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Unrefined? I don't think so. The car may be a bit dated, but so what?
In my opinion (and it's just my opinion), the 9-5 platform is comprised of a very rigid structure, and uses components that rival other premium class European sedans for $thousands less. It handles better than any other front wheel drive car I've opportunity to drive and produces gobs of torque with horsepower to spare.
I'm not sure what you're thinking of in terms of "Best in Class": This is no Porche Carrera and it doesn't have to be. Then again , the Jetta is no 9-5 -even if it tried to be. Instead, the 9-5 is a Sport Sedan meant to carry 4 or 5 passengers and their luggage comfortably & safely at Autobahn speeds and deliver 22-34 mpg. I can't imagine the Jetta doing that.
Jeez, comparing this car to a VW Jetta is just ridiculous (Passat - maybe). One was parked next to my '99 when I left the office this evening. It's definately not in the same class; all you need to do is look at the relative size of them to see that.
And for the record, the 9-5 was outfitted with a lots of innovative technical content when introduced in '98 that remains relevant today. For instance, you probably didn't know that the 2.3L I4 is a Hemi. That's right, it has a hemispherical head, with a center mounted plug and flow through fuel injection.
The motor has not one, but two counter-rotating balancing shafts to provide a very smooth powertrain at non-idle engine speeds.
It is also very good for wind noise.
The much maligned DIC actually uses the spark plug as a sensor to measure ionization in the combustion chamber and uses that data to advance and retard spark individually by cylinder.
The LPT turbo boosts the I4 engine to 185 HP and more (mine is 238 according to BSR) with almost imperceptable turbo lag and torque steer.
The High Output Turbo takes the car to another level entirely. smashing what was once the general consensus that the top HP any front wheel drive car would ever get was in the area of 200 HP. As you probably know, today's factory stock 9-5s produce 260 hp. Show me another front wheel drive car that produces more than that.
By the way there's also a charge air system to deliver cooler denser air to to the intake.
These are not the charactoristics of an unrefined vehicle -even by today's standards.
I'm not sure what the JC Power surveys might say about initial build quality; European cars in general lag US and Japanese these days, but Saab stands behind the car with a 100,000 mile warranty. That's got to mean something to even the most cynical.
posted by 68.188.18...
, Tue, 6 Feb 2007 07:47:49
, Fri, 2 Feb 2007 19:07:50, Sat, 3 Feb 2007 17:32:32
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