Review
The first is the increasing availability of excellent diesel engines using the latest technology and, with the exception of some four-cylinder units, the larger engines seem to have exceptional refinement. The second is the tax-friendliness of diesel in the face of the company car tax system.
Saab joined the fray towards the end of last year with a facelifted 9-5 range and a new 3.0-litre V6 common rail turbodiesel. The engine will be joined next month by a more economical 2.2-litre TiD, already used in the 9-3, to complete the 9-5's line-up of tax-beating power units.
In keeping with the engine's 176bhp, we decided to choose sporty Vector trim, taking the list price to more than £27,000 for our capacious estate variant.
We could have looked to BMW or Mercedes-Benz to provide rivalry with slightly more powerful engines, but the more expensive cars would give the Saab a generous head start in terms of running costs.
Instead we have opted for competitors other than the German duo. First is the 155bhp Audi A6 Avant 2.5 TDI Sport which is a few hundred pounds cheaper than the Saab and suffers from a 21bhp power deficit. The other contender is the new Volvo V70 D5 SE, which looks even better value with 8bhp more than the Audi, but costing £1,000 less.
These are the models company car drivers would be looking at as alternatives to the BMW/Mercedes axis, so the Saab needs to perform well and represent good value against such cars if it is to succeed.
The 9-5 estate has quite strong residual values according to CAP Network. The 3.0 TiD Vector estate should retain 37% of its original value over three years/60,000 miles, which is a decent showing for a high-spec model. It means the car will lose just under £17,400 over that time, or 27.62 pence per mile.
The Audi also retains 37% of its value over the same period, but it gains a small advantage from a slightly less expensive price, resulting in nearly £16,800 lost over the same period. The Volvo strikes first blood, though, with a retained value of 39% and the total lost reaching £15,830.
The Saab wins back some credibility from having the lowest service, maintenance and repair costs, despite having the shortest service intervals of the three (6,000 miles). According to our figures the Saab weighs in at 2.83 pence per mile over three years/60,000 miles, while the Volvo manages 3.29ppm and the Audi is the most expensive at 3.58ppm.
However, the Saab loses out once again in fuel costs. While each of these cars can easily attain the same levels of fuel consumption as petrol-powered lower-medium cars, the Saab has a disappointing fuel economy figure of 37.2mpg compared with 39.8mpg for the Audi and a remarkable 42.2mpg for the Volvo.
And although the figure for the Saab is acceptable, in real-world driving over two weeks I winced as I saw the trip computer average drop below 34mpg. Its higher fuel consumption also works against it in terms of company car tax. With carbon dioxide emissions of 202g/km for the 3.0 TiD estate, and the 3% supplement for diesels, the car will begin its life under the new BIK rules in the 25% tax bracket. This might be a huge improvement over a six-cylinder petrol car, but here it's just not good enough.
Fleet verdict
ALTHOUGH the 9-5 is a fine car, and a true load-lugging estate, its new V6 diesel does not deliver the expected fuel consumption and emissions benefits to make it sufficiently desirable over its rivals.
It loses out to both the A6 and V70 by being more expensive to fuel and the company car tax bills will also be higher in the Saab.
The A6 has flawless build and has the same understated elegance as the Saab, but our choice would be the Volvo.
It has an excellent engine which allows drivers to take full advantage of the benefits of diesel under the new company car tax laws, is as well built as the Audi and is a proper estate car.
Behind the wheel
SAAB'S facelift seems to have barely touched the styling of the 9-5. The front end is a little sharper and the rear light clusters are tidier but even Saab experts would be hard-pushed to tell the difference. The facelift has also resulted in new trim designations, with our Vector test car having sporty aluminium-effect materials on the dashboard. Our car also had an aggressive stance and a neat roof spoiler over the tailgate.
All 9-5s come with ABS, automatic climate control, ample air-baggery with many other safety features, a CD/radio and electric windows and mirrors, while the Vector adds a metal-effect dashboard, a cassette player, part-leather seats and traction control.
The new V6 diesel comes only with a manual gearbox (the auto does not fit with the engine and the cost of re-engineering the 9-5 two years away from its replacement was prohibitive), which should be better news for company car drivers with an eye on their tax bills.
The diesel does sound a bit like a bus when you start it up from cold, but it's not significantly worse than the Audi 2.5 TDI V6. It sounds quite nice when it settles down, and remains muted on the open road.
This is where the car comes into its own, with huge reserves of pulling power which can be unleashed by prodding the throttle hard.
Road noise is more evident with the standard 17-inch wheels, and the ride quality, which was already made firmer for the 9-5 with the current facelift, also suffers. The new 9-5 provides reasonably sharp handling for such a big car, although it doesn't feel as composed as an Audi A6. It has sharper turn-in than previous 9-5s and more communicative steering.
Driving verdict
IN Vector trim the Saab 9-5 seems to provide plenty of equipment for the money and its 3.0 TiD engine is up to the job of providing excellent performance with good refinement.
The more time you spend behind the wheel, the more you come to appreciate the logic of the design and the interior, but there are others that do a better all-round job.
The traction control on the Saab is more overworked than a club rep on Ibiza. There is so much torque from low down in the rev range that even the mildest pull away results in blinking from the dashboard to warn you the car's electronics are taking over and limiting the wheelspin.
The clutch requires some careful application, as it doesn't seem up to the job of transferring all that torque smoothly in low gears.
Combined with 17-inch low profile tyres that give a boneshaking, tramlining ride and the result is a car that feels manic and jittery. All very un-Saab-like. It is the best looking 9-5 though. The wheels fill the arches and the extra skirting and spoiler on the boot make the estate look really mean. If the chassis could handle the V6 diesel engine's power and torque properly it would be a cracker.
