If there was ever an award for bad timing, Saab’s UK division would probably be a front-runner this month. You see, there is something fundamentally wrong with announcing pricing and details on a new product when its production has been suspended (even if, as Saab claims, proves to be temporary, in which case, why not wait?).
In any case and with Saab’s future depending on deals that still need to be approved from Swedish, European and Chinese officials, the company gave out UK pricing information on the 2012 model year 9-5 range, which benefits from the introduction of the SportWagon and a series of enhancements, including additional features and further reduced CO2 emissions for all engines.
The main attraction of the 9-5’s 2012 lineup is the presentation of the estate model with the SportWagon moniker. Boasting a more practical body style with an adaptable load capacity of up to 1,600 litres, or 527 litres with the rear seats up, the 9-5 SportWagon is available with several engine choices. These include a 2.0-liter turbo diesel in 160HP and 190HP outputs, a 1.6-liter Turbo petrol with 180HP, a 2.0-liter petrol with 220HP in both FWD and AWD flavors, and a top-end 2.8-liter Turbo with 300HP and standard AWD.
On-the-road prices for the station wagon model range from £26,995 to £39,195.
Saab says it has fine-tuned all 9-5 engines, which as a result, deliver an average CO2 reduction and fuel consumption improvement of 4.7 percent. Changes have been made to the chassis as well with suspension upgrades on all models while Saab’s all-wheel-drive system now includes an electronic, limited-slip differential (eLSD) as standard on Aero XWD models.
Finally, the Swedish automaker has added new interior trim finishes on both Vector SE and Aero variants, while satellite navigation and digital radio (DAB) becomes standard on all models.
Saab UK said it will begin accepting orders now with customer deliveries to commence in Autumn 2011.
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