Category: Executive 
Price Range: £19,580 to £29,536
Comfortable ride, fine interior design, distinctive image, powerful and characterful petrol engines, good crash protection, improved diesel
Only one diesel engine to choose from now; though fast, not that sharp a drive; 2005 facelift won't please the conservative Saab faithful
Interesting and well-made alternative exec, if hardly state-of-the-art; estate models make the most sense. The updates of autumn 2005 have gone a long way, however, towards keeping the 9-5 appealing in an ever-more competitive market sector.
Saab's 9-5 saloon/estate has been around since 1997 and has been little revised since then until autumn 2005.
A substantial overhaul, more extensive than most so-called "facelifts", has now freshened it up inside and out, as well as under the surface. It feels much less dated and, while it still can't quite compete with the likes of the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes E-Class, it's considerably cheaper than these rivals, as well as being well-equipped, smart, attractive and distinctive. The 9-5 estate also now looks like a convincing challenger to a fellow Scandinavian family wagon, the Volvo V70, for the first time.
And don't forget that legendary Saab safety: the 9-5, despite its age, scores the full five stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests, as well as consistently coming out top in studies of "real life" accidents and their outcomes.
The 2005 revisions have brought a completely new front end - the last job overseen by star designer Michael Mauer before he departed for Porsche - and a much-improved, more modern, black-trimmed cabin, similar to that of the new 9-3. Suspension has been revised, the steering modified for a more direct feel and ride comfort improved in all models, but especially in the lower-slung, more sports-focused Aero versions.
The engines now on offer are the continuing 2.0t (150bhp), 2.3t (185bhp) and 2.3T (220bhp) four-cylinder petrol engines, with the Aero now boosted by 10bhp to 260bhp). The 2.2 and 3.0 V6 TiD diesels have been discontinued, with just a 150bhp version of the GM 1.9-litre unit to replace them. This Euro IV-compliant engine is more powerful yet more economical than the 120bhp 2.2 TiD, though, with lower emissions; a more powerful version still may follow next year, but has not yet been confirmed for production.
