SAAB 9-5 deer carbon leather interior
At the Geneva Motor Show 2007, Saab presented the 9-5 Bio Power 100 concept study. With great rims and stunning, cool taillights. The exclusive leather interior of the Concept 9-5 came from Switzerland. Hirsch Performance made a carbon leather kit, consisting of dashboard, door trim and center console. Of course, the kit never got into the trade, at least not officially. What is more than unfortunate, because it fits very well with the last development stage of the Saab 9-5 I.
With the facelift, the Swedes deducted the cockpit of the 9-5 in a soothing way. There were fewer switches and buttons and the 9-5 followed more of the Saab philosophy again. At the same time, however, less valuable materials found their way into the command center. Instead of real wood was now installed faux, what the customer would not have noticed had it not been so negligent.
Dismantling the cladding begins to understand the wonders of Detroit. Because, many Saab 9-5 drivers are wondering, how could GM rattle a rock solid car? The feat, somehow unique and only possible with the Americans, was able to cut costs in Detroit through the high school of omission. Premium brands, who also like to work with imitations, give their vehicles a bit more material for noise suppression, such as simple felt. The placed between the plastic avoids the direct contact and thus unsightly noises. In the Saab 9-5 hard plastic meets hard plastic and a clever head in Detroit has probably saved so per car 80 cents. The result: No 9-5 I of the last evolutionary stage is completely rattle free.
This changes with the installation of the Hirsch carbon leather interior. Because instead of plastic, the base now meets leather and that works. Now, after all, the 5-year-old Saab looks good in the interior, just as it is for the brand. The cacophony of the unfortunate mix of materials has disappeared. Instead of two different types of plastic that meet Holzimitiat, leather now meets a single, grained plastic.
Now the silver knobs on the aeration nozzles are exchanged for black ones and the Saab is done. The black interior looks good and without rattling he goes on into the future. One thinks to sit in another car, that's the perceived difference.
Admittedly, we would have exchanged it for a 9-5 II sports suit long ago, if the development in Trollhättan had gone differently. And actually we wanted to sell it in the spring. Meanwhile, we are glad that we did not do this after the news from Sweden did not develop as hoped.
With the development in Trollhättan, the view of the car also changes. The word “sustainability” or “longevity” was not really an issue until some time ago, goes through our heads. Without replenishment you worry. But a good Saab machine can easily hold 400.000 kilometers and more with a bit of a feel for the matter. And the Saab 9-5 is a very robust base.
Our 9-5 BioPower no longer has much in common with the series. A Hirsch sports suspension, Hirsch sports steering wheel and the Swiss sports pedals. In addition, of course, the increase in performance. Now with the leather interior, it is almost perfect. Because one thing remains to be done. In Trollhättan, we noticed during our last visit, many Saab 9-5 I drive with 18 ″ turbine rims. It looks very good and makes the 9-5 look younger. The 18 ″ set of rims is already ready and will be mounted on occasion.
In the fall, then Rostvorsorge and Smart Repair is on. Because 5 years on German roads have left smaller traces of the battle and a precautionary preservation of the cavities can only be good. So that our Swede stays with us for a long time...
Text: tom@saabblog.net
Pictures: saabblog.net
Regarding rattling in SAAB vehicles, I can provide a long-term report about 3 SAAB's in about 20 years:
After driving a SAAB 7 9000 i for 2.0 years without any problems and reselling it with 283 km, I no longer wanted to bear the costs for a vehicle of this class and bought a VW Passat Kombi 000 1998V with 1.8 hp in 20. This vehicle was very comfortable, but made a very poor quality impression, used too much gasoline and had a lot of annoying defects.
