Saab 9-5 Bio-fuel 2.0T (2007) CAR review

Nice stickers! Don’t tell me – it’s a Saab 9-5 running on bio-ethanol…

Well-spotted Sherlock. This is indeed a very special 9-5 that turns up its nose at conventional fuels in favour of bio-ethanol. The 9-5 Bio-fuel was launched in its Swedish domestic market a year ago. Since then it’s accounted for 80 percent of all 9-5s sold – this despite being only available in 2.0-litre turbo form mated to a manual gearbox. It’s based on the standard turbocharged, 2.0-litre 9-5 and costs £23,765 – a premium of £585 over the petrol model.

What’s new?

On the face of it quite a lot. The bio-fuel 9-5 produces a fifth more power and 15 percent more torque than the petrol version on which it’s based. Although the 9-5 has new valve seats, a revised ECU and tweaked ignition timing, not one of these upgrades makes it go any faster. The gains in performance are purely down to the bio-ethanol it uses. The 9-5 bio-fuel blasts to 62mph in only 8.5sec (the petrol car manages 9.8sec) and tops out at 140mph. Who said being green has to be boring?