SAAB 9-3 BIOPOWER: Conversation starter

This article outlined conversation and some specs on the SAAB flex fuel capable car: the specs are at the bottom of the article. There is a steam of discontent circulating about cars using alcohol for fuel instead of  unleaded petrol. The same type of sentiment was around when we changed to unleaded fuel, and again as we changed to E10.
I thought the article was interesting because it was written by someone enjoying the driving experience using E85. The fuel in England is $3.50 to $6.00 per litre. So there is every possibility we will see that here too (Australia). The driver in the article talks about driving with a light foot. I can understand why.



BIO-LOUD: Fortunately the showroom model does not come with the big signs along the side.

 extract from article

"Oh, we don't buy much stuff from your part of the world any more. Food miles, y'know!"
"Besides," added the voice, coming from faintly sneering, ill-painted lips, "We can't go on propping you up just because you're in the Commonwealth, can we?"
I was probably struck a little too dumb by such a pompous, ill-informed tirade to fight back.
Otherwise I'd have explained that far from propping up anyone, Britain eschewed Commonwealth trade almost completely in the early 1970s as Ted Heath's Tories simpered abjectly into the European Economic Community.
I'd also have gone on to mention that European farming techniques are so arcane and inefficient, mainly thanks to French indoor sheep tending, that you could probably fly live sheep premium economy to Europe and they would still have a better carbon footprint than their European competition.
I had stopped on a West Somerset beach to admire the lady's delightful border terrier and had merely mentioned that my own had recently passed away in New Zealand.
But it wasn't the rudest conversation I had enjoyed during my time in the West Country.
I had that when it was brought to my attention as I loaded "my" Saab 9-3 Sport Combi with shopping, that millions more people were going to die if too many thoughtless drivers used enough biofuel.
It kind of burst my bubble a tad, as up to that point during my time in that green and pleasant part of Britain, I had been smugly filling the car up with E85 (that's 85 per cent bioethanol) while supplies of conventional fuels were restricted to £15 worth per car during a tanker drivers' strike.
I wouldn't have had the conversation had the car not been loudly emblazoned with "Saab BioPower". But there it was.
So I had to face a red-faced citizen whose speech included every popular cliche, from "starving natives" to "dwindling rain-forest".
And again, I was too taken aback to explain that the area's bioethanol supply was local and did not compromise any existing cropping or grazing land, or that no rainforest is being sacrificed for bioethanol production as heavy rainfall makes rainforest soil unsuitable for growing the sugar cane that provides it.
Suffice to say, the bioethanol argument is neither cut nor dried - although I believe such a process does exist - but it works, and if I'm not too politically correct here, it produces better performance than conventional petrol does, something the Swedes have quietly known for years.
Bioethanol is generated from the timber industry's pulp residues in Sweden, and to encourage the fuel's use, congestion charges are reduced or removed altogether and there is even free parking in some areas.
That doesn't happen in Britain, although the low emissions levels of the test 9-3 SportCombi meant that it would be in the lowest-charging bracket if I had wanted to enter the city of London.
No, the West Country did nicely, thanks. Not just because the area was the most well-supplied with bioethanol, but also because it's one of the least-spoiled parts of England and one where it is so green that you can touch the hedgerows on some A-roads with both door mirrors simultaneously.
To properly enjoy the area, it is preferable to have a car with decent road manners, exceptional brakes and preferably sat-nav.
The latter systems have probably saved more marriages than any number of counsellors, but even our dulcet lady-in-the-dash became confused in the lanes around the Lost Gardens of Heligan (hence the name?).
However, incisive steering, heartbeat quick brakes and good visibility in the Sport Combi also contributed to a low-pressure situation, even though the sheer speed of British motorists takes a while to get used to.
Deliberately driving with a soft right foot, I managed to average about 8.7L/100km(33mpg) on E85.
I'd been told to expect to use about 25 per cent more fuel with bioethanol than if I'd filled the car with conventional petrol, with the 150kW 2-litre turbocharged four therefore likely to reach about 7L/100km (40-plus mpg) thus fuelled in the same conditions.
I was happy enough - on a vacation budget - to pay about 5p less for E85 than pure petrol.
While it didn't make up for the extra fuel use - I'm not convinced it's that great to be honest - every little bit helps when fuel costs $3.50-plus a litre, especially when one garage I passed during the shortage even had its pumps priced at about $6 a litre.
Designwise, the Saab is excellent. All functions, including the sat-nav, can be learned without resort to the handbook - almost.
One frustrating foible came up just as I was about to start my final sprint to Heathrow and home: parking with a front wheel against the kerb - as you do on steep hills - the car wouldn't start.
Fortunately, the handbook explained a key-out, waggle the wheel technique to free things up and we were away. Eventually.
As long as you can weather the slings and arrows of often ill-advised passers-by (one thought it was a diesel, for God's sake!) and understand that the food or fuel lobby have some valid points, a car like the Saab 9-3 has a lot going for it.
Bioethanol will probably not take on with anything like the speed of take-up that it has enjoyed in Britain.
That's because the main component of our car fleet is made up of five to 15-year-old used Japanese imports and anything more than E5 could ruin their fuel systems.
Most new cars can take two or three times that amount quite safely, so an E10 to E15 ethanol component is likely to be our top level here.
The stock 2.0t 9-3 is available in New Zealand, and will easily cope with any bioethanol mix that we're likely to throw at it here.
Starting at less than $55,000, it's especially practical and good-looking in SportCombi form.
The 9-3 sedan is $6000 cheaper, but it looks rather anonymous when compared with its wagon sibling.
In the meantime, if you want a stressless British holiday, either cover up your New Zealand origins and/or swat up on the truth about food miles - and if you have a biopower car at your disposal, use a hairdryer to remove the decals!

SAAB 9-3 BIOPOWER
• Drivetrain: 2.0t biopower - 1998cc DOHC 16v turbo four. 150kW at 5500rpm, 300Nm from 2500rpm. Six-speed manual or automatic. Max 235kmh, 0-100kmh 7.6secs, 7.2 to 8.6L/100km, 185g/km CO2.
• Chassis: Front MacPherson struts with A-arms. Four-link independent at rear with "Re-Ax" rear-steer characteristics. Hydraulic power-assisted steering. Vented front solid rear disc brakes. ABS, EBD, MBA, CBC, TCS and ESP all standard. 17 7.0J alloy rims standard.
• Prices: 9-3 SportCombi priced from $54,900 in New Zealand, with the sedan starting at $48,900, (man), $58,000 (auto). SportCombi Aero $83,900 (man), $87,000 (auto).

• WHAT'S HOT: Well packaged, superbly detailed and a great performer on E85. Ride and handling is top notch. You wouldn't believe the basic design is six years old.
• WHAT'S NOT: Torque-steers a touch; best fuel not available here; some Poms really do resent biofuels.
• VERDICT: A great drive, with sufficient old-fashioned Saab quirks to give the car character and charm. Get yours without the stickers and you'll have a fine time.

read about my conversion to E85 flex fuel capability