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Re: To Simon...
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Posted by Simon Watkins (more from Simon Watkins) on Sun, 16 Jun 2002 20:41:44 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: To Simon..., Tarheel900, Sun, 16 Jun 2002 18:29:02
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>1) The first time I sat in a 9-5 my first thought was, gee this doesnt >seem much bigger inside (up front) than my 900. While it is a larger car, >I would agree with the "cozy" description from the drivers seat. I didn't >have a hidden agenda when I made that observation :)

I'm not sure what people are expecting here, and maybe its a European Vs US thing, but it's huge by Euro standards :) It's only a fraction of an inch narrower outside than a 5 Series BM, but with more front legroom, and 2"!! more rear legroom than a 5 series - it's got 3/4 inch more than a Mercedes-Benz C320 - also roomy cars. Though a few of your US cars are larger. Only a Lincoln LS V8 and Cadillac Catera beat it for rear legroom in the test I'll talk about in a moment.

>2) I too felt the telescoping wheel could use more range, it's a matter >of opinion, not fact.

There's a limit to how much that can be moved back for safety reasons - Airbags/frontal collision protection etc I suspect. There wouldn't be any engineering difficulties looking at it at all. Granted its a matter of opinion, and I did think that once too, until I realised that by altering the seat differently, I found a better ideal position :)

>3) Not sure I understand your rear center headrest argument, but I did >drive a Kia Optima (18 thousand dollar car) that had an adjustable rear >center headrest this weekend. I know that saab sells a center rest in >their catalog, and I think that with the center rest in place it blocks >your view too much but...

The point I was making (badly it seems) was that it is available as a lowish cost option - one of the very few things on the Aero that isn't standard, yet includes a much more important 3 point belt - something just about every manufacturer manages to leave out (cost). Also contrast the options package/pricing versus anything else European, and you'll see that the Saab is leagues ahead. As an Exercise, I tried pricing a BMW 5 series specced to the same standards as the Saab - I was off the clock - the closest I could get was with a 3 series of similar power at £6000 (that's around $9000 US) more when specced the same. It seems that Ms Erin was nitpicking for the sake of trivia, when failing to point out how much was included as standard (such as 3 point rear belts (certainly in the UK market anyway).

>4) The control stalks have a cheapness to them, they are identical? to my 96 900, and I really dont like how the turn signal stalk feels when you signal a turn, my 88 integra had a more substantial stalk than the saab. Again, an opinion thing, and when i read Erin's comment, I was nodding my head in agreement.

Sorry but I disagree with you on this one - I'm puzzled actually as it isn't the first time it's been mentioned. The stalks are certainly robust enough and of inherently good quality in engineering terms - I can't help but wonder if people are mistaking a deliberate safety design decision for cheapness? The stalks/steering wheel are all in a danger zone for crash safety - you certainly don't want stalks in that zone that are too rigid, and I wonder if people have considered that, as the stalks are lightweight - they are certainly robust enough for their intended function. I certainly haven't heard of common failure modes in these! <shrugs>

>5) I disagree with your argument for the "dead buttons" in the dash (that saab is being sensible, and that they are a "positive.") They are there because in other countries the locations have switches in them (headlight leveling for example), and the dash's are the same regardless of country, so saab needed to fill the empty holes. I definitely think it looks crappy, (opinon) and see them as a negative.

I take your point, but stand by my opinion :-) Incidentally, the Aero, because it has Auto levelling with the HID lights, doesn't have a user adjust in the UK market, so there is an extra blank where that would be. I grant that there may be a few too many, but I still appreciate that there are some spare. It really was a very minor quibble, that was seemingly picked on by Erin - I suppose if that is the level of her nitpicking, then there can't be much wrong with the car :-)

>6) I guess both you and Ms. Riches should not use your limited experience with the 9-5 to determine overall build quality, however I did see a 9-5 wagon with a misaligned tailight assembly, so I don't totally discount the possibility that their test car had one too.

Well, I have more experience with the 9-5 than many - I've also had the fortune to get Saab's through the IDS programme, as have many of my colleagues - the 4 9-5s I've owned are only a small portion of those I've seen new. None have had significant build defects, and my 02 Aero is possibly the best yet - the paint finish in particular is outstanding. Ms Erin gave the car a right drubbing for build quality - completely unjustified IMO.

In the cold light of day, I wished I'd counted to 10 before writing, as I set off on a bit of a rant. But nonetheless there are a number of points that Ms Erin completely discounted. I was rooting around the Edmunds site and found a 10 Car luxury Sedan comparison - the Saab Aero beat every single one on the 600ft Slalom by some margin. Yet they/she criticized the handling. Here is the link:

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/comparison/articles/46528/page028.html

Saab 9-5 Aero beat them all through the 600ft Slalom.
A very close second over the quarter mile (0.12 Sec 0.2mph slower)
Joint first in the 60 - 0 test. (And she even managed to rubbish the brakes!).

I've no problems in seeing genuine criticism about the car whatsoever - if it was justified. She managed to tone the whole review to make it sound like the car was only worth a C- You and I know that is completely wrong.

By the way,some of the US perception and expectation of this car may be down to it's cost over there. It can be bought here in Europe for around the US$34-35000 mark. A similarly equipped/lesser performing and smaller BMW 325i would be well over US42-43000 when specified up to the same equipment levels as the Aero - at least as far as you can go with the BMW parts catalogue. A significant difference in cost, that makes the Aero quite a bargain. There is little that rivals it, particularly once purchase cost is factored in IMO.

Simon





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