BBC has an article about the increasing use of bioethanol in fuel:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4498934.stm

It doesn't mention that the Tesco 99 octane is up to 5% bioethanol (post corrected), but it quotes Saab:
'E85's higher octane rating adds 30bhp to the 150bhp turbocharged engine, and a 15% gain in fuel consumption can be had at high speeds, said Kjell ac Bergstrom, chief executive, of Saab Automobile Powertrain.

"Turbocharged engines are particularly well suited to the benefits of ethanol," Mr Bergstrom says.'

Now the bad news - there are some issues with the effect of E85 (the 85% bio version) on Scoobs:
http://www.subaru.com.au/news/?newsid=12342

 

That's kind of interesting, had a tank of Tesco 99 RON whilst at my folks over Christmas. Car didn't feel right after, seemed hesitant to come on boost. Might just all be in my mind though Normally run it on Optimax, don't think the Tesco stuff is available round here. Seemed to be back to normal once its normal diet resumed

 

I thought that Tesco 99 Ron was about 5% bioethanol http://www.greenergy.com/products/99_octane.html - that bit from the Australian website is a bit worrying especially as minis is a UK MY99 with a few added tweaks, it does seem to like Tesco 99 at the moment though.

 

Sounds like Tesco 99 (5% bioethanol) should be fine in most cars, then. I use it in my '05 JDM STI with no problems.

 

"a 15% gain in fuel consumption at higher speeds!" - well that is amazing!

do you think that might be an error?

 

My MY05STI PPP loves Tesco 99. starts better, pulls better and runs smoother. I will ring Subaru UK just to check. BP Ultimate sucks in my car, ran like someone had stuf a rag in the turbo and had problems starting in the cold mornings and ran rough low down too.

 

http://www.testdriven.co.uk/news.cfm...ex-fuel_models

 

Sounds interesting, now all we need is a cheap conversion price and for it to be a quater of the price of Optimax.