Reader Review of the Week: 2008 Saab 9-5
When in the market for a luxury sport sedan, an eye for value is key. How fortunate, then, that our reader reviewer of the week, "An Eye for Value" from New York, points out the relative benefits of going with the "underappreciated" Saab 9-5. Our reviewer notes that some might not find the 9-5's styling particularly appealing, but promises that the vehicle grows on you. Read the full review after the jump and post your own review here.
"This is a great, underappreciated and overlooked European sedan. With a Saab 9-5, I believe you get a distinctively styled, fun-to-drive, relatively fuel-efficient, roomy, comfortable, safe, European-engineered luxury sports sedan at a great value.
“Although not quite as distinctive as the Saabs of the 1970s through early 90s, this is still not a cookie-cutter car. This car is best appreciated as a driver behind the wheel. It has nice performance, delivered responsibly through a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, in addition to decent handling and steering. It's roomy all around, particularly the backseat, and the trunk is enormous.
“I may be in the minority, but I really like this car's styling both in and out: Sporty, assertive and distinctive. It will grow on you. Inside, the cockpit feel of the dash puts all the controls exactly where they should be. This is my fourth Saab and it has not disappointed. I believe this is a smart choice and a value in the $35,000 luxury sport sedan universe. Worthy of consideration, at least."
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Great car, horrible resale value. The perceived value goes out the door when you try to sell or trade it in and you find out it's worth %68 less. That being said, I think one of the best values out there is a 2 or 3 year old used Saab. You can buy them for around $12k and they are easily worth at least $5k more.
Where's the Saab hybrid? Where's the innovation? You can't just build overpriced four cylinder cars anymore and expect to compete. Saab's peak was in the 70s and they haven't done a single innovative thing since.
Exactly right. Its simply not worth it to buy a brand new one. I recently bought an '05 9-3 AERO with 45K miles for 18K. Thats a 40% depreciation in 3 years. Good for me, but not the used dealership that sold it.
The SAAB hybrids are still being developed, but they're getting there. In the mean time, check out the XWD technology in their latest 9-3 models, not to forget that SAAB has several nice models that use E85 as fuel (I happen to have one). All recent innovations that SAAB either spearheaded or perfected in the unique way that SAAB does so well.