At the invitation of the Saab on Thursday morning I headed to us far Trollhättan, via Vienna and Gothenburg. It’s really a great honor to be among the world’s Top 250 medijakoji are several groups called the Trollattan.
After a pleasant flight over Vienna and less fuss in the Vienna to arrive on a connecting flight to Gothenburg, after a total of just over 3 hours of SAT colleague Darko Media and I arrived in (of course) cloudy and rainy Gothenburg. Already at the airport welcoming the fleet of Saab with refreshments and the first briefing, where we were representative of Saab briefly informed about the new Saab 9-5, on the way to Trollhättan and the restrictions of driving in Sweden.
After the introduction and knowledge, we headed to the airport parking lot where we waited for the fleet of new “nine-five”. Each team of journalists from each country had at his disposal for a Saab 9-5, and we were “fallen” model with the new 2.0 turbo diesel engine of 160 hp.
Hospitable hosts prepare our vehicles with a full tank and to all destinations recorded in the navigation system, and besides that was available and the roadbook, and written instructions for getting around on the road. Saab has selected almost twice longer route to Trollhättan to journalists driving on different roads felt driveability 9-5.
So I slowly drove the first 200 miles in Sweden, strictly observing all speed limits, because there is no tolerance for overdrafts, so that the penalty for exceeding the speed from 0 to 15 km/h is 150 euros. But it was an ideal opportunity to enjoy the view of the beautiful landscape in Sweden. Due to the climate rich rainfall in Sweden is all green , with vast pastures , and forests of pine and birch . Sweden is very uninhabited , and also population is very dispersed , so that the population largely lives out of town, you would notice that in addition to roads . The roads are immaculate , extended , and has labeled the game a wire fence on the side. But unfortunately , it is impossible to test the performance of such a vehicle , because the restriction is to a maximum of 60 to 70 km / h , while driving on the highway up to 110 km / h . In urban areas max . speed limit is 50 km / h , in a residential area just 30 km / h . And it is the drivers in Serbia very ” strange ” all signs and respect the limits . For example , if you drive up to the limit , absolutely nobody will overtake , so as not to violate the constraint .
As for the ride itself and Saab, as well as in other models cockpit was designed “around the driver” and focused on it, and the interface has been simplified compared to previous version with the grouped commands by function. Of course all the more important and frequently use controls are on the steering wheel, such as control, Harman-Kardon sound system with 11 speakers, phones and controllers krstaraće speed.
In a few minutes getting used to the interface, which is interesting and very useful in driving to the HUD or Head Up Display, which projects speed, temperature and navigation data to the windscreen, as well as on the plane, so you do not have to take your eyes off the road If you need something to set or get information – all important information are the focus of the field of view. Looking to drum through volanskih command set cruising speed, take your foot off the accelerator and enjoy a comfortable ride. The automatic transmission is a 6-speed, and provides efficient driving, while the average consumption of steps to 200 km / h was exactly 7 liters per 100 kilometers.
In a few minutes getting used to the interface, which is interesting and very useful in driving to the HUD or Head Up Display, which projects speed, temperature and navigation data to the windscreen, as well as on the plane, so you do not have to take your eyes off the road If you need something to set or get information – all important information are the focus of the field of view. Looking to drum through volanskih command set cruising speed, take your foot off the accelerator and enjoy a comfortable ride. The automatic transmission is a 6-speed, and provides efficient driving, while the average consumption of steps to 200 km / h was exactly 7 liters per 100 kilometers.
The first guest is greeted by President and CEO Jan Ake Jonsson Saab who pointed out the difficulties and prebrođene budućenost independent company that separation from GM turned herself back , and took the ” destiny into their own hands “: After him , a very interesting story was presented by Magnus Hansson – Global Product Manager , who spoke about the market position of Saab, the main competitors, competitive advantage and pointed to stray and goals of the company .
Interestingly, the large study indicate that jeSaab 9-5 second choice in the customers towards the Audi A6 and that this is his biggest rival upremium market niche : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qorQZIsjiI After a few presentations, we completed the first planned day tour of Saab, after accommodation in a pleasant hotel Swania , with the hosts we finished dinner at a traditional Swedish restaurant Albert located at uzvisni over Trollhättan , from whose terrace offers stunning pogleg the whole city , dam and lock system for which this region is famous. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEoj4TksNZw Here’s the whole plan of the visit, and the events of the second day in the next blog entry, but until then see the photo album and videos.
Program
Day 1
- Arrival to Landvetter Airport, Gothenburg
- Welcome and brief
- Test drive to Trollhättan
- Arrival to the Launch Centre in the Saab Automobile plant
- Presentations
- Discussion with partners on site
- Media Centre and photo opportunity of static car
Day 2
- Test drive to handling track
- Short presentation of handling exercise
- Discussion partners on site
- Lunch
- Continued test drive to the airport
