Ford focuses on the environment - Introduction

In the week that the G8 summit discusses climate change, Ford has unveiled a new version of the Focus which runs on alcohol and reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

The new Flexi-Fuel Vehicle (FFV) – which can also run on petrol – has already gone on sale in Sweden, following sales of more than 15,000 alcohol-fuelled versions of the previous model Focus. Ford plans to roll out the car to other European countries, including the UK, in the coming year.

We drove the car in Sweden, where there are nearly 200 filling stations selling bio-ethanol fuel, and many more on the way next year. The good news is that the 1.8-litre FFV drives just like a petrol-powered Focus does, and in fact delivers up to 5bhp more than the standard 123bhp output of the same engine running on petrol.

With bio-ethanol cars from Saab and Volvo also hitting Swedish showrooms in the next few months, we examine the case for alcohol-driven cars, and their chances of taking off in the UK.