28 -

Friday, August 27, 1999 — North Shore News

THE Saak 9-5 Wagon’'s large rear area borrows features from the aircraft industry with its cargo tracks and grip iecks used te secure carge uncer heavy braking. The
1999 Saab 9-5 Wagon was ; introduced in mid-1999, about a year after the new 3-5 sedan. The front-wheel-drive 9-5 Wagon offers easy acces, the chaice of two tur-
bocharged engines and has clean styling. Prices start at $41,908 with options pushing it to $50,000.

AT the momeitt, the
Saab 9-5 Wagon is the.

station wagon in
the entry level tuxury
car segment, a class
which includes the
BMW 3-Series,
Mercedes-Benz C-Class,
Audi A4, Lexus 25300,
Acura 3. >TL, Infiniti
130 and Mazda
Millenia. —

BMW and Audi do make
wagon versions of their com-
pact sedans, but they are tot
sold in Canada.

The 9-5 Wagon was intro-
duced in the middie of 1999,
about a year after the all-new
9-5 sedan was introduced. The
9-5 is based on a-European

Ogei chassis (Saab is owned by ~

General Motors) and replaced

the Saab $000 in the spring of —

1998.
Saab did a good job with

the Wagon’s styling. Tts clean .

and harmonious lines don’t
‘sok like a sedan that’s been
“turned, into . a wagon. “The
wagon’s roof and rear doors
were designed specifically for
the wagon bedystyle for this
very reason. Acrodynamicaily,
the Wagon is alraost as slippery
as the sedan with a drag coeffi-

cicnt of 0.31, 2 little more than
the sedan’s 0.29 drag coeffi-
cient.

Practicality is the Wagon’s
forte. Its cargo area has rough-
ly twice the space of the
sedan’s trunk with the rear
seats up and four times as
much with the 60/40 folding

ar seats. down. In addition,

‘ane or both rear seats in the

wagon can be removed entire-
ly for more cargo room.

. The Wagon’s rear liftgate
requires very little effort to
raise and an adult can stand
underneath it, The loading
height is very low, the cargo
area is well-lit, and as an
option there’s a sliding floor

:device that can be roiled out

almost half a metre to meke
lifting casier.

-To secure cargo, the 9-5
Wagon borrows a feature fom
the: aircraft industry: a pair of
cargo tracks, one-grip locks

and special belts are used to
make sure the cargo doesn't

shift under emergency brak-

a good safety feature. A
herd, foldable parcel shelf con-
ceals the loading area from
outside view,

A number of accessories
such as straps, elastic neis,
carge guards and a complete
roof rack system are available
— roof rails are standard
equipment.

Like the sedan, the 9-5"

wagon is available with two
engines. A turbocharged 170-
horsepower -2.3-lire DOHC
16-valve four-cylinder engine,
and a turbocharged inter-
cooled 200-horsepower 3.0-
litre DOHC 24-valve V6 pow-
erplant. Both engines use pre-
mium fuel. and both 5-speed
manual and 4-speed automatic

. transmissions are available on

the 9-5.
The optional 3.0 litre V6

‘engine in my test car proved

very quict, except under hard
acceleration when it emitted a
guttural, throaty roar.

At highway cruising speeds,
it loafs along in the 2 000
p.m: range, but when called
upon to pass, it responds
quickly. Tiiere’s no noticeable
turbo lag, not much torque
steer an ‘the Saab accelerates
quickly and cleanly.

9-5

The automatic transmission
in my test car downshifted
quickly, but at 80 km/h, it
shifts from 4th to 2nd gear
with a rather jerky motion.

Wagons are often noisier
than sedans because the rear
cargo area acts like an echo
chamber, but I found the 9-5
Wagon’s ievels of noise and
vibration to be relatively low
and wind-noise minimal.

The $-5’s suspension has
front and. rear sub-frames to
isolate vibrations, and front
MacPherson struts and rear
multi-link suspension for a
controlled comfortable ride.

I enjoyed the 9-5’s smooth
ride and predictable handling,
but I thought the steering
could have had more feel.

A well-equipped interior
includes Saab’s trademark
expansive dash with .a- flat,
charcoal-coloured surface,
woodgrain trim around the
instruments and large buttons
with large lettering. Like ali
Saab’s, the ignition switch is
on the floor between the seats,
and the power window bur-
tons are in the centre console,
net on the doors.

I found it easy to get com-
fortable in the 9-5. A standard
tilt/teicscopic steering wheel
and multi-adjustabie seat made
it simple to find a good driving

jagon’s f

position and outward visibility
was clear in every direction.
Separate driver and passenger

temperature controls for the.

heater and air conditioner kept
the temperature just right. By
the way, charcoal. filters are
built into the ventilation sys-
tem.

-My vest car had optional
ventilated front Icather scats
with cooling fans built into the

seats. These fans, which have
three speeds, are designed to
cool your clothing and make
the drive more comfortable — .
and they work! me
In addition, the seats have a
three-position ‘heater for cold-
er winter months. .
All Saab front seats have

“the Saab active head restraint -

See Wagon page 30 :

Technical Data
1999 Saab 5-5 Wagon

Base price: $41,900
Freight: $855 :
Price as tested: $53,355

Type: four-door, five-passenger mid-sized wagon
Layout: transverse front engine /front-wheel-drive
Engine: 3.0-litre V6, DOHC, 24 valves mts

Horsepo

wer: 200 @ 5,000 p.m.

Torque: 229 !b.-ft. @ 2,100 rp m.
Curb weight: 1,740 kg (3, 236 ib.)

Tires: P215/55R- “6.

Wheeibase 2,703 mm (206.4 in.)

Length: 4,808 mim (189.3 in.)

Width: 2,042 (80.4 in.)

Height: 1,497 mm (58.9 in.)

Cargo space: Rear seat up 809 litres Rear seat down 2 3067

litres

Fuel consumption: City: 13.3 1/100 km (21 mp.g. )
Highway: 8.6 1/100 km (33 m.p.g.)
Warranty: three years/60,080 km