More than ten years after Saab disappeared as an automaker, the second-generation Saab 9-5 (NG) still occupies an uncomfortable position in automotive history. It was not a revival, not a failure in isolation, and certainly not a rebadged placeholder. It was a car built under pressure, engineered by people who still believed in Saab’s core values, and released into a market that had already decided the brand’s fate.
For American Saab enthusiasts, the 9-5 NG is already distant. It was sold briefly, in limited numbers, and only with gasoline engines. But the TTiD diesel version sits even further outside the U.S. experience. It never crossed the Atlantic officially, never appeared in American road tests, and never entered the collective memory of Saab USA. And yet, it represents one of the most revealing chapters of Saab’s final years.
That is why the long-form video review by Ondřej Hrubeš, a respected Czech automotive journalist and influencer, matters. Hrubeš does not treat the Saab 9-5 NG TTiD as an artifact or a curiosity. He approaches it as a real car, driven today, judged honestly, and interpreted within the broader collapse of the brand that created it.
A Journalist Who Looks for Meaning, Not Just Performance
Ondřej did not build his reputation chasing trends or exaggerating reactions. Long before YouTube, he worked as a traditional automotive journalist, writing, testing, and explaining cars for audiences who expected context rather than spectacle. On his personal site, he describes a career shaped by curiosity and skepticism – traits that translate directly into his Saab 9-5 NG review.
This matters because Saab cars do not respond well to superficial analysis. Evaluated purely by numbers or market logic, they often appear irrational. Hrubeš understands this instinctively. In his video, he spends time explaining Saab’s aviation origins, its early obsession with passive safety, and its tendency to engineer solutions that felt unnecessary – until competitors quietly adopted them years later.
By the time he turns the key in the Saab 9-5 NG, the viewer already understands that this was never meant to be a generic executive sedan. Even on a shared platform, Saab was still trying to do things its own way.
The Saab 9-5 NG: A Final Attempt, Not a Corporate Afterthought
One of the most persistent misconceptions surrounding the Saab 9-5 NG is that it was merely an “Opel Insignia wearing Swedish clothes”. Hrubeš addresses this head-on, and his conclusion aligns with long-standing Saab insider accounts.
Yes, the car used GM’s Epsilon II architecture. But Saab engineers claimed that over 70 percent of the car’s components were uniquely developed or significantly reworked in Trollhättan. More importantly, the priorities remained Saab’s: structural rigidity, long-distance comfort, and crash safety – even when the company could barely afford them.
Hrubeš highlights the uncomfortable truth behind the car’s development. More than 1,100 crash-test vehicles were destroyed. Rollover protection was engineered into a market segment that did not demand it. Moose-impact testing continued even as Saab’s financial position collapsed. These were not rational decisions for a dying company – but they were consistent with Saab’s internal logic.
The result was a car that reached customers before it was fully finished. Interior fit, minor NVH issues, and incomplete refinement were not signs of incompetence. They were symptoms of a manufacturer that ran out of time and capital. The Saab 9-5 NG was meant to evolve. It never got the chance.
TTiD: The Twin-Turbo Diesel Saab the U.S. Never Learned to Read
For American readers, the most unfamiliar element of Hrubeš’s review is the TTiD engine itself. Saab’s twin-scroll-turbo diesel strategy was never about chasing horsepower figures. It was about torque delivery, flexibility, and real-world usability – values deeply aligned with Saab’s long-distance DNA.
The engine Hrubeš drives is the 2.0-liter TTiD – code name A20DTR, producing 190 hp and 400 Nm of torque, developed from Saab’s diesel program based on the Z19DTR and later A19DTR architecture. SaabPlanet has previously explored these engines in detail, including their role in shaping modern diesel Saabs such as the Saab 9-3 Aero TTiD sedan, which introduced many American readers to Saab’s high-torque diesel philosophy.
What Hrubeš notices immediately is the smoothness of torque delivery. Thanks to sequential twin turbochargers, usable torque arrives early – around 1,600 rpm – and remains consistent through the midrange. The car does not surg s equential twin turbochargers, e or spike. It accelerates with a calm, almost understated confidence.
But Hrubeš refuses to romanticize the diesel. He openly criticizes the mechanical harshness that never fully disappears. Even when warm, vibration and sound intrusion remain present – made more noticeable by the Saab’s otherwise exceptional wind-noise insulation. For readers accustomed to Saab’s gasoline turbo engines, this contrast is revealing rather than disappointing.
A Manual Gearbox That Exposes an Unfinished Equation
One of Hrubeš’s most valuable observations concerns the six-speed manual transmission . On paper, it seems like the enthusiast’s configuration. In practice, it exposes a mismatch between engine character and gearing.
