STUD or DUD: Is The 2011 Saab 9-5 The Perfect Storm? First REAL Life Shots

Great looking car! I saw you today at the Monterey Macys. This car looks great in person.

this is a great looking car I love saab my first car was a saab 9000. This is nothing more than a new saab 9000 and the way the design came out is true to saab. The interior does need some work but i think it can be a competitor against the German Big 3 with a little more focus on interior deign and maybe make a sport model of this. I hope fiat has something in store for the next 9-3 because thats their biggest seller. I consider this car a stud due to its unique design and it looks like nothing else out there

correction i meant to say spyker NOT fiat....Im getting chrysler mixed in there

dash and gear area look cheap and plastic... exterior is fine although dated design (can you say sonata)Good luck Saab - but hurry with something new and exciting.

Very Handsome.

They should lower the roofline upfront, give the rear a sleek hatch, sharpen the headlights, and stretch the taillights like a Lincoln and you got yourself a "four-door coupe", Swedish style! ...perhaps give it a panoramic sunroof but keep the body paint on the front of the roof, forming a horseshoe shape when viewed from up top, and that'll make it a bit like Spyker - or somewhat Koenigsegg, the ones who pulled out of the Saab acquisition.

Not bad, could be more fierce looking, don't know what's underneath the hood, road test anyone?

Likely a version of GMs 2.0T ecotech or one of the turbo V6s (2.8 or 3.0). I honestly don't' know yet.

You know...I must admit...this car is growing on me. I'm liking the tail of it in particular. The jury is still out on the grille though. The interior is somewhat mixed. The steering wheel is CLEARLY current generation GM (a la Equinox, et al). But, I can see they made some attempt to make it a bit distinctive here, with the flatened lower part of it. The instruments are interesting for a SAAB, ie, mounted in their own binacles. I'm just itching for SAAB to stop using their aviation background to try to sell their cars because it doesn't work. Most Americans have never seen a SAAB aircraft and if they have, their memories are not usually pleasant, since SAAB sold no passenger jets, just props.

@WorldofLuxury: That high forward roofline IS Swedish style. Check pictures of the original 900 and you'll immediately see what I'm talking about and what SAAB is trying to get at. It works pretty well, I think.

aha I see.
I'm just naming the basic steps of making something into a "four-door coupe".

It's basically a GM design.

Exterior is good and is Saab all the way.

Interior needs some work though............

SPAM!!!!

@BMW8ter

TY for the head's up.

We can all wave goodbye now :)

It has a lot of elegant and clean lines, but some how doesn't seem to come together completely for me. Its like a luxury car that had sex with and econo car. (and yes, I know all four door cars are politically called "econo cars")But nevertheless, this has great potential. Deffiniately with Spyker. I so love the Spyker design mantra.

@ WorldofLuxury- You kept cracking me up because you will come in with a compliment and then hit the Saab with insults in which you make a whole entire new automobile. It quite hilarious.

Insults? I was merely making suggestions of another model based on the 9-5 with simple touches that are likely in the designers' minds.

Yes insult, but don't take offense to my statement, well at least yet anyway. I just thought it came off as very cynical and hilarious in critic. I mean man, you was taring the car apart. I guess it is all in the eye of the beholder.

The car, which's gonna save SAAB!

I like the looks. Clarkson did a review of it in the Sunday Times and said it would be great if it weren't for the suspension. While and important car for Saab, it's not much of a product of the "new" Saab. I'm anxious to see what their new head of design does with the 9-3. In the mean time, though, I'll enjoy watching these on the road.

Decision Decision.... buy this or an E class, or 5 series?
Clearly the exterior is modern and sleek and not a copy of anything else on the road. The interior is way poorly executed. The large black plastic housing in the pic with the navigation unit. I mean, really, black plastic. No aluminum or wood inlay. I have always liked SAAB for their unique, porsche like, exterior designs. Their interior have always looked like afterthoughts.

I think that they have always gone for the "control panel" look of an aircraft cockpit. Recognizably Saab, but I agree that it isn't the most attractive interior. This has been the reason for me that I haven't really considered a Saab thus far. I mean, the exteriors look great, but you spend most of your time inside the car.

Love the roof line and the Saabness of it but the interior is a letdown

The first batch of builds will only be offered in the Aero trim with the 2.8 liter turbo V6 engine making 300hp and 295ft-lb of torque.

The interior was still under control of GM design center, albeit Saab did have their two cents with the HVAC vents and placement of the push start button.

It looks very typical Saab but I think their interior looks much better. They took the basic Saab traits and pushed the design and quality up a bit.

This car has a royal car look,all these pics are introduce about this car very well.its very expensive but when someone ride this car he fell that he run a luxury plan. http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/free-business-cards-online-where-to-get-free-business-cards-2337616.html

I think its a stud, although I'm not digging the dashboard, but otherwise very, very nice.

Looks very unique and original design to me. I like this new Saab especially the front end and whole roof design is very nice. Stud.

JUGNU

Exterior, Mostly non-original, the only bit original is the Dame Edna Everage like front lights (which isn't that great anyway), back looks like a cross between, Mercerdes, Audi A6, and some Japanese car.. Front has cues taken from an Isignia.

I like this whole cars design on the outside. Inside could be improved a little for it's price range but it looks like this will be happening ongoing.

The rear, maybe because of the exhaust outlets, seems kind of Lexus-ish. I like it, except for the center console, which I've never been a fan of in other Saabs... Maybe this one might actually sell

Who cares? For chrissakes, its a Saab.

Definitely stud.

Definitely stud.