he’s a man who doesn’t mince his words. It’s always well worth a look and this brief look over the Saab 9-4x, which just arrived at CRS, is no exception.
Forgive the lack of postings here over the weekend but it was a BIG three days on the road, travelling 1,140kms in a Saab 9-4x between Friday and Sunday afternoon.
I’ll be writing about it all in the coming days, but we took in the Midnight Sun Rally in Västerås on Saturday and then some time in Stockholm on Sunday. I tried to call in on a few friends to give them a test drive but they seemed to be on vacation and wouldn’t answer the door:
Note to editors: That is what’s referred to as subtle humour. Please ensure that you’re knickers don’t get in a twist.
I’ll have all the action from Saturday morning’s rallying and some great Saab pics from both Västerås and Stockholm coming later on.
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Must Read – I think I’ll do a “must read” every week from now on. if you’re only going to hit one link on this entry for further reading, the must read is the one.
Today’s Must Read is from Autoweek. Their editors have recently noted their thoughts on the Saab 9-5 Aero they have in their long-term test fleet and they make for some good reading. There are six editors thoughts recorded. Here’s a sample from just one of them:
I find the car’s styling is attractive in a classic sense. I suspect it will still look good once the last payment is made. Inside, the car is functional and offers just the right Saab-style appointments and extras, such as the Saab-centric center-mounted ignition button and mandatory turbo boost gauge, the clean center stack, the huge sunroof covered by a linen sunshade, the well-bolstered leather seats, and flat-bottomed thick leather-wrapped steering wheel. I still miss the artistic Transformer like pop-out cupholders, but I can forgo that stuff for this overall better car.
If you only read one article here, make it this one.
There are no long-term test drive thoughts, yet, just the specifications (and boy, did they ever have a good time with the options list!)
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A reader of the Globe and Mail writes in to them and asks“Can Saab Survive? Should I buy one?” Many jokes follow (it’s part of the columnist’s schtik) before they conclude that No, the reader shouldn’t buy a Saab, or a Volvo, for that matter.
My advice – check out the cars for yourself. You wouldn’t go to a butcher to get your shoes repaired so why go to a newspaper to get a definitive answer on what car you should buy? Newspapers are to there to provide opinions, but your own opinion is just as valid as theirs and the only way to make your mind up is to check the car out for yourself.
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The Motor Report recently tested the Saab 9-5 Vector in Australia. They complained about the price of the vehicle but found it to be a good driver, over all.
What got me confused was their comparison at the end, comparing the 9-5 Vector to a BMW 325i (amongst others). They concede that the BMW feels asthmatic and cramped compared to the 9-5, but feels more ‘planted’ on the road. The last comment is fair enough because that is BMW’s forte, but it just seemed like a strange comparison to make given the different emphasis each vehicle has.
As I said, check them out for yourselves, according to your own priorities and tastes.
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The last few years have taken their toll and we have some work to do in Australia when it comes to customer satisfaction levels.
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It was nice to see our batch of Saab 9-6 images got picked up by a few motoring websites. There are a lot of interesting stories to tell here at Saab and I’m looking forward to sharing more of them – especially from the Saab Museum.
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And finally, for those with an interest in advertising…… Business Insider has a study into which parts of an advertisement get the most viewing time from both men and women.
There are three ads used in the study – a woman in a bikini, a woman in a pair of sneakers (yes, just sneakers) and an ad for the Saab 9-5.
Check it out and see some of the finer details that ad people have to think about. (link is to the 9-5 pages only, if you want to look at ladies in bikinis and sneakers then you’ll have to do so consciously 🙂 )
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The end of the weekend saw my wife and I attend the conclusion of Fallens Dagar here in Trollhattan. The fireworks were something to behold as they go off right above your head. There’s also the release of water from the Göta älv, which is quite picturesque at 11pm.
If you want suggestions for a good time to visit Trollhattan, either during the Saab Festival or during Fallens Dagar are pretty good, and occasionally those two events are on at the same time.
I always love to see what fans with photoshop skills can dream up.
X-Tomi is one such Saab fan, from Hungary. He refers to himself as a “virtual tuner” – a description I like a lot. If you have a look at X-Tomi’s website you’ll see a lot of different models receiving some treatment and they look great.
X-Tomi recently submitted this illustration of a Saab 9-5 morphed into convertible form for an online design competition. This was the base image.
First, I ripped the lid, I pushed back the door, a shorter wheelbase and length of the car, got new wheels, larger rear wheels, the grille is changed minimally.
Nice work, X-Tomi. Always fun to see.
My thanks to Yang for the tip on this one, and X-Tomi for being happy to have it shared here.