The gearbox itself is solid, precise, and mechanical in the best Saab tradition. The clutch is heavy, shifts are deliberate, and there is a reassuring sense of mass. But the gear ratios are too short for a car designed primarily for sustained high-speed cruising.
Hrubeš backs this up with real-world data. At 130 km/h, the engine spins around 2,600 rpm. At 150 km/h, it approaches 3,000 rpm. This increases noise and undermines the diesel’s long-range efficiency. His conclusion is unambiguous: the Saab 9-5 NG TTiD would likely have been better paired with an automatic transmission – had Saab survived long enough to refine the lineup.
This observation echoes a broader SaabPlanet theme seen in long-term ownership stories, including high-mileage diesel Saabs that reveal where Saab engineering succeeded – and where it ran out of development time.
Inside the Cabin: Saab Thinking That Still Works
Hrubeš is clearly comfortable inside Saab interiors, and it shows. He spends time on details that matter to Saab owners but often escape casual reviewers: the driver-centric cockpit, the logical button layout, and Saab’s refusal to abandon physical controls prematurely.
He highlights signature elements such as the boost gauge, the aircraft-inspired digital speed display, and the climate vents designed to maintain visual symmetry regardless of adjustment. These are not nostalgic gestures. They are direct continuations of design logic established with the Saab 99 and refined through the 900.
At the same time, he does not ignore shortcomings. Some materials feel unfinished. Panel gaps vary. Minor squeaks are present. In a segment dominated by German premium brands, these details mattered – and hurt the car at launch. But Hrubeš frames them accurately: as signs of a development cycle that was cut short, not of careless engineering.
On the Road: Heavy, Predictable, and Surprisingly Communicative
Driving impressions form the emotional core of Hrubeš’s review. He repeatedly returns to words rarely used today: weight, inertia, and dignity. The Saab 9-5 NG does not pretend to be light or agile. Instead, it communicates its mass honestly – and that honesty builds confidence.
The steering receives particular praise. Hrubeš describes it as heavy, natural, and rich in feedback. Even at speed, the driver always understands what the front axle is doing. This predictability makes the car reassuring rather than dull.
Braking performance also stands out. Despite the car’s size, pedal feel is progressive and controlled. Combined with the steering, it reinforces the impression of a car engineered for composure rather than excitement.
This aligns with SaabPlanet’s long-term observations of diesel Saabs that excel at sustained use rather than short-term spectacle, including well-documented high-mileage examples such as the half-million-kilometer Saab 9-3X.
Rarity, Reality, and Living With a Saab After Saab
Hrubeš approaches rarity without sentimentality. The Saab 9-5 NG was produced for only two years, with around 11,000 units built worldwide. Wagon versions are exceptionally scarce, with only a handful homologated for road use.
For American readers, this scarcity adds a new layer. This is not only a Saab they never owned – it is a Saab most Europeans never saw. And yet, Hrubeš offers a grounded ownership perspective. Mechanically, the car shares much with the Opel Insignia, meaning core service parts remain accessible. The real challenges lie in body panels and lighting elements, especially the rear LED light bar.
A Reminder of What Saab Was Still Capable Of
Hrubeš closes his review with an observation that resonates deeply. The Saab 9-5 NG does not reward rushed driving. It asks the driver to slow down, to adapt, to listen. In return, it offers something increasingly rare: a sense of connection built on trust rather than stimulation.
The Saab 9-5 NG did not save Saab. It arrived too late, underfunded and unfinished. After just two years on the market, factory gates closed, and Saab became history as a car manufacturer. But despite its flaws, it carries the Saab logo with credibility.
Today, it stands not as a failed experiment, but as a rolling reminder of what Saab still knew how to do – right up until the end.
Watch Ondřej Hrubeš’s full video review here:
Autoweek’s Owner Reviews Are a Saab Shortcut You Can Actually Use
If you enjoyed the real-world, mileage-driven perspective in our Czech 9-5 NG TTiD review, there’s another source worth keeping in your toolbox: Autoweek’s owner-review database. It’s essentially a searchable archive of long-term Saab ownership – hundreds of entries, constantly updated, and easy to filter by model, engine, transmission, year, and mileage. That structure is exactly why we broke it down in How Autoweek Became a Knowledge Base for Saab Owners – so you can use real owner logs to validate weak points, spot patterns, and sanity-check what you’re seeing on your own Saab before you spend money chasing the wrong fix.
Regarding the M32 M/T, rather than switching to an A/T, it is sufficient to take an F40 from an Insignia Ecoflex and fit it with the A20DTR.