2008 Saab 9-5 Safety Review [ 2007 ]
Based on analysis of 32 9-5 reviews and test drives.
Safety - What the Auto Press Says
The 9-5 sedan performs reasonably well in government and insurance industry crash tests. In keeping with the Saab reputation, the 9-5 is loaded with standard safety equipment, prompting CNET to call it "impressive."
In government crash tests, the 2008 Saab 9-5 receives a top rating of five stars out of five for driver and passenger protection in head-on collisions. The 9-5 also receives five stars for front seat protection and four stars for rear seat protection during side-impact crashes.
In tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Saab 9-5 earned a rating of "Good," the highest possible, in frontal offset tests and a rating of "Acceptable," the second highest, in side impact crash tests.
Accident Avoidance
The Saab 9-5 comes with several accident-avoidance systems. "Along with traction control, the car features an electronic-stability program that brakes one or more of the wheels and reduces engine power if the car starts to skid or slide," says CNET. "Both traction and stability control may be turned off." The Saab 9-5 also has several features meant to reduce driver distraction. "Saab's Dynamic Workload Manager feature can briefly suppress dashboard warning messages when appropriate, while the Night Panel function can shut off primary instrumentation -- aside from the speedometer -- at night," says Cars.com. "Both systems are intended to reduce driver distraction."
Crash Protection
The Saab 9-5 comes standard with adaptive driver and front passenger air bags and torso-side air bags for the front seat. "Saab uses adaptive driver and front-passenger air bags, which, according to the manufacturer, adjust deployment force, depending on the severity of the crash," says CNET. "Head/thorax side air bags built into the backrests of the front seats are designed to protect the driver and front passenger in the event of a side impact."
Front seats also feature Saab Active Head Restraints (SAHR). "The front seats also feature active head restraints, which are designed to reduce whiplash injuries in the event of a collision," they say. All seats have three-point safety belts and front seat belts have pre-tensioners and load limiters. The rear seat features load-shift protection, child-seat top-tether anchors and lower child-seat anchorage points on outer seats. "Curtain side airbags are unavailable," says Consumer Guide.
