Friday 11th March
Shed of the Week: Saab 9-5 Aero
Very many miles and not much money - the bargain barge potential is strong here!
Big miles, big power, little price; tempting...
There is no Swedish god of motoring, as all the jobs were taken long before the days of the car. But if there was one, who for argument's sake we'll call Stig, you'd be wanting a small plastic model of him glued firmly to the dash of this week's Shed of the Week, a Saab 9-5 Aero HOT.These meaty Swedes have appeared in our not so hallowed halls on more than one occasion, mainly because they are quick, luxurious and surprisingly good value, three of the main totems of Shed ownership. The vendor of this 2000 specimen kindly fills us in on the generic features of the model, but is regrettably coy on the specifics of his car. We know Saabs have lots of features, including the excellent Night Panel which, despite what you might think, is not something you stand behind while using a chamber pot. What we need to know is whether all these things actually work. Let's assume, charitably, that they do.
It's not all that long ago that people were saying you could never build a usable front-driver with more than 200hp. In the times that people were saying that, Saab itself seemed quite keen to prove the claim true by producing unruly beasts such as the 9000 Griffin that, when the throttle was mashed by a leadbooted Sven, would go in almost every direction other than the one required.
Hopefully the displays in here still work
The 9-5 was a bit better behaved than the 9000, possibly because it was built on the numb but basically benign Vectra chassis. Also, it had TCS - Saab's Traction Control System.in action, and not. Not a massive difference in the snow, in all honesty, but pretty useful in general if you're trying to put all 230hp through the front wheels.Is it 230hp though? As any fule kno, HOT is short for High Output Turbo. The advertised output of a 2000 9-5 HOT was indeed 230hp, as stated in the ad, but those early spec sheets were very conservative. Many (including Saab) say that these earlier cars were nearer to the 250hp claimed for later models, especially manuals which could easily nail the 0-60 in six and a half seconds.
With almost the same first three figures on this car's odometer as on its power spec sheet, the likelihood is that a few of its original Trollhättan horses will have retired to pasture by now. Still, with a decent service history, it would be perfectly reasonable to expect a seven-second 0-60 squirt from our Shed. Mighty mid-range thrust plus sports suspension means a well-driven Aero HOT can give even quite serious performance cars a run for their money in day-to-day use. Remaps are easy and bountiful.
And there's a big boot too!
The one fly in our ointment is the lack of any mention of a service history, let alone a full one, but that might be nothing more than an omission from the ad. Even with a wodge of papers to hand, there are a few foibles that the owner of a fast 9-5 needs to take under advisement.Popping hoses, bust EVAP gas-dispersal valves, non-sensing crank position sensors and wonky DICs (Direction Injection Cassettes) can all ruin your day. It's almost like Saab knew the DIC was going to make a DIC of itself as they made it suspiciously modular. Dropping in a new cassette is literally as easy as that. Smart owners carry spares in the commodious boot.
Pre-redesign, the older 2.3 engines suffered badly from oil sludging. Check that someone has removed the sump and purged the strainer, and then make a point of only using decent oil thereafter. Front wishbones, ARB bushes and drop links all go west on 9-5s. The clamshell bonnet is vulnerable to stone attack. Inside, your first duty might be to check for missing pixels in the SID (Saab Information Display), unless you're like Shed and prefer to live in not-so-blissful ignorance.
The Shed pics have been taken on a grim day in Cambridgeshire but there's no obvious sign of rust anywhere. The beauty of Saab seats is that big mileage won't hurt them because they were pillowy and squidgy when they were new. The 9-5 was one of the first cars with proper side impact protection. That and the massive boot make it a valid choice for any PHer with a family.
The two factors that go a long way to counteracting any uncertainties you may have about this car are the long MOT and its £495 asking price. That's a near thirty grand saving on new. Ten fifties in your hand won't go a long way these days, but they could well do if you converted them into this silver Swede and those gods are on your side. If they're not, Hlin is the goddess of consolation.
Turbo 230 bhp
Alloy wheels
Full black leather seats, steering wheel, gear knob
Adjustable head restraints, front & rear,
Airbags
Rear seat centre arm rest folds down
Rear seats fold down - in full or split
Electrically operated sliding sunroof with both glass and metal covers
Heated front seats, height adjustable front seats
Height & reach adjustable steering wheel
Heated and electrically operated wing mirrors
Electrically operated windows
Childproof door locking
Double driver's sun visor for ahead and side shading
Cruise control, TCS
Trip computer, night panel
Radio, DVD/casette player with centre console and steering wheel controls
Climate control system
Fog lights, additional low level front lights
MOT expires January 2017