Had a few minor niggles, but nothing serious.
The clock LCD readout worked intermittently
Brake servo had a slight whistle
Front indicators leaked water
All problems fixed without quibble by our local dealer.
3.0 TiD V6 is an excellent engine. Latest software upgrade has made it even better by improving low down response.
Fuel consumption averages over 42 mpg
Acceleration awesome through the gears, especially 3rd / 4th
Extremely comfortable leather seats standard on this model
Bought it as an ex-demonstrator with 11k miles on the clock to replace an unreliable Golf Estate. Needed a big estate to carry growing family. This is an excellent wagon for the purpose, especially as I do about 20k miles per year.
Minor niggles are the notchy gearbox and that the handling is not as good as a rear drive car.
Would not buy one new since 1st year depreciation is steep.
Update - now reached 46000 miles with very few problems. Minor niggles sorted by dealer without quibble. Fuel consumption 38 - 48 (yes really 48) mpg.
Comfort second to none. Awesome 3-4-5 gear acceleration.
I'm sorry, but I cannot believe that a Saab 9-5 turbo or not would get near 50 mpg. You must be kidding me, the average rating is about 18-20.
Four words for the poster above:
It_is_a_deisel.
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Originator here:
Yes, IT WAS A DIESEL.
Over 65000 miles that I owned the car it averaged 43 mpg with a worst of 38 and a best of 52 achieved a couple of times.
Finally sold the car because I got generally dissatisfied with the creaks & groans from the old Vectra based suspension and because of worries about the longevity of the engine. Early 3.0tids (2002-4) have a known manufacturing fault that they occasionally drop a wet liner writing the engine off and that is £7,000 at dealer prices or £3,500 from an independent if you can find an engine. The car was worth £6,000.
It was a great long distance cruiser, but sadly let down by indifferent small parts and build quality (suspension bushes, dampers, rusting wheel nuts etc). I loved the car for the 3.5 years I owned it, but I now have a Honda.
Also UK mpg > US miles mpg
48 UK mpg == 39.9 US mpg
http://www.markporthouse.net/rangie/fuelconsumptionconversion.htm#
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