E10 unleaded petrol and the middle-aged car

[cuttlefishgame]

Has anyone else noticed a lack of oomph and a drop in performance from their car now they'e switched to this new fuel? Mine doesn't like it all that much - its get up and go has got up and gone. At first I thought it was in need of a service, until one day I thought it might be a fuel issue so I put some of the super E5 in instead. Car back to its enthusiastic moderate self.

There have been reports that fuel consumption goes up with the use of E10, and that it can damage the engines of older vehicles.

How are you finding it?

The bioethanol on the petrol mainly comes from Brazil. They are using land that was rainforest to grow the crops to be made into ethanol. The by products of this process, which are highly acidic, have been returned onto the land, which then becomes poisoned and then more rainforest land has to be used and so on.

Brazil has been using Bioethanol "Alcohol" for decades to remove the reliance on the middle east / big oil. Dual fuel / flex cars are tuned to run somewhere between alcohol and petrol, so don't run perfectly on either.

The advice there is to fill up at 1/3 tank and alternate.
Alcohol is cheaper but doesn't have quite as much energy.

No discernible difference with my 2019 Golf, but it’s the Blueline DSG model, which I think was designed with E10 in mind.

I was asking people a couple of weeks ago if they had noticed a difference in fuel consumption. I have a 2018 petrol hybrid Niro, fuel consumption has dropped from late 50s per gallon to late 40s. Even on a 20 mile, flat, steady journey only getting 51mpg. Having read the above, am going to put supreme in as on about quarter tank and see how it goes. Was really happy with car which I got earlier this year but this is so disappointing.

Yep noticed it in the Mazda! Fuel consumption is shocking since I've been putting E10 in! Dh keeps moaning at me to put the E5 in so will be doing that. I put in £40 on Saturday and that got me 3/4 of a tank. Car has done about 100 miles and I'm already under 1/4! It's never ever been like that. Dh's sports car only gets shell vpower and he's done more miles than me this week so far and his petrol gauge has barely budged! will get the car as near as empty as possible and fill up with E5

I've noticed the fuel consumption has gone up too. Two reasonably moderate journeys on Wednesday and yesterday, and half a tank gone. It would never have used that much before.

@ReginaaPhalange

Yep noticed it in the Mazda! Fuel consumption is shocking since I've been putting E10 in! Dh keeps moaning at me to put the E5 in so will be doing that. I put in £40 on Saturday and that got me 3/4 of a tank. Car has done about 100 miles and I'm already under 1/4! It's never ever been like that. Dh's sports car only gets shell vpower and he's done more miles than me this week so far and his petrol gauge has barely budged! will get the car as near as empty as possible and fill up with E5

I put the v power in the other day out of interest and it didn't make much of a difference sadly but cost me about £10 more for the small tank. Not sure if the e10 has already caused some damage or because were traces in the tank or what but the car still did at least 100 miles less than normal and we'd been on a couple of longer journeys rather than just buzzing about town in heavy traffic

No issues with my car at all - 2016 Hyundai i10. It drives as well as it always has.

I have a twenty year old car...it's a absolute workhorse and never let me down. I've been shocked at how quickly I'm using petrol on E10... having to fill up way more. Went on the dual carriage way yesterday and was struggling to get above 40mph...i actually think it's verging on dangerous. Anyway...I've just filled up with e5 and I can tell difference already. Will definitely be avoiding the E10 now.

I've noticed exactly the same thing, my car is struggling on E10. Maybe a silly question, but can I top up with E5 if there is still E10 in the tank?

@Whywonttheyletmeusemyusername

I've noticed exactly the same thing, my car is struggling on E10. Maybe a silly question, but can I top up with E5 if there is still E10 in the tank?

I just have done so I hope so!!

I drive a 12 year old Volvo C30, and suspected that performance had dropped slightly on E10. Also felt mileage was less too, so I filled up with E5 last week, and will do a comparison.

@Whywonttheyletmeusemyusername

I've noticed exactly the same thing, my car is struggling on E10. Maybe a silly question, but can I top up with E5 if there is still E10 in the tank?

Yes, it's fine to mix the two.

2000 Yaris here. Haven’t noticed a decrease in power, but there wasn’t much to start with!

Son’s 1999 Corsa is also going ok.

On checking, the display says I’m doing 55mpg. In all the years I’ve had the car, I’ve never managed to get 60mpg so I think 55 is probably about normal.

I refused to put the E10 in my car even though the website said it was okay for my make/model, I have a disabled child and do not like to take chances.
My DH used it and the engine management light came on and he used the E10 a few times and then went back to the E5 and the light still comes on occasionally this is on a Honda CRV which had a full service and MOT a couple of weeks before this petrol was released.

@stopringingme

I refused to put the E10 in my car even though the website said it was okay for my make/model, I have a disabled child and do not like to take chances. My DH used it and the engine management light came on and he used the E10 a few times and then went back to the E5 and the light still comes on occasionally this is on a Honda CRV which had a full service and MOT a couple of weeks before this petrol was released.

Yes my car can apparently take it but I won't be using it again.

The only way to check is to accurately calculate your consumption over a full tank brim-to-brim. Also note that as the weather is getting cooler you will see an increase in fuel consumption. Run a few tanks of each back to back and calculate your consumption.

Thankfully I have a diesel, but DH has moved to super unleaded (E5 i think?). He won’t put E10 in his car

My 17 year old car is coping ok on the E10, I haven't noticed any loss of gutsyness (but tbh it is a 1.2). But somehow since the first time I filled up with E10 my fuel gage has completely stopped working and is now reading 3/4 after 350 miles... Anyone elses fuel gage had a paddy at E10?

My 08 car started juddering about and the engine warning light came on. I limped to a garage and the mechanic said a lot of older cars were starting to play up on e10. No fault found on diagnostic and he suggested using premium e5 in the future

Financially-speaking, it's shrinkflation par excellence. If they added 30% to fuel duty, there would be riots in the street; but if they force you to need to buy an extra 30% more petrol, they hope they'll get away with it - or maybe deflect the blame on to the petrol companies.

Watering down petrol used to be seen as a crime, but now that's effectively what they've done across the board.

Environmentally-speaking, using less petrol per litre - and thus making that litre less efficient - makes as much sense to motorists as Marjorie Dawes' 'half the calories so you can eat twice as much' does to dieters.

It's a grand conspiracy by the government - except it can't be, because we all know that 'conspiracy theorists' are always stupid crazies.... right.

Financially-speaking, it's shrinkflation par excellence. If they added 30% to fuel duty, there would be riots in the street; but if they force you to need to buy an extra 30% more petrol, they hope they'll get away with it - or maybe deflect the blame on to the petrol companies.*

Show me some actual data for a 30% increase in fuel consumption

Thank you @icedcoffees and @Comedycook

Show me some actual data for a 30% increase in fuel consumption

I just picked an example figure out for illustration purposes - partly based on some of the anecdata above. Of course it will differ vastly between different cars, and this doesn't take into account any extra repairs that may (or may not) be required owing to the use of inferior petrol.

However, the principle is the same, however much less mileage you get for the same money. Everybody moans when Cadbury's proudly keep the price of a bar of Dairy Milk but sneakily lop 4g off the weight every now and then, but so far, there doesn't seem to have been such an outcry over the same thing with petrol, demanded by law - which involves far bigger figures based on an average person's consumption.

The point stands that the tax on a litre of actual useable petrol (all of the tax and then with VAT added on top) has now been increased, purely with the excuse of environmental factors and with no mention of the government cashing in.