2000 Saab 9-5 Wagon: Opposite Lock Review

"Slant6" (slant-6) 01/11/2014 at 15:05 • Filed to: None

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(Disclaimer: Saab Spyker NEVS somebody wanted me to review the 14 year old 9-5 wagon so badly they made one park behind my neighbor's house for a year and then told the neighbors to sell it to me (with a busted water pump) for $400. I also love this car, so the review might be very biased. She's also my best friend)

I recently read !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! review of somebody's first car and thought I would go ahead and write a review about my first car. My car is my best friend. All my friends acknowledge this and have decided that whenever we have to drive somewhere together that we take my car since I genuinely enjoy driving it her so much that they don't want to see us parted unless it's totally necessary. I say her because she is a living object. My living obsession. She has been christened 'The Silver Moose' and is my personal road faring vessel. My vehicle of choice, narrowly beating out Helena, my 1965 Dodge Dart who will be getting a review soon.

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This is my 2000 Saab 9-5 wagon with a 2.3 liter turbo charged engine with a 5 speed manual transmission. It had 170 horse power when it left Trollhatten earlier this millennium. It's the base with the premium package, which included a nicer radio and leather seats. Here is the review:

Exterior: 8/10

It's a Saab.

But seriously. The NG 9-5 wagon is one of the prettiest cars ever produced and this first gen 9-5 wagon deserves similar praise as it was the equivalent of it's time period. The D pillar is black as to make the rear window look as if it's wrapping around the car, like a hug. The C pillar is thick enough to act as a roll cage. What other wagon has a C pillar with enough width to be painted? Older Subaru. That's it. And that's really where the beauty lives in the first gen 9-5 wagon; the pillars and roofline. The 10 spoke wheels, as the may be dated can clean up really well and compliment the metallic silver paint. While other cars may look beige in silver, the 9-5 wagon (and all other Saabs) rocks silver. It highlights the beautiful curves and flowing design of the body. As for the paint quality, aside from minor deer damage (would you ever guess this car hit a deer?) on the hood and one clear coat chip on the rear passenger side door the paint is in great condition for being 14 years old. The roof rails compete the design complimenting the black plastic trim. The trim isn't gaudy black/gray cladding like a Jeep Grand Cherokee or a Honda Element; it's a nice subtle dash of darkness exaggerating the smooth lines of the sides and the graduated curves of the bumpers. To summarize how I feel about the exterior of this car I must say, that in my 1 year of owning road testing I could not once walk away from this car without looking back and admiring it's Scandinavian design. It's tail sports an OPPO vinyl sticker as well as a Jalopnik sticker just above the Saab lettering. The rear lettering has been plastidiped over along with the naked Saab badge. I've never liked having chrome lettering where there is no chrome anywhere else on the car. I also plastidiped the grill as the chrome was fading and I thought the chrome looked silly. I'm not a chrome guy.

Interior: 6/10

Despite being owned by GM in the late 90s, Saab managed to get some decent materials to craft it's driver oriented interior. 2000 was the last model year before GM took complete ownership of Saab. This made a huge difference. I have two friends with 2001 9-5s (automatic sedans) with interiors that are very loud. 2000 was also the last year of the Saab-Scania logo. Mine has a soft touch almost cushion like dash board that attracts dust quiet easily. The famous/infamous Saab folding cup holder works 75% of the time which can be annoying. The center ignition fascinates passengers of all ages. The leather seats have been well taken care of showing no tears and minimal fading. They have lasted very well compared to Volvo's my friends own of a similar vintage. I would not hesitate driving many hours in these seats. They are very comfortable and heated. I could sleep in them if needed. But if I had to sleep in my car I would go for the back where I have plenty of room to spread out and take naps with the rear seats folded down. There is something like 7o cubic feet of cargo space back there with the seats down which is reason enough to own a wagon, never mind the stellar looks.

Audio: 6/10

Despite being a 2.3 liter, this 4 pot can growl. Accelerating rapidly in 2nd gear makes me feel like a rally car driver and down shifting creates a beautiful cacophony of turbocharged symphony. Idling is quiet, but it is supposed to be a luxury car. The demonic engine note comes on demand but hides when it's not wanted. You can drive on the highway at 70 miles an hour and all you'll hear is wind noise and something that sounds like an engine but could be about 5o feet away. Or you could be flooring it in 2nd gear and loosing traction waking up the whole neighborhood. It makes a nice noise. The stereo is good. It included a tiny sub in the back which is nice. It has a built in weather band radio which is just a Saab thing. I also installed a CB, but that's not part of the car so I can't really give it credit for that.

Handling: 5/10

She will go wherever I tell her to. No more. No less. Body roll only at extreme speeds (55 around a 25 curve). It's FWD so under steer is a thing. Saab's did FWD before it was cool though, so it's all good.

Fuel Economy: 6/10

I can get 35 highway and 19 city. I average at around 24. Not bad for the fun it can have/ amount of stuff it can hold.

Value: 11/10

I paid $400 for her. I got the stag of a machine I just reviewed. Sure, I've put about $1100 into maintenance, but that's any car with 177,xxx miles. They made this car for 10 years so parts are readily available despite no more corperate parts company or dealer network.

I love my car. Scoring is irrelevant. It got a good score. Happy?

