9-5 Aero Hot Advice

[Chord_]

Hello,

I am looking at 9-5's, like the MY06 onwards, the Aero Hot spec and would prefer a lower mileage car. Prices seem to vary quite a bit. I really like the seats in the Aero Hot version, seem to be much nicer than the half leather or fabric seats. Insurance was a bit of a surprise as was the road tax :-) I was looking for advice on how much I should be looking to spend.

Have seen the car below, any thoughts? Is it worth going for the Anniversary edition? A big reason for going for a SAAB was they are very comfortable and present very good value, however there is a lot of metal around the 9-10k mark and I guess the car will carry on losing a lot of it's value.

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/SAAB...

[The_Jackal]

Lovely cars, the seats are as good as they say.
Last year I got an 08 93 Aero Sportwagon (210HP) for 11k from a dealer and it is a lovely car to drive, and definitely is nice to have something a bit different. It even handles the bends ok with its passive rear wheel steering.
There should be quite a few around so try to hold out for exactly the car/colour/spec that you want. Especially as lots of the 08s will be coming out of warranty this year.

[bikerPaul]

Hey....

I just bought an MY07 9-5 Aero estate at the end of last year. As far as i can see there is little difference between the Aero and Anniversary models - in fact, IIRC they were the same price when new when checking the brochures. Alloys are different and i think the seats were embossed but that was about it.

Road tax is challenging and real world MPG is nowhere near as optimistic as Saab quote but what the heck. It is comfy as and with a good turn of speed when up and running. Mated to the auto box as mine is, it isn't quick off the mark.

Paul

[Chord_]

bikerPaul said:

Hey....

I just bought an MY07 9-5 Aero estate at the end of last year. As far as i can see there is little difference between the Aero and Anniversary models - in fact, IIRC they were the same price when new when checking the brochures. Alloys are different and i think the seats were embossed but that was about it.

Road tax is challenging and real world MPG is nowhere near as optimistic as Saab quote but what the heck. It is comfy as and with a good turn of speed when up and running. Mated to the auto box as mine is, it isn't quick off the mark.

Paul

Thanks for that. Trawling through the web I see some owners claim that they can get up to 35 when cruising at 70 on the motorway? I take it you have yet to see that? I already have a rather large engined car with mpg in the mid 20's, so I'd rather not get a another gas guzzler! Unfortunately the 9-5 diesels are not that great, so if the 2.3 is as thirsty as the figures claim then I'll have to look elsewhere for a comfy mile muncher or think very hard before going for one.

[RedLeicester]

Chord_ said:

Thanks for that. Trawling through the web I see some owners claim that they can get up to 35 when cruising at 70 on the motorway? I take it you have yet to see that? I already have a rather large engined car with mpg in the mid 20's, so I'd rather not get a another gas guzzler! Unfortunately the 9-5 diesels are not that great, so if the 2.3 is as thirsty as the figures claim then I'll have to look elsewhere for a comfy mile muncher or think very hard before going for one.

I have had two Aeros, a 2000 and 2001 - both would easily see 35mpg plus on a run without batting an eyelid.

[aeropilot]

bikerPaul said:

Road tax is challenging and real world MPG is nowhere near as optimistic as Saab quote but what the heck. It is comfy as and with a good turn of speed when up and running. Mated to the auto box as mine is, it isn't quick off the mark.

Not quick off the mark.... in comparison to what?

My 2004 9-5 Aero auto is plenty quick off the mark with the 'silly' button engaged or in M+ mode.

I wouldn't even say it's a sluggard in normal auto mode either tbh.

As for fuel consumption, I've not seen more than 32-33 on a long motorway run at speeds up to 70. However, driving normally, and keeping it below 3 figure speeds, that figure only drops to 30ish anyway, so for the sake of a couple of mpg, I drive it normally
I'm easily getting 26-27 on my daily commute in and around the M25, which I don't think is that bad tbh.

[RedLeicester]

[quote=aeropilot
As for fuel consumption, I've not seen more than 32-33 on a long motorway run at speeds up to 70. However, driving normally, and keeping it below 3 figure speeds, that figure only drops to 30ish anyway, so for the sake of a couple of mpg, I drive it normally
I'm easily getting 26-27 on my daily commute in and around the M25, which I don't think is that bad tbh.

[/quote]

That's a good point - my figures were for the manuals.

[bikerPaul]

Chord_ said:

Thanks for that. Trawling through the web I see some owners claim that they can get up to 35 when cruising at 70 on the motorway? I take it you have yet to see that? I already have a rather large engined car with mpg in the mid 20's, so I'd rather not get a another gas guzzler! Unfortunately the 9-5 diesels are not that great, so if the 2.3 is as thirsty as the figures claim then I'll have to look elsewhere for a comfy mile muncher or think very hard before going for one.

If you were solely on the m'way then yes you'll see 35mpg as i have done.

However, i wouldn't trade it for anything else.

Paul

[bikerPaul]

aeropilot said:

Not quick off the mark.... in comparison to what?

