FuturePower/flexifuel options:Technological advances have made them a credible alternative, but time is running out to get the best value from Volvo's new Flexifuel offerings, writes Paddy Comyn.
With all this talk of VRT, CO2 emissions and whether or not to wait until July to buy, 2008 will be remembered as the year the Irish motorist was utterly confused.
One of the changes that was outlined in last December's budget was that there is to be a capping of the VRT discount on hybrid and flexifuel cars (cars that run on E85 bioethanol) from what was a 50 per cent reduction in VRT to a maximum of €2,500 off the VRT. This means that from July, the price of some of these vehicles is likely to increase. So if you plan to buy one, now is really the time.
So Volvo's launch of two new models which run on E85 bioethanol are just in the nick of time and as they are two of Volvo's larger models, then the savings are to be made now, before this new taxation system comes into place.
Flexifuel models can run on E85, which are 85 per cent bioethanol and 15 per cent petrol. Bioethanol is a renewable biofuel that can be produced from biomass such as sugar cane, wheat and other crops. In the United States there are firms working on ways of producing this from household waste. In the future, it will also be made of cellulose from forest industry residue, energy wood and deposit fibre. The carbon dioxide emissions from combustion of bioethanol are part of the natural cycle. Any carbon dioxide released from this cycle is already part of the ecosystem and won't contribute to greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere. There are 26 stations stocking E85 bioethanol around the country, with three more planned for this year and the fuel is 73 per cent less than the price of unleaded, but is also just 71 per cent as efficient as unleaded.
Volvo's larger executive car, the S80 and their family estate, the V70 now come in versions that can run on E85. You can choose between either a 2.0-litre flexifuel with 145hp and a 2.5-litre turbocharged version with 200hp. The larger engine comes with the option of a six-speed Geartronic automatic transmission.
Running both of these cars on E85 means that they will use slightly more of the fuel, but the fuel is a little less expensive and if you run a business you can claim the VAT back on the fuel. Servicing costs are slightly higher too as the fuel is a little more corrosive but, overall, Volvo reckons that you will still save in the long run compared to its diesel versions.
There is no perceivable difference in the way these cars drive from the regular S80 and V70 models, which themselves are incredibly easy to live with and seriously user-friendly.
The likelihood is that we will see more cars in the future running on some version of bioethanol. For now, if you are interested in saving what can amount to €7,084 on the V70 and €6,735 on the S80 by buying now then the clock is very much ticking.
According to David Baddeley, managing director of Volvo Car Ireland, car buyers would still do better to buy now, rather than wait until July:
"Figures from Volvo show that even allowing for the difference in road tax over three years, buying an S40 Flexifuel now could save as much as €3,500 when compared to the 2.0-litre diesel versions in July and as much as €5,700 on the New Volvo V70," he says.
However, the merits of using this fuel have been cast into doubt by two separate reports issued this month, which conclude that biofuels used today can cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels. These studies, published in the prestigious journal Science, take a look at the effects of the huge amount of natural land that is being converted to cropland globally to support biofuel development.
The reports indicate that the destruction of natural ecosystems, whether rainforests in the tropics or grasslands in South America, not only release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when they are burned and cleared, but also deprive the planet of natural sponges to absorb carbon emissions. Croplands, it says, absorb far less carbon than the rainforests or scrublands that they replace.
Speaking in the New York Times, Joseph Fargione, lead author of the second paper, and a scientist at the Nature Conservancy said: "The clearance of grassland releases 93 times the amount of greenhouse gas that would be saved by the fuel made annually on that land. So for the next 93 years you're making climate change worse, just at the time when we need to be bringing down carbon emissions."
The European Union has set a target that countries use 5.75 per cent biofuel for transport and, as a result, biofuel production is heavily subsidised.
The European Union and a number of European countries have also tried to address the land issue with proposals indicating that imported biofuels cannot come from land that was previously rain forest. However, according to these reports, the purchase of biofuels in Europe and the US leads indirectly to the destruction of natural habitats further afield.
One of the authors of the report, Dr Searchinger has said that a possible biofuel made from sugar cane in Brazil was an exception, requiring little energy to grow and readily refined into fuel.
He added that governments should move quickly to turn their attention to developing biofuels that did not require cropping, such as those from agricultural waste products.
FACTFILE
S80 2.0 FLEXIFUEL
Engine: 1,999cc, 145bhp, 185Nm torque
Top speed: 205km/h; 0-100km/hr: 10.9 secs; fuel consumption: 11.3 l/100km; CO2 g/km: 199; transmission: five-speed manual.
Pre-July VRT/price: €6,735 / €38,450 €
Post-July VRT/price: €10,970 / €46,305
V70 FLEXIFUEL
Engine: 1999cc, 145bhp, 185Nm torque
Top speed: 200km/h; 0-100km/hr: 12.1 secs; fuel consumption: 11.6 l/100km; CO2 g/km: 194; transmission: five-speed manual.
Pre-July VRT/price: €7,084/€44,250 €
Post-July VRT/price: €11,668 / €48,834