AeroEagle333 > Slant6 01/10/2014 at 22:30

0

Beautiful car and a good review. I want a Saab bad, but don't have the room at the moment ;(

Slant6 > AeroEagle333 01/10/2014 at 22:33

1

The Saab gods work in mysterious ways. Hopefully one is in your future.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Slant6 01/10/2014 at 22:44

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"The NG 9-5 wagon is one of the prettiest cars ever produced"

User Slant6 has made a claim that the early 2000s saab 9-5 is one of the prettiest cars ever made while being blinded by the car's cheapness. I claim that he is overestimating the car's aesthetical features due to a cavernous cargo area and low price of entry causing him to forgive the car's aesthetic deficiencies. See, exhibit A, a proper saab wagon

Note that while the styling language is similar, the features are executed with much more synergy and direction when compared to the almost haphazard placement of grills and lights on the front of Mr. Slant6's saab.

Slant6 > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/10/2014 at 22:50

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The "NG" stands for new generation. I was referring to this

edit: Kinja blocked the photo for me here goes another one

Slant6 > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/10/2014 at 22:56

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I did note that I am extremely biased because I love this car so much. There is nothing you can say that will make me not like the design.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Slant6 01/10/2014 at 23:03

1

Ooooooooh, okay. Yes THAT is a good looking car by almost any definition. Yours was always "meh" to me. My dad worked at a saab/jaguar/aston martin dealership though so when compared to the XK8, DB7, and the 9-3, the 9-5 is a definite ugly duckling in terms of looks. But since this dealership was in Michigan, guess what brand moved a lot more cars in the winter?

Slant6 > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/10/2014 at 23:08

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Early 9-5s aren't show cars but as far as MY 2000 wagons go the Saab takes the cake in the design department. That's a fair claim.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Slant6 01/10/2014 at 23:11

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While there isn't a lot of competition, I think all three of these are better......granted two weren;t sold in the states. And the 9-5 is worlds better than the taurus wagon which I think was the only domestic wagon made at that time.

Mathias Rios > Slant6 01/10/2014 at 23:38

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400 dollars! STEAL, and Manual, my oh my.

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Slant6 01/10/2014 at 23:45

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Great car and write up! Thanks for the shoutout btw. I love Saabs. Always have. My dad drove a 93 900 convertible, first car I was ever in. I loved it.

Saabs are great because they still look classy today. I almost bought a 9-5 sedan but my dad was worried about maintenance... is yours bad?

Dad's 900 lit itself on fire in our driveway so reliability wasnt its strong suit.

mrazekan > Slant6 01/11/2014 at 14:54

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Many moons ago I picked up a 2001 9-5 wagon. It was an automatic as the car was not meant for me. It needed two tires so I went to talk to my neighborhood mechanic to order a pair for me. He looked at the car and said it shouldn't be too much. Then he saw the V rating on the tire. His response, "Well Damn!!! How fast this thing go?"

Like a goose, Saabs imprinted on my as a kid when the neighbor across the street would park his white 900 all cockeyed on the grass in front of his house. While I don't have the wagon anymore, I still have a Saab that I hope never to part with.

Thanks for the trip! P.S. These are some of my favorite wheels of all time:

Here they are painted black but I love the shape.

Slant6 > mrazekan 01/11/2014 at 15:04

2

Saab's wheel designs are some of the best ones there are. Here I am being biased again. The ten spokes I have are my least favorite. I would love to find some older 3 spokes or some of the newer 17s that they made near the end. Those wheels look nice. I think they look good in black.

Slant6 > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! 01/11/2014 at 15:06

1

It's not bad but it's no Civic. I like working on it though, so it works out. If you're going to have a car that needs maintenance, it has to be a car that you love.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Slant6 01/11/2014 at 15:07

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Can you break up your review sections into multiple paragraphs please.

Those walls of text are very hard to read.

Dunnik > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/11/2014 at 18:13

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I like the 2000's style, but I must admit, the man with sauce has a point.

But hey, you first car for $400 and it's a Saab wagon in good order? You still win.

merkyg > Slant6 01/11/2014 at 20:14

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Looks like my baby... (guest starring my dog in the back)

Slant6 > merkyg 01/11/2014 at 20:25

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The Euro turn signals look way better than my US market orange ones.

merkyg > Slant6 01/11/2014 at 20:34

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I always have a look over other 9-5s I see parked but can't say I've looked at the indicators too much, I think the standard is orange here too though. Ours is an '03 Vector.

merkyg > Slant6 01/11/2014 at 20:37

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Your ten spokes and the Scania badge remind me of our old 9-3, for some reason the Scania badges seem to get less eroded by time and the elements. The badges on this are almost blank now and I'm ashamed. Was looking for some black replacement badges with the silver logo as a mark of respect for Saab's passing, but now it seems they're back...

David Hume > Slant6 01/19/2014 at 17:39

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I love this review. The car is great, too. Congrats on getting such a sweet ride for your first car.

TheRidge > Slant6 01/21/2014 at 19:00

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If you plan on keeping it for a long time you should drop the oil pan and check for sludge on the oil pump pickup. The pre-2004 B235's had shit PCV systems and the sludge was a common problem. A number of saabcentral sponsors sell the update PCV kits as well.

PS: get a TD04 off an aero and a tune for even more fun