The Saab 9-5 Aero was always frustratingly close to being able to mix it with the class best. There were always caveats however, considerations that made it difficult to plump for the Saab over its executive rivals. Saab have worked at ironing out these shortcomings and the Aero has benefited from an inordinate amount of modifications. Does it deserve a place on the podium?

Saab aroused a good deal of scepticism, suspicion and outright scorn by choosing to launch their original 9-5 Aero on a road route that consisted largely of arrow straight Swiss motorway. The latest model puts its cards on the table right from the outset. So confident were Saab of the Aero's handling prowess that the launch for the latest model included a section swerving around cones on a windswept Swedish airfield. Whilst it'd be an exaggeration to say that the old car would have experienced trouble avoiding an injudiciously located airfield, it was never particularly adept when shown an apex.

If you drove one of the original 9-5 Aero models, the major change with this one becomes apparent the first time you decide that restraint is for career civil servants and really drop the hammer. Whereas the original car would shimmy as the front wheels desperately tried to deploy the available power, this 9-5 Aero responds with a light tug at the steering wheel, a quick blink of traction control light on the fascia and then one long, creamy surge of power. Accelerating hard out of tight corners is something of a 9-5 novelty and the Aero relishes the chance to pin you back into your seat.

"Exploit the Saab 9-5 Aero to the full and you may run out of answers when a JP asks you why you were travelling at 152mph on the Queen's Highway."

The reasons for this transformation are manifold. Saab has worked at increasing the torsional rigidity of the car's chassis so that they can then tune each aspect of the suspension more accurately without having to try to work around the major handicap of chassis flex. The steering system has been extensively modified, and it feels as if Saab have damped the amount of feedback but quickened the steering rack so that your inputs are instantly translated to the front wheels without too much heckling from the front row. You can still feel the front tyres keying into the tarmac as they put down all of 250bhp. ESP traction and stability control are of course standard, but instead of masking the inadequacies of the 9-5 chassis, they work well with the revised set up, intervening only when the car has genuinely run out of answers. Exploit the Saab 9-5 Aero to the full and you may run out of answers when a JP asks you why you were travelling at 152mph on the Queen's Highway. The sprint to 60mph takes just 6.9 seconds, which would at least make entertaining viewing when it appeared on the next episode of "Police, Stop".

The 9-5 line-up has been much improved in recent times, notably with that new front end. The chrome headlight surrounds and clean finish to the grille and bumper sections give the 9-5 serious presence without resorting to the sorts of me-too contrivances that have afflicted certain rivals. The facelift goes a whole lot further than a mere window dressing, however, and Saab claim that every piece of panelling ahead of the windscreen pillars is new. The rear end has been tidied and modernised with a more streamlined-looking rear valance and bumper assembly.

Drop inside and you'll be able to tell it's a Saab even if you're wearing a blindfold. The cliff-like fascia, the odd combination of super-soft thermoplastics and harder materials more akin to a mainstream car and the key slot on the transmission tunnel mark the 9-5 down as a product that could only have come from Trollhattan. The rather unusual steering wheel design debuted in the 9-3, not the Flash Gordon movies as some may suspect, and is actually rather more pleasant to use than its looks would suggest. There are also a number of small detail changes to the instruments and cabin. Chrome-ringed dials, an uprated information system, better quality ventilation controls and the repositioning of some minor functions to help ergonomics are all welcome, but expect a cutting edge executive car interior and you're likely to be disappointed. Swedish functionality wins out over design flair in this instance.

Whichever Aero model you choose, the price includes a smart (but thankfully subtle) performance bodykit. Front foglights are built into a deep chin spoiler at the front but rather refreshingly, there's no rear wing, preserving the car's understated appeal. Other standard Aero features include leather heated electric memory sports seats, Bi-Xenon headlamps, parking radar, metallic paint, climate-controlled air conditioning, cruise control, a trip computer and a full house CD stereo system with steering wheel controls. Plus all the usual executive features - ABS, power steering, electric windows, power mirrors, central locking, tinted glass and so on.

Where the 9-5 Aero has always scored is in terms of value for money. At £28,765 for the saloon variant, it offers 250bhp and an impressive amount of quality, prestige and standard equipment. How cheaply does around 250bhp come if you want something German? The 231bhp Mercedes E280 is nearly £32,000, whilst 258bhp worth of BMW 530i starts at £33,000. Neither of these models can approach the Saab Aero's value proposition.

For so long the makeweight of the executive car class, the Saab 9-5 Aero now punches its weight. It's taken Trollhatten a while to learn that power is nothing without control. Now that they've woken up and smelt the coffee, the Aero's going to cause a few long faces in Germany. And the customer wins every way up.

TOP 4 9-5 DEALS

The results below show the top 9-5 deals on buyacar

	Saab 9-5 2.3HOT Aero 4dr Saloon
	ETR	Mthly £491	Saving £7,293	Price £23,587
	Saab 9-5 2.3HOT Aero 5dr Estate
	ETR	Mthly £513	Saving £7,608	Price £24,472
	Saab 9-5 2.3HOT Aero 4dr Auto Saloon
	ETR	Mthly £519	Saving £7,645	Price £24,775
	Saab 9-5 2.3HOT Aero 5dr Auto Estate
	ETR	Mthly £541	Saving £7,961	Price £25,659

typical 11.52% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000