Popped into Haymill Saab at the weekend for a couple of bits, and spent 10 mins in the showroom 'tyre-kicking' a 9-5 Aero auto....
Talking to the sales bod, he said they were awaiting confirmation from Saab to the effect, that the 9-5 Aero will get the 'paddle-shift' electronic sequential gearbox after the 9-3 comes out in September.......
If so, might finally have found the replacement for my trusty 9000 Aero...

The 2003 Aero will get the paddle shift auto out of the new 9-3 and also the Sat-Nav/Comms package. At least, that's what Saab claim.... but they're usually late!

Certainly those two options aren't due to be available on the September launched 9-3 until early next year, so in reality, it may not be until then for the 9-5. Apparently, the network isn't in place for the GPS system yet, and they're sill fiddling with the Autobox.

However, this contradicts what Saab originally annouced earlier this year when they said that the first 9-3 versions to appear would be the high-spec models......

So as usual, it's anybody's guess!