Engine downsizing and biofuels should benefit us all but, writes Paddy Comyn, at this stage, improving the environment may well be nothing more than a happy accident
Minutes into a presentation on the benefits that downsizing of engines can have on the environment, the representative from Renault rather unfortunately fainted, and fell back like a redwood, crashing unceremoniously onto the floor, before paramedics rushed to his aide.
Was this just an unfortunate event or perhaps a rehearsed trick to awaken many of the almost equally catatonic journalists who were following his presentation through a rather hesitant and ponderous interpreter?
The difficulty with selling the idea of anything that is better for the environment is that unfortunately it has a tendency to be rather dull. Any of the cars that really spark our interest tend to have V8, Turbo or GTi somewhere in the same sentence. However, as many "experts" tell us, it is our love of such cars that has led us to the dark and miserable future that lies before us.
The EU has proposed rules requiring carmakers to cut carbon dioxide emissions from new cars to an average of 130 grams per kilometre by 2012.
The Irish Timeswas in Paris as French manufacturer Renault launched its eco2 line of vehicles as well as a labelling system for their cars, not unlike that seen on white goods, to show how energy efficient or otherwise they are.
The theme was not only on the introduction of some biofuel vehicles, but the whole process of manufacturing and recycling. These vehicles have to meet three self-imposed environmental standards: they are produced in an ISO-14001-certified plant (meaning they display continual environmental improvements), their CO2 emissions do not exceed 140g/km (or are biofuel-compatible) and, in addition to being 95 per cent reusable at the end of their life, at least 5 per cent of the plastics they contain have to be recycled.
We were here to look at a few cars in particular. The first was a new engine that will feature in the Clio initially and in other models to follow, such as the Twingo.
The new TCE 100 engine is part of Renault's downsizing policy, and was explained up to a point by the soon-to-collapse gentleman from Renault. Basically this is a 1.2-litre turbocharged engine that has the power of a 1.4-litre (100bhp), the torque of a 1.6-litre (145Nm) but will return 5.9 l/100km and coughs up a mere 139g/km.
This engine is likely to come to Ireland to replace the existing 1.4-litre engine in the Clio, but one would fear that the merest mention of the word turbo, no matter how innocent its intentions will set off alarms at your local insurance firm so it may not make much impact here.
It felt reasonably urgent under the bonnet of the Clio and was incredibly quiet, but at no point should it be mistaken for a performance car. Staying with downsizing, it was pointed out that the 1.5-litre 105bhp with CO2 emissions of 120g/km, a car that is already available in Ireland, can now travel 1,100km on 50 litres of diesel, compared to the 748km that its 1.9-litre less-powerful predecessor could manage in 1993 while producing 172g/km of CO2.
Next up were the biofuel offerings and most relevant to us is the Mégane Biofuel. Powered by a 105bhp 1.6-litre 16v engine, this car is pretty much standard issue to the average customer, as it will run on both standard unleaded and E85 bioethanol, or a mixture of both.
There have been some changes to the car concerning the fuel tank, the injection system and the combustion chambers but to look at, to drive and to fuel it is a standard car. There is an increase in the overall fuel consumption when biofuel is used (9.7 vs. 7.2) on the combined life cycle but this is made up for in most markets by the cheaper cost of the fuel and there is a marginally slower top speed and 0-100km/h time compared to the standard 1.6-litre car.
Renault Ireland is still in discussions over when and how to bring this car here, but it wouldn't seem too difficult considering that it should qualify for a 50 per cent VRT rebate like the Ford Focus Flexifuel or Saab 9-5 BioPower.
We also tried Renault Trafic and Master vans that ran on Biodiesel, which is derived from vegetable oil. It is produced from crops and plants (mainly rapeseed and sunflower in Europe, but also soya and palm oil in other parts of the world.
Through a process known as transesterfication (this is a real word apparently) vegetable oil reacts with methanol to produce biodiesel than can be mixed with straight diesel. When mixed with diesel of 30 per cent, biodiesel is called B30 and this is what powered these vans.
I am no expert on vans, but they felt good to drive and easy to manoeuvre and while there may be no obvious benefits in terms of VRT on commercial vehicles with a van, there could certainly be incentives for fleets to buy biodiesel, and for taxi drivers to buy a VRT-reduced minibus version of the Trafic running on biodiesel.
Last month it was announced that Ireland is set to become a centre of biodiesel production after a new plant in New Ross, Co Wexford, was given the green light. The plant, which will be operated by Green Biofuels Ireland Ltd, will produce more than 34 million litres of the fuel.
It has been acknowledged that biofuels will not solve the problems of pollution as a whole, and just recently UN Energy cast doubt over their use by claiming in their report Sustainable Energy: A Framework for Decision Makers that fuel produced from crops could harm the environment and cause serious damage to crops because if biofuel projects are not properly planned and implemented, the price of food and land could be driven up.
The demand for this fuel could mean that primary forests are cleared, and put a high demand on the planet's water sources. It does, however, see the potential as a fuel for heat and power, while generating income and jobs in poorer areas.
Here in Ireland, the Government has set a target to replace 10 per cent of Ireland's petrol and diesel consumption by 2020 with biofuels, a target that has been rubbished as impossible by many commentators.
Either way, with a VRT reduction still applicable to biofuel vehicles and with 16 stations selling the E85 biofuel and more to follow, by virtue of price alone there is a case for these cars in Ireland and as long as there is a price incentive for the customer, the fact that somewhere down the line that they are better for the environment will be something of a happy accident.