I'm not saying that the car is slow by any stretch. What i meant was that if you are expecting a traffic lights machine then it isn't the best as (a) it has an auto box and (b) it isn't light.

The best turn of speed i think it has is above 40mph.

aeropilot said:

My 2004 9-5 Aero auto is plenty quick off the mark with the 'silly' button engaged or in M+ mode.

I cannot comment on your model but the 'silly' button on my MY07 only holds onto 3rd or 4th gear longer than it would normally.

Paul

[aeropilot]

bikerPaul said:

I'm not saying that the car is slow by any stretch. What i meant was that if you are expecting a traffic lights machine then it isn't the best as (a) it has an auto box and (b) it isn't light.

I don’t think the auto is a handicap for getting away from the lights at all. I had a manual 9000 Aero before this and with the ‘silly’ button engaged, the 9-5 Aero auto is waaaay quicker off the line than the manual 9000 Aero was.

bikerPaul said:

I cannot comment on your model but the 'silly' button on my MY07 only holds onto 3rd or 4th gear longer than it would normally.

Sport mode should change the FBW throttle as well, you get a much more immediate throttle response, and I usually engage the silly button mostly around town for the sharper throttle response for pulling out of junctions etc., it's very effective for that purpose.
The throttle sensitivity is very marked when switching in/out of 'S' mode.

Switching to M+ mode has the same effect on the throttle action.

[bikerPaul]

aeropilot said:

Sport mode should change the FBW throttle as well, you get a much more immediate throttle response, and I usually engage the silly button mostly around town for the sharper throttle response for pulling out of junctions etc., it's very effective for that purpose.
The throttle sensitivity is very marked when switching in/out of 'S' mode.

Switching to M+ mode has the same effect on the throttle action.

I didn't know that. When i read the manual i was sure it said that it only holds onto 3rd and 4th longer. I sense a test being required tonight!

Cheers
Paul

[Chord_]

The_Jackal said:

Lovely cars, the seats are as good as they say.

Is there any difference in the seats between the different models? The leather seats in the HOT felt a lot nicer than the Vector seats I sat in.

[The_Jackal]

I couldn't say for sure but the seats in my Aero are full leather and they are definitely built more for comfort than sport. I did 500 miles in a day down to Cornwall with no aches and pains.
Buying a SAAB though, I would always go for the Aero, especially secondhand when all the cost of the extras has been absorbed by the first owner.

[T5GRF]

If your budget will stretch try to find a turbo edition 95. They came with nearly every Saab option as standard, I think the only option was a glass sunroof. These cars are very good value for money. I bought a year old car from a main dealer and ran it for 19 months and 20000 miles, it was totally reliable and sold it back to the trade suffering surprisingly little depreciation when I started to work from home last September. Fuel averaged 27.5 mpg during my ownership but on long motorway runs ( which is what these cars do best) 30 mpg is achievable.

[spaceship]

My Aero is a 2002 with a fairly low mileage of 70k.

Recently back from a run to York from Scotland where it averaged 35.5mpg over nearly 500 miles. As a cruiser, it was totally effortless. The seats in particular are extremely comfortable. Also, the 'S' button makes overtaking slow trucks on the A-roads a piece of cake - you are passed them before you know it.

[PhilipAlfa]

Last July i bought a lowish miles 07 plate 9-5 Aero estate. So far very happy with it and intend keeping it for a good few years. As people have already said it's a great long distance cruiser. Mine is a manual car which avoids the highest road tax band, but to be honest now that i have the car i think an auto probably suits its better and is probably worth paying the extra tax for. On the economy front last weekend i did a 200 mile round trip fully loaded with family and large dog it averaged 33mpg on the trip (which compared to some manual checks i have done seems pretty accurate). I was going fairly gently though and never went over 80.

I did look at an anniversary model and the only significant extra this had was a built in satnav unit. Not sure if that was standard or just an extra on the particular car i looked at. Anyway i didn't buy that one, instead buying a standard aero. I've just put in pioneer double din satnav/ipod/phone thing which does a great job and as i recalll with the factory satnav it's difficult to hook up an ipod.

Cheers

Philip

[Chord_]

Thanks for the advice everyone, keep it coming. I guess it's a case of waiting for the right car now as there are not that many around.

[Nick67]

Looking at buying a 95 Aero myself

Chord which car did you see as the link no longer works

I've seen cars with Convenience packs etc what did they come with.

Not driven one yet, but moving from a manual 93 2.8v6 convertible, which is the better drive, manual or auto pros/cons

[Chord_]

Nick67 said:

Looking at buying a 95 Aero myself

Chord which car did you see as the link no longer works

I've seen cars with Convenience packs etc what did they come with.

Not driven one yet, but moving from a manual 93 2.8v6 convertible, which is the better drive, manual or auto pros/cons

The link was for an anniversary model for 10k, 2007, with 38k miles on it. Prices seem to vary quite a lot, and if it's not an aero hot you want then they can be had quite a bit cheaper.

From what I gather the auto suits the character of the car better.

[Nick67]

Thanks for the info

I've gone and put a deposit on an Aero manual collect next week