Saab test drive 9-5 2001-2005 sedan

Park ZR. "SAAB 9-5 Aero"

Model / 9-5 Aero
Manufacturer / SAAB
Year of release / 2000
In operation
Driving / from August 2000
Mileage at the time
Report / 10 thousand Km
Previous
Publications / ZR, 2000, No. 10

No matter how preferential the car is, the first 10 thousand for a foreign car is not a line, especially for this. Our low flying plane will break, most likely, will not begin soon. I would like to share my impressions now.
 
At first about painful. A small road clearance is perfectly combined with a powerful motor, a sports suspension, hard and high seats ... But for some reason, it is conflicting with our broken roads and made by decision of the house management by bedrooms. The stronger the car raises the mood of an indifferent driver to him, the more disappointment can wait for him behind the next turn. These are the features of the operation of expensive machines in Russia. Already at the first thousand kilometers on the lower edge of the front spoiler Saab, chips of paint appeared. Without tempting fate further, they urgently treated the most vulnerable part of the spoiler with dark gray anti-gravity. And pretty soon, a couple of times, struggling with something on the asphalt (in the center of Moscow!), Risen to install the protection of the crankcase. We bought the original, having gone to the company station for this. The pleasure cost $ 275 per product plus $ 45 for its installation. Not cheap...
 
Whatever you say, you get used to the good quickly. The car used mainly for representative purposes very well, many prestige attributes came in handy: an automatic transmission, memory for several drives of driver's seat, an additional Hands Free system ($ 450) and much more. In winter, they were able to appreciate the operation of the TCS traction control system: it is worth passing the gas a little during acceleration - the electronics itself besiege the machine, not allowing the drive wheels to slip. I wanted to frolic - the system can be turned off by pressing the button on the panel. For real gourmets there is a sports mode of the machine. True, they did not use it often, and even then at the stage of acquaintance with the car. Indeed, with the usual operation of accelerated dynamics, there is enough excess and in standard mode.
 
You have to pay for the temperament of a sports model. The squeezed suspension makes itself felt. The machine easily copes with minor irregularities and joints, however, information about them is transmitted to the steering wheel and seats; Without enthusiasm, the medium sizes are swallowed and as if forgets about the comfort of the riders on the waves, meticulously reproducing the profile of the road. At such moments, we were visited by belated (and how without it!) Doubts: was it worth buying a car in the aero version? This thought flashed on the eve of winter, when they decided to buy our Swede shoes for the season. For solid Gislavwebet Nord Frost II, the dimension of 205/55R16 gave $ 550 (5 pcs.). And since the initially on the Saab stood 17 -inch discs, I had to buy new ones for the winter - cast, of course. What is now tricked out: only $ 950.
 
Another cost item is service: planned TO-1 on the 5th thousand ($ 95) and TO-2 after 10 thousand ($ 140). For the completeness of the picture, we recall the average fuel costs. In the summer - about 17 l/100 km (around the city), in winter - closer to 20 liters. At the cost of AI-95 gasoline, about 9 rubles/l for 10 thousand km run about 16,000 rubles. Or $ 550. Now we summarize all the expenses mentioned here - $ 3055. Not cheap? Yes, but the car costs $ 53,000.
 

Text / Alexander Budkin
 
 

Source: The magazine "Driving"