My 1999 9-5 is rolling up to 270k miles now and has been pretty good so far. It needs calipers and some new parking brake bits but overall its been good. Driven across country once and made about 50 trips to the air port (300 miles round trip).

I think I've seen a few manual transmission Dame Edna (or whatever they are calling them) 9-5s. Harder to find for sure, but they do exist. I think I like 04-05 the best. My wife had the unicorn for a while before we sold it. 05 Manual Aero Wagon, I have a 02 Aero Sedan currently, but will probably be selling it this summer/fall.

I wish I had held out, there was a 5 speed '03 wagon up for sale when I got my auto '04, but I opted for the more aggressive '04 front end and wanted 2 pedals for my commute. But for sure, those '02-'05 9-5s are some of the nicest daily drivers available for the money!

The 06-09 are the best in my opinion. In the manual they have a reinforced shift linkage and transmission interconnect which was a substantial upgrade. All of the aero options are included in the base model like sway bars, brakes, turbo, etc. The problem is there are so few in existence.