Now that the whole drama about whether Saab will go on as a car company has ended since it has been sold to Spyker, it’s time to see its first post-GM car launch, though not necessarily the first post-GM developed car. The new Saab 9-5 has undergone over 500,000km of chassis testing on European roads from the frozen wastelands of northern Sweden to the plains of southern Spain.
The man leading the test team is Peter Johansson, Saab’s chief test drive. He and his small team of chassis experts work on fine-tuning the chassis dynamics of the new 9-5 – there are over 250 measurement criteria to assess the handling, ride and refinement of the car. The test fleet consists of a core fleet of 15 cars including all the major technical variations.
When you get in the car and drive, you feel like you are part of the vehicle. You feel directly connected to the controls and the car really becomes an extension of the driver. This is why the new 9-5 is fun and so rewarding to drive. Throughout the development process, we focused on giving this car all the exciting driving characteristics you would expect from a Saab. The electronic systems such as the stability control, DriveSense adaptive chassis and our XWD system must all work together. The stability control, for example, must not get in the way of enjoying the benefits of the chassis and transmission systems,” said Peter Johansson.
More handling and high speed stability tests were done at closed tracks such as as the Nordschleife and the NARDO high-speed bowl in Italy. For extreme snow and ice testing, the team used a 10km forest track at the Colmis test facility in Northern Sweden, just outside the Arctic Circle. The track has a rollercoaster ride of dips, crests, hills, off-camber bends, all on narrow paths lined with unforgiving boulders and trees, which the 9-5’s Haldex XWD system has to tackle.
Pre-booking of the 9-5 has started in some countries. Not sure about what’s happening in Malaysia as we’ve generally been quite disconnected from the Saab here in Malaysia.
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SAAB gulung tikar already wat.
love the design of this saab. best design so far for saab. THANK YOU SPYKER FOR SAVING THIS AWESOME BRAND!!!
lol wats next? naza to bring in saabs? don’t be surprised
don’t think naza will bring it in. too niche. cergazam is handling aftersales after auto eurokars let go of the brand. not sure who will handle it in future but i think cergazam is still servicing older saab models.
Cergazam has too many complaints about after sales services, believe Lowprofile isnt tellling the truth, ask what actually happens to those buyers who are experiencing instability error? no one to turn to except the friendly Sporean agent.
Good car SAAB.
The front looks like a kia forte though
Saab Bai Saab Bai!
front looked like accord euro too
cantonese: saab haa, saab haa
Paul, is there any dealer for saab in malaysia now? How bout fiat, they also seem missing from malaysia.
at the moment, only cergazam is handling aftersales officially for saab. not sure if they will do it for long term. as for sales, nobody is handling the brand after auto eurokars let go of the franchise a few years back.
i like the design
best looking saab in ages! (apart from Aero-X, but concepts doesnt count)
Very nice. Hope to see this on Malaysian roads soon.
Somehow the back reminds me of a larger old Dugong Honda City, esp the 3rd pic.
new vios is DUGONG
SAAB
The best car to buy!!! trust me. worth every penny!!
i wanna see the monster 9-3x viggen hill climb special new breed….
they should fast track the introduction of the 9-4x and the development of the new 9-2 (not the failed 9-2x that was a subaru wrx in drag). at the moment they do not have a wide enough model range to be financially sustainable.
good brand though with strong values. a survivor with a strong fan base around the world.
Wow, this is what a SAAB deserves, fighter jet profile inside out. If the R&H is up to the promise, then good luck for the new owner!