Driven: Saab 9-5 2.0t BioPower
It used to be relatively easy to discuss which fuel you car used. Petrol or diesel was about as complicated as it got. It's not quite so easy now, as alongside the familiar pumps you might come across bio fuels, for so-called 'flex-fuel' vehicles. But what's a bio fuel? Put simply it's a fuel produced from plants rather than fossil fuel extraction. There are bio-diesels which, as their name suggests, are used with diesel engined cars and there are bio-ethanol fuels which substitute for petrol. These petrol alternatives can't just be used in any vehicle though, it depends on the blend of bio-ethanol and regular petrol coming out of the pump.
It could be that your regular pump fuel is already running a mild blend of bio-ethanol - up top 5%. But to really get the advantages, and we're not just talking about less environmental impact, you need to be running a higher blend mix of bio-ethanol. E85, an 85/15% bio-ethanol/petrol mix is exactly that, and Saab offers a number of cars across its entire range that can run on this more earth-friendly fuel. The Swedish firm has been quick to adopt bio fuels, though Europe lags behind overall - South America having used 100% bio-ethanol fuels for decades now.
So Saab used its GM colleagues in Brazil's extensive bio-ethanol knowledge to help tune the engine management of the 9-5 2.0t BioPower for E85. Usefully, given the current scarcity of E85 pumps in the UK, the 9-5 2.0t BioPower can run on conventional petrol when E85 isn't available. But it's well worth searching out E85, as with an octane rating of 104 RON, running on green fuel has the added benefit of a boost in power. Fuel the 2.0t BioPower on petrol and the four-cylinder turbo engine produces 150bhp. Find an E85 pump and not only can you drive with a clearer conscience but you'll gain 30bhp. Similarly, torque rises from 177lb.ft to 207lb.ft.
That allows the BioPower 9-5 2.0t, when running on its optimum E85 fuel, to reach 62mph in 8.5 seconds - some 1.3 seconds faster than with petrol. In-gear acceleration also improves, as does the top speed - useful if you're a German with a high-speed autobahn commute. Saab doesn't quote consumption figures, but they do claim that the BioPower cars reduce CO2 emissions by 70% when compared to petrol - which equates to around 65g/km on the 9-5 2.0t. Saab justifies this by claiming that rather than simply produce CO2 as a fossil fuel burning car does, that the release of CO2 from bio-ethanol is offset significantly due to CO2 absorption during the growth of the fuel crops.
Technically, running cars on bio fuel blends, both petrol and diesel isn't difficult. Saab demonstrates this with its BioPower cars, the 9-5 feeling no different to drive than their regular alternatives - only with the bonus of that extra power. In their home market bio fuel drivers get incentives including free parking, freedom from congestion charges and other tax breaks - hardly surprising then that in 2006 they sold over 10,000 in Sweden. If only the UK Government were so proactive...
Tuesday June 5
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