Super-safe Saab

Swedish carmaker Saab refuses to include a third row a seats in its new 9-5 estate. To do so would comprise its philosophy on safety, writes Alastair Sloane.

Saab boss Bob Maron is a fortyish Australian who sometimes leaves the car keys at home in Melbourne and rides his Ducati motorcycle to work. He's a casual contradiction: comfortable one day in a car that protects him better than most in traffic; and open all hours the next on a bike that, at best, makes him vulnerable.

Some days at the office he wears a suit and tie; some days he's comfortable in slacks and open-necked shirt. Every now and again he might wear a tuxedo. Whatever, there is a packet of cigarettes handy. "You gave up, huh. So should I."

He chose slacks and the shirt in a non-smoking Auckland conference room the other day for the launch of Saab's 9-5 estate, the Swedish carmaker's first stationwagon in 40 years.

Semi-formal clobber was out of place. Maron wanted to ease into things, first admitting that Saab wasn't going to repeat mistakes of the past in New Zealand.

"We have not correctly positioned the Saab brand in New Zealand and we have not supported it in the way that we should have," he said.

The 9-5 estate and new finance and customer care programmes would change that, he said. "We now have a Saab that clearly differentiates itself from the rest of our range.

"This estate performs equal to, or better than, its European rivals, and it does so in a more intelligent manner, with unique features that are pure Saab."

One of these features is the marque's well-documented crash-worthiness, tested by crashing its cars into each other. German investigators called the 9-5 the safest car in the world, beating Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo.

Another is the car's inherent strength, which comes from Saab's aviation background.

This was put to the test in Melbourne when Maron and his mates clipped straps to the twin luggage rails, which run lengthways along the rear floor, and hung the car from a crane.

Maron, in suit and tie this time, belted himself in the driver's seat. He had faith in his employer.

They pulled the same stunt indoors at an invitation-only launch in Sydney. Maron, this time in a tuxedo, was outside looking in as he mingled with, and took deposits from, impressed guests.

What the assembled were about to hear was that unlike Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, Saab would not - not now, not ever - include a third row of seats in its estate. This is high moral ground.

"It is not possible to safely carry people in the back of an estate," said Maron. "The front structure of the 9-5 estate is the same as the 9-5 sedan and therefore maintains the same crumple-zone crash design.

"The rear section is also a crumple zone design and that is also the reason Saab engineers decided that a third row would not be made available.

"I have personally seen crash test videos for our car and for our competitors' cars. If you saw any of these videos you would never put your children in the crumple zone area of an estate. Any estate.

"The decision is in keeping with Saab's philosophy of building cars to protect occupants rather than simply to meet legislated crash requirements."

Saab's latest product mixes everything you want in an upmarket load carrier: good power delivery from the four-cylinder, 2.3-litre light-pressure turbo engine, predictable road manners, a superb interior with all the bells and whistles, including glovebox cooler for drinks and chocolates, and up-to-the-minute safety devices.

The 9-5 estate is not an adaptation from the sedan - it is all new from the front door pillar back.

What particularly catches the eye in the rear is the hard, foldable parcel shelf - no flimsy blinds here - and an optional sliding floor which extends beyond the loading lip. It doubles as a picnic table. It is also strong enough to seat a couple of adults.

Saab acknowledges that its Swedish rival Volvo is the leader of the luxury wagon pack, but it believes it will win converts from Volvo and BMW and those who want to get out of bulky four-wheel-drives.

It is working on another wagon, too, about which Maron won't say much. It will be built by Saab's performance division, Special Vehicle Operations, have more power, a slightly higher ride height, and four-wheel-drive. Sort of Saab's version of the Subaru Outback or Volvo Cross Country.

The 9-5 estate is priced between $70,400 and $81,000.