New Saab 9-5 takes aim at 5 Series and A6

Following its last-minute financial rescue by Dutch company Spyker, the rehabilitated Saab has announced probably the most important aspect of its new 9-5 flagship - the pricing.

With a starting price of £26,495, it will aim straight at the BMW 5 Series and the current, but soon to be replaced, Audi A6. The top of the range model - a 296bhp 2.8-litre petrol in Aero spec - will set you back £37,995 when it arrives this summer.

Even though the starting price is around £5,000 more expensive than the outgoing 9-5, it is impossible to compare this to a car that was horribly past its best. In fact, bumping the price up for this new one is probably going to help Saab move away from the cheap and outdated image the previous generation was beginning to conjure up.