That's why I switched to a SAAB 2000-9 5 LPT Combi with automatic machine and 2.3 PS in September 170. The car was born in 99 and was a demonstration car with 20 km. With 000 km, the SAAB was tuned to 50 hp at Hirsch and equipped with Hirsch rims, as the performance with the automatic transmission was too weak for me. After tuning, the vehicle could be driven confidently and stress-free even on long journeys and kept up with strong German premium brands on the Autobahn. Based on the driving performance, I assume that the guaranteed performance has been achieved with certainty. According to the speedometer, it ran over 000 km / h, but I rarely drove the maximum because the chassis and brakes in the LPT version were actually not dimensioned for it. In mid-225 I sold it with a defective turbocharger with a defective turbocharger covering 250 km, who replaced the turbo and checked the car and is back on the road with it. On snow the car was too strong and too heavy in difficult conditions despite the winter gearbox, the performance was difficult to control with the automatic gearbox, as the vehicle has no traction control. Over the whole time I needed an average of 2007 L petrol / 255 km, to get over 000L I had to drive over 8.4 km / h in Germany. With one filling of the 100L tank, in which 9L could fit when fully filled, I was able to regularly drive more than 180 km. The tires lasted 75 - 83 km, despite front-wheel drive, there was no question of a tire eater. The first brake pads were replaced at 900 km, the second pads and the first discs were due at 45 km. The rear shock absorbers were a weak point: after 000 km they had to be replaced. At 50 km, these were replaced a second time on goodwill by SAAB. The airbag light in the dashboard lit up 000 times, the workshop fixed the fault several times and replaced the wiring harness once. After 124 visits to the workshop, the damage was then repaired, SAAB took over the third visit here on goodwill. During a service, a control unit was replaced in the garage at SAAB's expense because a series of them was defective. Otherwise the vehicle did not need anything other than the prescribed maintenance (every 000 km until 230, then every 000 km afterwards). The oil consumption was zero up to 124 km, then approx. 000L per 164 km. The seats of the SAAB were very good despite the conservative appearance and were not worn out even after long use. I haven't found anything equivalent on the market.
That's why I bought another 2007-9 Combi in mid-5, but fully equipped and in the Aero version with 260 HP and automatic. This doesn't run much better than the old tuned 9-5, but has a much better chassis, more direct steering and much better brakes. It seems to me that the weak points of the first generation have generally been remedied as part of the facelift. The risk of oil sludge was (finally !!) eliminated and a service interval display installed. In practice, intervals of almost 30 km have resulted. The dashboard looks boring and cheap on the surface, the dashboards have become a class of modern times. This vehicle has now unwound 000 km after 2012 years in mid-5 and has never let me down. I haven't changed any wearing parts such as brake discs and brake pads yet and are gradually approaching the wear limit. Except for a defective sensor for the automatic height adjustment of the xenon headlights and a rattling sliding brook, there were no defects. Both defects were fixed by the SAAB garage under guarantee. The engine is dry and has never needed oil between service intervals. Consumption is between 177 liters at a constant 000 on long journeys on the autobahn and 6.5-100 liters when driving a caravan through a pass. The average consumption is 15 liters. The 17/8.1 235 tires last 45 - 17 km.
Compared with the products of the competition is an outdated design, current vehicles have automatic transmission with 6-7 gears. The image of SAAB has suffered greatly from the uncertainties of the past, a SAAB vehicle is currently almost only to sell to absolute fans. Because the seats are still the best for long-hauls I have ever had and I can run 1030 km with a full tank, I will also drive this SAAB for as long as possible. For more 5 years, I trust this vehicle quite, let's see.
However, I would like to have a built-in tire pressure system from a vehicle in this segment. All in all, a successful vehicle for people who can handle a turbo and do not want to drive mass-produced. Too bad that the brand has no future, SAAB would certainly have been shortlisted at the next selection.
Great report, thank you! We bought a 9-5 SportCombi, built in 2008, Linear with many extras, 69.000 km in April and we feel we did everything right.
Hi, hello
Do you need new or as good as new rims / tires for the winter or as a reserve?
You know why I have something left. '
gallix@freenet.de
Saab 9-5 Organic Power 100 Concept delicious
Well, this dashboard is nice and well and already know it from the 93. But I think it looks a bit like patchwork, since the different elements are just not kept in the style, ie radio block, climate block, various switch panels. Mine came even from the factory with a leather board therefore (yes, Werkstageszulassung with all the bells and whistles) and have it extra to be restored to plastic, because it just did not look like a piece. I also wanted to have the chrome ring!
The 93 variant:
http://www.hirsch-performance.ch/getAttachment.aspx?attaName=6044a8fc-51b0-4e73-b69b-8e9669a2fa91
The rest of the things should also be made in the same style. Also think that the pictures don't really capture what it looks like in real life ...
It is difficult to compare between 9-3 and 9-5, as there is a generation of vehicles in between and the 9-5 looks old in direct comparison. I know Tom's SAAB and once met him at the friendly. Live looks completely made in black interior better than you think and the deer leather is already very good and better than in the pictures. Too bad that it did not go into production would have been an alternative.
The cockpit comes from a time when other standards were applied to interior design. Today, all cockpits want to be made from a single mold, with plastic surfaces that are as soft as possible, foamed under, aluminum, etc. In this respect, even with a general overhaul - which looks really successful here - no miracles can be expected. The material mix between hard plastic, soft plastic, wood / carbon / aluminum remains, albeit in different compositions.
Nevertheless, successful beauty surgery