Trollhattan Saab has changed!
The site you're viewing now is the original Trollhattan Saab weblog, though it's now an archive only and no new material is posted here. As of February 2009, all new material is posted at our new site - Saabs United.
Please join us at Saabs United and get your daily Saab fix from Saab sources all around the world.

As I powered around Baskerville Raceway last weekend in Craig’s former black 9-5 Aero wagon, and as I watched him power around Baskerville in his brand new replacement 9-5 Aero wagon, also black, I couldn’t help thinking to myself that he’s got an absolute classic on his hands.

Sort of like the lucky ones that picked up a 1993 model 900 T16S (g’day Drew). The last release of a great model is always the best one to grab.

The new, facelifted 9-5 is going to be seen for real in a few weeks time, but the previews we’ve seen so far have been canned pretty much all over the place. It’s a bit harsh in some instances, but altogether not without reason.

I’ve become quite accepting of the new frontal styling, but the rear doesn’t grab me at all, and the dumbing down of the interior is quite disappointing. I’ll remain open to eating my words when full interior shots become available, but for the moment, count me in the crowd feeling less than favourable over all.

So, with just a couple of weeks left on the clock, here’s one of the final reviews of the 9-5 Wagon, in Arc trim, as published by the Autos people at Canada.com.

…..for the performance side of the equation, all 9-5s are powered by variations of the company’s 2.3-litre turbocharged inline four. The base linear gets the lo-po 185 horsepower version, the mid-line Arc 220 hp and the sporty Aero 250.

The Arc proves the most versatile of the three with significantly more giddy-up than the base model and none of the dreaded torque steer that many front drivers exhibit when traction is anything less than perfect. Mated to the five-speed automatic, it does more than a passable impression of a V6; it’s very smooth, not very noisy and quite powerful, especially at highway speeds.

Go take a read at the link above.