2004 SAAB 9-5 Aero from UK and Ireland - Comments

Water pump failure at 10.000 miles.

Very fast car, but tends to torque steer quite heavily when pushed, to a point of almost losing control. not bad, but for a luxury car in this price bracket, certainly falls far short of the best.

Leather interior on the aero is nice, but again not the most comfortable I have experienced. I have the aero hot 2.3

but find that ride quality on this model

is poor on all, but the best roads, and over potholes it feels like its going to fall to pieces!

I have to say you have over exaggerated saying the car feels like it will "fall to pieces" down potholes. Are you comparing this car to a Rolls Royce for ride quality?

The original poster is right. I had a Saab 9-5 rental for seven weeks and the whole car felt like it was going to fall apart, especially over potholes. Very shoddily put together.

Given this competes with the 3 and 5 series BMW, this is 100% unacceptable since those cars are solid.

Well your 9-5 rental must've been beaten to heck & back.

Every Saab I've ever driven & owned has been tight as a drum.

I have ridden in 3 series BMW's that ride like my Jeep Wrangler and have interiors as impressive as my old 1977 Vega GT. So I guess we differ in our tastes & opinions.

Nope, the rental had something like 5K miles on it and not a scratch on the exterior or interior. This is the way the car was from the factory.

As for the 3 series, guess you aren't into the sporting side of the equation, since that's what BMWs offer (I've owned five).

But I will agree with you regarding interiors. BMW has always cheaped out on them, my 2000 5 series being the exception.

I guess I'm getting a bit to old to be on the sporting side of the equation. In fact some days I feel like I need a lift to enter my Wrangler.

To me my Saab has the right combination of ride comfort & handling. It is as tight as a drum & it's a convertible!

I just purchased an 04 9-5 arc. Currently sporting 38k miles. It is a dream to drive. I know people call the Aero the top of the line model, however I see the Arc as top of the line, it has around 220hp, and a softer suspension than the aero. It's no corvette, but has excellent off the line and passing power.

The fit and finish is also excellent. Yes, it does have quite a few plastic pieces, but it still seems a classy "sporty" car to me. Road noise is pushing the limits of the so called luxury segment, but again the sport side makes up for this, just be aware of the type of tire you are going to put on.

Fully equipped with everything other than the navigation I bought this car under 16k, to me that is astonishing. Looking at BMWs, Lexus, and mercedes, I would have to be spending close to twice my purchase price.

These cars are under valued and under appreciated. I enjoy the fact that not everyone has one as well. Get lots of looks from people I pass on the streets.

Take one for a test drive, look at years 03-05 they seemed to have worked most of the kinks out. Keep up on maintenance, that by the way can be a bit pricey, but my Saab dealer treats me like a king.

And the Sentronic auto transmission with paddle shift is sweet. I will also post a review under Arc.

A strange review. For a start, 250bhp through the front wheels is inevitably going to lead to a degree of torque steer if driven unduly hard. None of the 9-5's power-comparable rivals have this issue, because none of them are FWD.

For another, it's not a "luxury car", nor is it priced as one. Saab are fully aware that the 9-5 only sells because it offers a lot of space, equipment, performance and comfort for the money. In every other way, it cannot even get close to premium rivals because it's a 10 year old design based on obsolete chassis technology. This will change when the new model makes an appearance.

To complain about the hard ride (actually it's perfectly comfortable) quality in the sporting flagship of the range is also rather peculiar; if you want to give a 250bhp FWD car some semblance of dynamic ability, it has to be firmer riding than lesser models.

Now the above comment on was very well put.

Well ,after playing with the computer, turbo boost presure and free flow sport exhaust, I got about 300 HP. Thanks to a new transmition software update ,transmition decided to behave. This is a new concept in electronics for Saab. Love this car. Bumpy rides? Yeah :17 inch rims with 225/45/17 and sport suspension it is normal over bumps. In winter (live in New England) with summer tires forget about it. But with 215/55/16 winter made by Gislaved just shut off traction control and switch on steptronic, what a ride. I'd like to see a BMW following me plowing the snow. Highway...Welll.. too many tickets :my driving record is like swiss cheese.Complaints??? Well for unknown reasons right side dashboard speaker pops up every day in summer time. And again I love this car (my wife drives a BMW)

I live on Long Island NY, USA. I LOVE my 2004 saab 9-5 arc 2.3t with 42,000 miles on it and it has 5-speed manual gearbox. This car is an absoulute 10! I drive this car on everything from open roads to winding country roads and there is always the perfect gear for ANY situation. I am a pilot and I have to drive to the airport on fast moving hiway roads. The saab cruises along quitly at 60,70,80 Mph using only slightly above 2,000 RPM. I have owned many cars and this is hands down the absoulute best. It has loads of power and with a turbo this car pushes through the air very quickly. All the time some hotshot in a BMW or an Audi will try to race me while I'm on my way to work and very rarly do they win. off the line the saab can hold its own, but when your rolling at anything at or above 15 Mph the turbo rockets the car like a jet. I have nothing negative to say about the saab, it is the only saab I have owned so far, but I think I will have this car for a long time because it is very very well built. And like I said before there is nothing that I have been able to find negative about this 9-5 every little peice of the car seems to have had so much thought into it that the end result is a perfect car. and for the $16,500 that I paid I have no regrets. forget the 3-seiries and the audi and VW's step up and buy a 9-5 you will love this car.

Thanks for reading.