1998 SAAB 9-5 SE review from UK and Ireland

Climate control system doors failed, only allowing air to circulate on the screen and tempetature could not be controlled. - £130 to have fixed.

Bad petrolish smell in the cabin. - £30 to have put right (a simple job)

Both SID units unreadable. (a common Saab 9-5 fault)

There is a creamy substance on the bottom of the oil dip stick whenever it is taken out to check the oil level.

When slowing from speeds over 70mph, there is a loudish rumbling sound and hard vibrations through the pedal which seem to come from the front left wheel. (rather concerning)

CD player jumps quite a bit.

Gearbox is very rough and temperamental. The gear stick will pop out if you don't do what it wants - particularly in reverse.

To sum my Saab 9-5 up - I don't like driving it and can't wait till the journey ends and General Motors did a lot of damage to Saab's reputation by the way they built these 9-5s. (cost cutting). I was really excited about getting it, but the car has turned into a huge disappointment.

I took it on a trip to Europe on the weekend and it cruised comfortably and quietly at speeds up to 90mph (150km/h), but it's handling and performance were very poor. it handled the roads and bends more like a VW combi and the power more like a 1.8diesel car. It was quite embarassing having a Volvo 740 go flying past me up a hill.

On a positive side however, the fuel economy was brilliant - 7.8/100km (7.8l/60miles) And it's 85L petrol tank allows an 800km (500mile plus) range.

Saab 9-5s from 1998 up until 2002 have a fault with the oil system. Basically the engine's breathing system was poorly designed, leading to carbon buildups on the oil seive which leads to the sludge buildup that kills the engines if FULLY SYNTHETIC oils are not used. Some clever mechanics have developed a modification to the 9-5's breathing systems that fixes this problem. It costs about £300 to have this done.

The cabin is very spacious and comfortable with plenty of lighting in all places and the car is a nice one to look at. If only it was as nice to drive as the Saab 900 that it replaced.