1998 SAAB 9-5 SE review from UK and Ireland

No faults apart from the battery in the key expiring necessitating a trip to the dealer to have the alarm rest.

My wife and I had a car each, she had a '95 Rover 800 Vitesse sport which was fast, but fragile. I had an '85 Saab 900 S16 which would take a kicking and keep on ticking. So when I changed jobs recently I didn't need a car for commuting so we opted a share car, so we got rid of my 900 and PX'd the Rover. We looked at a wide selection of cars including a Saab 93 SE and Alfa 156 Selespeed. I was really smitten with the Alfa as it was comfortable, fast and above it had charisma. However we wound up with a '98 Saab 95 and I'm sorry to say it is a major disappointment. It isn't unreliable, it always starts first turn of the key and it doesn't squeak, clonk or rattle my gripes are mainly due to disappointment. The S16 was more maneuverable due to the short wheel base and could be hustled along B roads with aplomb, the S16 was also very entertaining, the engine's power delivery was almost like a tuned 2 stroke i.e. gutless below 3000 rpm, get the revs above 3000 rpm and all hell breaks loose. The 95 is nothing like that and I find with 95 if you don't really nail the accelerator pedal nothing happens. Thanks to the rather user unfriendly gear change it's very easy to bog the engine down and mine is fitted with a stage 1 kit! A glaring omission is the boost gauge. The Saab 95 maybe as safe as houses, but it's as exciting as watching rust form.