Countdown to Launch: New Saab 9-5 Ready to Roll

From the frozen wastes of northern Sweden to the baking plains of southern Spain, Saab’s chief test driver Peter Johansson and his small team of chassis experts have driven on some of the most challenging roads in Europe to fine-tune the dynamics of the next generation Saab 9-5.

Peter and his team clocked up more than 500,000 kilometers, the equivalent of driving 12 times round the world, in their quest to find the best set-up. That meant optimizing two different suspension layouts, front and all-wheel-drive transmissions, passive and adaptive chassis functions and two steering systems with different brakes, wheel sizes and tires, as well as five powertrain options.

Customers will soon enjoy the results of their work.

In many markets, the 9-5 order book is already open and the first deliveries of Saab’s new flagship sedan will begin later this year.

“When you get in the car and drive, you feel like you are part of the vehicle. You feel directly connected to the controls and the car really becomes an extension of the driver,” says Peter. “This is why the new 9-5 is fun and so rewarding to drive. Throughout the development process, we focused on giving this car all the exciting driving characteristics you would expect from a Saab. “The electronic systems such as the stability control, DriveSense adaptive chassis and our XWD system must all work together. The stability control, for example, must not get in the way of enjoying the benefits of the chassis and transmission systems.

Closed tracks, such as the Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany and the high-speed bowl at NARDO in Italy, were also included on the test driving itinerary. But for extreme snow and ice testing, the team ventured where other manufacturers fear to drive, a 10 km forest track at the Colmis test facility in northern Sweden, just outside the Arctic Circle. It offers a challenging rollercoaster ride of dips, crests, hills and off-camber bends, with unforgiving boulders and trees lining the narrow roadside. Saab is the only manufacturer to use it for vehicle testing. “After every tuning change we always go to this track to see if the handling is OK,” says Peter. “If a change hasn’t worked, we know it will be exposed there.”