Here’s something a bit different – Saab has introduced a 9-5 saloon to the UK that runs on regular unleaded or bioethanol, which is made from crops such as grain, sugar beet, or forest residue. Before reading any further you should be aware that there only a handful of garages that dispense this fuel, and both these, and other outlets that are planned in the future, are all in predominantly rural farming areas.

The BioPower’s engine management system adjusts to compensate depending on whether it’s running on petrol or bioethanol. Duty on bioethanol has a 20p per litre discount, but production costs mean bioethanol ends up only 2p per litre cheaper at the pump than unleaded.

The bioethanol is referred to as ‘E85’, which means it is comprised of 85 per cent bioethanol and 15 per cent petrol. Overall, carbon dioxide levels are between 50 and 70 per cent lower than that of a conventional petrol car. There’s also a power increase – the fuel has a higher octane rating, so it can tolerate higher turbo boost pressures. The BioPower develops 180bhp rather than 150, but economy on E85 is around 20 per cent worse.

Apart from the ability to run on bioethanol, the car is pretty much a standard 9-5; however it is £600 more expensive. This is offset in Sweden by the fact that the car benefits from tax incentives in the way that hybrids do in the UK. Sweden is aiming to become independent of crude oil by 2030.

Green-Car-Guide.com comment:
“Running a car on fuel that can be made from plants is a great idea, and getting away from our reliance on fossil fuel-based oil by doing this will be happening more and more in the future. However it’s the classic ‘chicken and egg’ scenario – at the moment the fuel is virtually impossible to come by in most parts of the UK, therefore unfortunately the car seems a bit ahead of its time in this country for the moment.”