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Is premium petrol worth the extra cost?

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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 00:02   #1
Laustar
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Default Is premium petrol worth the extra cost?

Hi all,

Just bought a new volvo v60 T5. I have never drvien a petrol car before and I wonder if it's worth to use premium petrol (v power, BP ultimate etc) instead of regular unlead?
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 00:13   #2
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They feel a little bit more responsive once your running on a pure tank of the stuff but bare in mind the ECU has to adjust to it so dont expect to see a difference until (realistically) the day after.

To be honest, my own car runs on normal tesco unleaded, so it's a treat when it gets even regular shell fuel (engine seems to runs better on this vs other normal unleaded), let alone the V Power stuff.

Is it worth it? probably not.
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 07:50   #3
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I have a diesel and while I run it on branded fuel not supermarket I have not found the premium fuels worth the 8p per litre extra cost.

If useing them for their supposedly superior cleaning properties just dose the tank with Lucus fuel treatment occasionally. The claimed extra mpg certainly is not cost effective, an extra 20 miles per tank when it's cost me an extra £8 to achieve it.

I think you are better off changing your oil more often than useing premium fuels.

Paul.
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 09:09   #4
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My S40 T5 used to run the budget when I initially got it but I only put premium in now and yes it made a difference and will only top up with that now.
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 09:35   #5
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For me, premium fuel offers a different benefit than better mpg.

It's the longevity of components on a diesel such as EGR valve, throttle body, injectors and so on.

On what do I base this on you ask?...well when I bought my XC70 I took the opportunity to clean the EGR and the associated components. Well caked up it was at only 38k miles.

Since cleaning it has only been run on premium, predominantly Shell V power.

At 58k miles there was a dusting of soot on the EGR and throttle body and virtually nothing in the intake to turbo pipes.

So for me the penny pinching at one end doesn't equate to massive savings if components wear quicker as a result.

I also have a loyalty card for Shell and a discount card for Esso. I get a voucher every quarter from Shell for fuel and money off at the pump for Esso.

Each to his own though.
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 14:14   #6
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If you have a Costco card fuel its really cheap there. If you don't have one, and there's one local to you, it maybe worth joining up if you can.
Regular petrol is really cheap, premium petrol is about supermarket prices or a penny or two above and they only sell premium diesel which I use and that's about 8 pence cheaper than my local texaco standard diesel.

Some people say there cars run better on premium, I personally can't notice a difference, maybe the engine is a bit quieter but I use it in the hope the engine parts last longer.
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 16:37   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by T5R92011 View Post
They feel a little bit more responsive once your running on a pure tank of the stuff but bare in mind the ECU has to adjust to it so dont expect to see a difference until (realistically) the day after.

To be honest, my own car runs on normal tesco unleaded, so it's a treat when it gets even regular shell fuel (engine seems to runs better on this vs other normal unleaded), let alone the V Power stuff.

Is it worth it? probably not.
Thanks for the reply Paul.

I thought all unleaded are pretty much the same? Myself have been using Sainsbury's and BP pretty much all the time due to them being the closest to where I live. Maybe it's a diesel car so I don't feel any different between the 2 of them.

The Sainsbury's super unleaded is the cheapest premium petrol around my area so I might give it a go next time.

Thanks,
L
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Old Mar 18th, 2019, 23:13   #8
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All the cars I have run on Shell Vpower (even doing 40,000 odd miles p/year) in the T5. The cars sounds and feels better for it. MPG like for like is marginally better but not enough to offset the cost.

I have done back to tests in the Astra CDTI and Merc E350 diesels when I had them and they easily got 5-7mpg better consumption in back to back tests. However as these two were on lease I only put in Vpower diesel once a month and then ran them on normal shell fuel for the other 3 weeks of the month. My CLS 320cdi (owned) only gets Vpower diesel.

BP Ultimate is useless and feels like normal 95ron so don't bother with that. But Shell Vpower and Tesco's options are 98/99ron and you should notice the difference.

Is it worth the cost? Each to their own.... If its a vehicle you wish to keep for a long time, then perhaps yes. If its a beater you change every 1-5 years then perhaps not.
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Old Mar 19th, 2019, 19:21   #9
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I use Shell V Power diesel for my new V60 and also for my previous Honda 2.2 i-DTEC. Never had a problem with my Honda and fuel consumption was excellent.
Honest John recommends using the premium fuels as they keep the engine clean and offer smoother running.
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