2001 Saab 9-5

I owned quite a few Volvos, a Honda, VW, before I leased (eventually buying out) a 2001 Saab 9-5 wagon, with the base 2.3 engine, automatic.

My big decision was driven by Consumer Reports favorable reliability rating of the Saab. I have never been steered wrong by their opinions and value them in my car shopping. Now, epinions is my cross shopping site.

The first impressions of the ownership were totally favorable. Normal dealer, no creepy selling tricks, allowing me to drive the car by myself (totally fantastic to be free from the governing of the dealer), great lease rates, then the after sale was nice too. A mug in the mail, a house plant (yup, odd, but a nice gesture).. service loaners, fast agreeable service virtually no problems in the first two years. Only ones were slight squeak in the wood veneer attachment to the dash (fixed on first request) and a burnt out head light.

After 3 years a few issues came up, including, most significantly, a blown turbo. That happened at about 41,000 miles. Fixed instantly with no questions and some surprise from service that it went then. I do a lot of hard city driving in San Francisco with tons of hills and until then, I hadn't always used high octane gas. Who knows what exactly made it fail, but again, the response was at least terrific. Sunroof wind deflector busted and has been, after 73,000 miles one of the only repeat issues.

The overall driving experience is what overwhelms me with joy over and over. I am very picky, cannot stand squeaks and rattles. I love to drive, and were it not for my desire to preserve oil resources, would drive hard and fast all the time. After so many miles this car is still tight. NO rattles. On the highway the mileage is dynamite at between 29-33mpg. The power is always way more than enough to leave anyone unsuspecting or even competitive, in my dust. Seat comfort is astounding with 6 hour drives leaving me feeling fresh. The ride is perfect for me. Seat folding is simple. Hard cargo cover is slightly cumbersome, but rattle free and a quality item. Better than my BMW 325it roller shade. The traction is good, though I always prefer rwd, the front wheel drive on this vehicle is pretty strong. Little scribble-grab of the standard traction control. Satisfying. Climate control seems to need adjustments often and the buttons require a glance even after years of ownership. I noticed that the 2006 model finally has knobs, which seem more intuitive than buttons.

This car also came standard with OnStar telematics. I couldn't have cared less then, but now I am addicted. For the work I do, it's like having a navigation system, back-up cell phone, cop, and assistant all in three buttons. I use it for directions, given by a real person, for finding the car when it was towed (oops), booking hotel reservations, hands-free calling (which is not as easy as it could be and can't do anything for message checking since it's all voice activated).

Overall, I told myself that I'd never own a Saab past its' warranty, but the car was still rocking my world. I wound up buying the car out from the lease, at a great price. Since the warranty expired at 50,000 miles, it's had some fairly significant issues. Sunroof deflector again. SID which is a temp/mileage etc computer display failed at around $300, and alarm module, starter, more. At 73,000 miles, I'm definitely shopping for a new car. After considering the Mercedes wagon, the reliability reviews were FIAT-esque and the price is tall. The Audi has no telematics, lousy reliability reviews, bad mpg, and it's spendy. The BMW 5 series looks terrific, has telematics, all the good stuff, yet at $65,000 for it spec'd with the same stuff as a Saab as far as luxury items, it's too much. I'm over Volvo, Subaru has irritating frameless doors, and neither have telematics and none have mileage as good as the Saab, so I'm looking at a 2006. I never would have thought I'd be so happy with a car, but it's been a great ride.