For many, this title might mean nothing, after all the brand Saab has not exactly sat in the public eye over the past few decades. Mainly because they haven't made any new cars or even old cars, they went out of business after General Motors pulled the plug. Modern manufacturers made leaps and bounds in crash safety since the final Saab left the market in 2016. With the rise of autonomous driving technologies, lane keeping assistance, blind spot monitoring, and pre-emptive braking modern cars are safer than their forebears. However, these technologies are largely the exclusive domain of luxury car manufacturers. Thus out of the reach of the commoner, like you and I.
Here enters an old Saab 9-5. Saab in its current state mainly manufactures armaments under the strapline, "It's a human right to feel safe". However, this philosophy worked its way into their cars. Saab's marketing materials focused on two things in their earlier years. Firstly, it is cool that they also made planes and engineered their cars with the same attention to detail. Second, turbochargers are very cool. However, this didn't detract from their focus on crash safety.
Saab aced the Euro NCAP ratings making them the safest cheap used car on sale.
Saab 9-5s Scored Impressively In Crash Tests
Under the leadership of the now disgraced Max Mosley, a former mastermind at the FIA. The Euro NCAP rating system forced manufacturers to pay close attention to their model's crash safety. Separate from the industry they bought cars and tested them at their own expense. Initially, the car industry refused to play ball with this new charitable organization. Until according to Euro NCAP, Renault received the first five-star crash rating for the 2001 Laguna. They used it in their marketing materials and as a result, the value of both crash safety and Euro NCAP went through the roof.
Now prior to this Swedish car manufacturers had already been acing crash safety. Take Volvo for example, in the 20th century they pioneered crumple zones and even the 3-point seatbelt. Saab took similar engineering steps, quite famously having the ignition in the center console, mounted towards the floor. This was so that in the event of a crash the key would not get impaled in the driver's leg. Saab also introduced Active Head Restraints which softened the blow of collisions.
The 2003 Saab 9-5 scored a 5-star occupant safety rating, pretty damn good. Even in the crash test photos, the crash test dummies seem unharmed. However, the car fell down with pedestrian safety getting only a two-star rating. The 2002 Saab 9-3 also received a five-star rating, a car basically unchanged since 1998. If NCAP had got to Saabs models before Renault's second generation Laguna, the title would belong to them. In 2005 the IIHS tested the car. Receiving good and acceptable in their metrics. The moderate overlap at the front proved good in head-on collisions. However, side-on collisions and head restraints let the car down.
No Saab 9-5s Had Bad Crash Ratings
The final generation of Saab 9-5 came on sale in 2009. With an evolved design the model battled to keep the struggling Swedish brand in the business. Euro NCAP's report for the car gave it a 90% safety rating for Adults, 80% for children, and 44% for pedestrians. However, for many drivers, this third figure isn't much of a concern. Interestingly the crash testers gave this car an 86% for safety assistance. Directly citing the Electronic Stability Control and seatbelt reminder as a reason to give each an extra three points.
If the car came in for testing today it would not receive a five-star rating. Famously NCAP revised crash testing in 2017, greatly reducing the number of 5-star cars. This not only forces the manufacturers to use more safety technology but also encourages their widespread adoption even in the cheaper end of the market.
This Is Why Saab 9-5 Is Still A Safe Car
So no a Saab 9-5 would not receive a 5-star rating if the same car were launched today. Without fancy driving aids or autonomous driving modes, it has fallen behind the curve. However, a person looking at Saab, which is more than likely a decade or two old would never consider it a modern luxury car. According to Classic, an aggregator of used car values find that the average first generation 9-5 sells for a little over $8000. A second-generation car for around $16,000. Now in comparison to other sub-$10,000 cars, an old Saab seems like a remarkably sensible and safe choice.
As well as a more interesting one. Take for comparison a Ford Crown Victoria, a car in a similar price bracket. The IIHS rate this as having marginal side protection and protection from head restraints. A Corolla of a similar vintage scored even worse receiving the IIHS' lowest possible poor rating. So the Saab 9-5 may no longer have the title of the safest car on the planet. However, to someone with a reduced budget, it certainly is the safest car available to them.