2007 Saab 9-5 Review (continued)
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Walkaround

The Saab 9-5 is instantly recognizable as a Saab. It has that familiar Saab profile, embodied in the rake of the hood. Sedans have raked C pillars that lead into a short rear deck, while similarly raked C pillars on wagons give a sleek look despite the squared off rear end. Both body styles feature smooth bumpers, an integrated grille, and clear-lens composite headlights, all of which help emphasize the car's performance-minded intentions.

The 2006 exterior redesign gave the front end an attractive, sinister appearance, with a dark grille and headlights outlined by chrome trim. Overall, the 9-5 has a sculpted, Scandinavian appearance. Its aerodynamic lines are tautly drawn. We don't love the tinted headlights.

All models ride on low-profile performance-tuned 225/45VR17 all-season radials with alloy wheels. 2.3T Aero models are slightly lowered, adding to their sporty appearance.

Interior Features

The Saab 9-5 is roomy for its exterior size, making for a comfortable cabin front and rear. Interior materials are high quality.

Leather upholstery and heated seats are standard. The leather seats are supportive and comfortable. The seats in the Aero offer sufficient side bolstering for hard cornering, yet sliding into and out of them is easy. There are plenty of adjustments, yet it isn't critical to adjust them just so in order to get comfortable. Front leg room is plentiful, but taller drivers may have a problem with head room. The seat heaters have two settings.

The rear seats offer about as much leg room as anything in the class.

The center dash is attractive, though the wood trim is so shiny it looks like plastic. The black upper dash helps reduce glare, and there is Saab's now-traditional Night Panel setting that switches off most of the instrument lights to reduce eyestrain when it's dark, good for long, lonely night drives.

The 9-5 instrument panel is curved at the top in the same shape as the steering wheel, affording an unobstructed view of the speedometer, tachometer, fuel, temperature and turbo boost gauges. All of the controls are within arm's reach, and the layout is easy to understand. The standard dual-zone climate control system features three big dials that couldn't be easier to use. The audio controls for the Harman/Kardon stereo are also simple, and redundant audio controls on the steering wheel reduce distraction from the road. The radio is wired hot so it can be turned on without the key. We wish all cars had this capability. On the downside, the cruise control switch is located on the end of the flimsy feeling turn signal stalk and is hidden by the steering wheel.

Our 9-5 2.3T Aero wagon was outfitted with the optional navigation system, which absorbs some of the audio functions but is still straightforward to operate. The navigation system is more expensive than most. Ordering navigation moves the six-disc changer to the rear of the car, and it eliminates standard satellite radio. So this navigation system is not a bargain.

Saab has historically offered unorthodox solutions to interior needs. In the 9-5, these solutions are clever, but not always successful. In accordance with Saab tradition, the ignition slot is located on the center console, and so are the power window switches. This placement reduces the size of the console bin and leaves no room for cup holders. Instead, a cup holder pops out of the dash from a vertical slot the size of a CD and pivots around to hold cans of soda or that grande cappuccino; it works well, but feels flimsy. A fixed cup holder inside the center console is more stable but less convenient, taking up space and preventing front passengers from resting their arms on the console.

More useful are the split sunvisors, the rotating map light, and the right side-view mirror. The split sunvisors can block the sun from the side and front at the same time, and the map light rotates in a directional ball, like the adjustable reading lights in older jetliners. The right side-view mirror has glass that bends at the far end to provide a wider view of the right lanes. It requires familiarization to determine the location of an approaching car at a quick glance. When moving from the left lane to the right lane, it can sometimes make an approaching car look like it is changing lanes and moving toward you. We found it didn't work very well at all in the rain, but it does give a wider view.

Wagons feature a large, flat cargo compartment. Flipping the rear seat bottoms up and folding the rear seatbacks down reveals 73 cubic feet of cargo space. Smooth black painted metal covers the bottoms of the rear seats, making a nice clean surface that won't dirty or damage cargo, a nice attention to detail on Saab's part. The 9-5 offers significantly more cargo capacity than the BMW 5 Series and Audi A6 wagon, and slightly more than the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Volvo V70 wagons. We were able to fit an antique dry sink and four tall ladder-back dining chairs into the 2.3T Aero wagon. Loading heavy objects into the 9-5 is easy because it has a much lower load height than an SUV. Add a dog fence, and a 9-5 wagon is a great car for big dogs. Caesar the 170-pound mastiff found the Saab 9-5 quite comfortable and getting in and out was easier for him and for us than having him scramble up a ramp into a sport-utility.