The admin of Trollhattan Saab, one of the best Saab blogs on the web (if not the only one), has informed us in a not so subtle way that our coverage of Frankfurt's IAA has yet to touch upon his favorite Swedish brand. Point taken, so here it is with apologies for our tardiness.
The big news at the Saab display was the world premiere of the redesigned 9-5 sedan and Sport Combi (wagon). Having been due for some attention from the designer's pen, the new 9-5 arrives with a new nose, rear end and dashboard that finally update the unique identity of this big Swedish sedan.
[Thanks to Swade for the painful prodding]
The front end, in particular, is of note as a quick glance might deceive you into thinking the brand has fitted the car with a traditional single grille instead of the brand?s trademark three-grille design. Look a little closer, however, and you?ll see the two smaller grilles are now integrated with the headlights, a look that was lifted from the 9X concept car.
In addition to the new duds, the 9-5 has a ?Tri-Fuel? engine lineup of turbocharged powerplants running on your choice of diesel, ethanol or gasoline. Sweden already has the infrastructure to deliver E85 fuel and Saab predicts 45% of its domestic customers will choose its 2.0L BioPower engine that produces 180 bhp. There?s also a 1.9L TiD diesel that produces 150 bhp and a range of gasoline engines that tops out with the turbo 2.3L in the Aero model producing 260 bhp.
The last piece of news from Saab is the official introduction of the company?s first V6 that can be had only in 9-3 Aero trim. The turbocharged 2.8L V6 produces 250 bhp, enough to make the 9-3 Aero the fastest accelerating Saab ever with a 0-62 mph time of 6.7 seconds.
Oh yeah, here?s the 9-3 Sport Combi. We?re pretty big fans of the 9-3 and the wagon variant has been done well. Those rear taillights that look like they were ordered out of a JC Whitney catalogue are a point of contention for some, however we love the way belt line never reaches the rear, instead following the outline of the D-pillar up towards the roof.
Saab V6 = frost advisory in Hell
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