Description: Near-Luxury Sedan and Wagon
Base MSRP Range: $34,100 - $36,195
Invoice Price Range: $31,884 - $33,804
Where built: Sweden

Cars in Saab's flagship series include a luxurious four-door sedan and the five-door SportWagon with elegant appointments aboard and performance gear on top editions. Both the sedan and wagon score a modest face-lift for 2006 with mid-life restyling of the front grille and headlamps and a fresh arrangement of the five-seat cockpit and instrument cluster.

Two different four-cylinder engines continue to motivate 9-5 cars -- a 2.3-liter light-pressure turbo four with 185 hp is the standard unit, but sport-tuned Aero issues pack a high-output turbo-charged 2.3-liter plant that climbs to 250 hp. Transmission for Aero is either a manual five-speed or Saab's automatic Sentronic five-speed with control tabs on the steering wheel for thumb and finger shifting.

Standard mechanical assets for all 9-5 cars in 2006 include an anti-lock brake system (ABS), electronic traction control (TCS) and Saab's electronic stability program (ESP).