2005 SAAB 9-5 Arc 2.3T from Sweden - Comments

Nothing.

Great vehicle, it's got lots of power, especially in sport mode. There's lots of room and comfort. The car comes with tons of luxury features including air conditioned seats. We got this vehicle with GM's employee discount and is a much better car than the 2004 9-3 we had, even though that was a reliable and nice car. If you want lots of room and comfort, the 9-5 is the way to go, the 9-3 is a little clausterphobic. The 9-5 for 2006 in Canada and the USA comes with one powerplant, the same 2.3L L4 as ours, but has 260 HP instead of 220. The Arc and Aero is formed into one and costs the same as a 2005 Arc, but like I said before, with 260 HP. Otherwise I would recommend the new 9-3 Aero which has a 250 HP Turbocharged GM 2.8L V6 that's found in the Cadillac CTS.

Update on car: At 14,000 kms the car got a very minor coolant leak and in fact we only knew it from the warning on the Driver Info Center. Anyway it had something to do with a hose in the water pump and thankfully was not too serious. Considering we've owned the car for awhile I don't imagine that too many more problems will erupt. Otherwise the vehicle is great. By the way just so you know I accidentally switched the car's country of origin and where I live. We live in North America and the car is built in Sweden to avoid confusion.

I have been driving a rental Saab 95 estate 2.0 turbo for 2 weeks. This is one of the worst cars I have ever driven. It is physically as big as my wifes 3.5L Villager, but has half the internal space. The trip computer is indecipherable. The HVAC controls are counter intuitive. It is slower than my 10 yr old Maxima and can't pull the skin off a rice pudding. The (new) car smells of rancid kippers after it's parked for a while. The upholstery is horrible cheap vinyl. Fuel consumption seems very high. Handling is poor. Brakes are mushy.

That comment above (July 06) could not have been written about a Saab Turbo. Can't pull the skin off a rice pudding? Either your rental company's not looking after their fleet or you're quite mistaken. The 9-5's got heaps of torque and heaps of room. That review just doesn't ring true at all.