CarBrandLogos archive · Saab · 1997

SaabSaab 9-5

The last big Saab designed with a free hand, and then a decade of waiting.

Photo: order_242 from Chile · CC BY-SA 2.0

The story

A defining chapter in Saab history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Saab 9-5, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

General Motors took a half share in Saab in 1990, and the 9-5 of 1997 was the first all-new car to appear under that ownership. It used a GM platform, but Saab did a great deal of its own work on the structure, the suspension and the turbocharged engines, and the result felt like a continuation of the 9000 rather than a rebadged Opel.

2007 Saab 9-5 front · SAAB95JD · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

Sensible engineering was the theme. Active head restraints designed to reduce whiplash were fitted from launch, ventilated seats were offered, and the estate had a load area and a sliding floor arrangement that made it a favourite among people who actually carried things. The 2.3-litre turbo Aero versions were quick and long-legged.

1997-2001 Saab 9-5 SE sedan 02 · OSX · Public domain

2002-2005 Saab 9-5 2.3t wagon -- 03-16-2012

In production

The problem was what came next, which was nothing. GM kept the 9-5 in production with facelifts for thirteen years while investment went elsewhere, and by the end it was competing against cars two generations newer. A genuinely new second-generation 9-5 finally arrived in 2010, on the Epsilon II platform, and was killed within two years when Saab collapsed. Very few were built, which makes them curiosities rather than classics.

2002-2005 Saab 9-5 2.3t wagon -- 03-16-2012 · IFCAR · Public domain

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1997–2012

Body

4-door sedan

Technical specification

The Saab 9-5, in detail.

Production: 1997–2012
Class: Executive car (E)
Body style: 4-door sedan (car); sedan ; 5-door station wagon
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout; Transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive (1997–2012) ; Front-engine, four-wheel-drive layout; Transverse front-engine, four-wheel drive (2010–2012)
Assembly: Sweden: Trollhättan (Trollhättan Assembly)
Manufacturer: Saab Automobile