Which. Supermarket petrol quality: what you need to know

[Malc1]

1 hour ago, Illogan said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_Fuel_Group

 

OMG.

MFG provide fuel at the following petrol stations 

 BP. SHELL ESSO  JET. TEXACO and MURCO   hahahaha  and their owner CDB also owns MORRISONS 

so there’s bugger-all difference in these outlets fuels then 😂

Malc 

 

[ColinBarber]

57 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

MFG provide fuel at the following petrol stations 

they don't provide fuel, they operate the petrol stations.

[Malc1]

So we need to read the other Forum Header Titles about the petrol delivery drivers mix and match fuel deliveries to all and sundry ……. Or have I misread those posts too ? Misinterpreted what’s actually going on at pump tank delivery ? 

I’ve clearly got it  wrong that mfg supply fuel to all and sundry ! Thanks for clarifying 

BUT the Asda guys co-own their fuel stations and do supply petrol to not just Asda but to ……… ??  Anyone know ??

or have I misunderstood that too 🥵     Thanks 

Malc 

[Illogan]

8 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

So we need to read the other Forum Header Titles about the petrol delivery drivers mix and match fuel deliveries to all and sundry ……. Or have I misread those posts too ? Misinterpreted what’s actually going on at pump tank delivery ? 

I’ve clearly got it  wrong that mfg supply fuel to all and sundry ! Thanks for clarifying 

BUT the Asda guys co-own their fuel stations and do supply petrol to not just Asda but to ……… ??  Anyone know ??

or have I misunderstood that too 🥵     Thanks 

Malc 

The Issa Brothers (whom purchased Asda from Walmart (with help from a Capital provision business), previously ran (were Co-Directors for the EG Group (https://www.eg.group/retail-segments/fuel/) and a few food supply and retail areas too!  ( https://www.eg.group/)

 

Wherever you've bought your petrol, Malc, you've probably helped pay for Issa brothers mortgages!  😉

[Kaizen]

On 4/26/2023 at 10:37 AM, wharfhouse said:

My take on this is:

I have used supermarket fuels for decades and run cars to high mileages without any problems. 

I found a noticeable drop in economy using the new E10 (over the old spec 95 octane fuel) - strangely not immediately but after a number of months. 

I switched to the new E5 instead of E10 and the economy went back to previous (or slightly better) levels making the same trips in the same conditions comparing the same supermarket E5 and E10 (in this case the same Sainsbury's). 

The difference between E10 and E5 fuel economy is between 5% and 10% - I find if E10 is in the tank for some time (a few weeks) the economy definately falls off which doesn't happen with E5. 

As for performance I can't really tell the difference between E5 and E10 but the car does run noticeably quieter and smoother on E5 - again this is comparing E10 and E5 from the same Sainsbury's. 

My conclusion from the above was if there is less than 10p (at today's prices) difference between E10 and E5 then using E5 will break even or save me money (and the car seems to run better on E5). Now, Sainsbury's used to be about 6p difference per litre between E10 and E5 (so definitely saving me money) but more recently I noticed the difference has crept up to 10p a litre. 

I've tried various branded E10 and have not noticed a significant change over the supermarket fuel - for me BP E10 seemed to offer a small improvement, Shell E10 not (in fact I thought it was slightly worse) and so overall I do make a saving using supermarket fuel given the extra cost of branded fuel. The E5 price difference for branded fuels I've tried (which is often more than 10p a litre) could never be more financially economical. 

About 6 months ago we got a Costco fuel station near to me and so I switched to Costco for the majority of my fuel. The fuel is always a few pence per litre cheaper than even the cheapest supermarket alternative - sometime more - and the difference between their own E5 and E10 is about 7p per litre. So I now use Costco E5 wherever I can. The car runs very quietly and smoothly on this and compared to any branded E5 (BP, Shell etc.) the price difference is some 20p a litre cheaper so a no brainer really. 

 

Thanks for this. I have been using Shell for a long time, but considering their focus on profits, I am interested in switching to another fuel provider. I have Esso, Asda, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s closer to me. I am wondering which one would be the best alternative to Shell? Should I switch to Sainsbury’s?

Although Costco is a bit far for me, whenever possible, I fill up at Costco. I have noticed that the MPG is higher compared to Shell. I have not yet tried E5s, but perhaps next time I should try the Costco E5.

I appreciate how Costco offers quality fuel at a much more affordable price. The savings on fuel alone make my membership worth it 🙂 .

[Bluemarlin]

I can't speak for the others, but I once had to fill up at Sainsbury's and got terrible mileage.

I too use Costco, when I'm near one that does fuel, but otherwise find that I get the best mpg from Esso E5.

[Gary H]

I tend to get the best mileage from BP stations - but I only really go into them when their prices are at similar levels to the supermarkets. It's similar with Shell too, although I’ve not used a Shell garage for quite some time now. 

The worst for me in terms of mileage has to be Morrisons. It's not too bad if you're just pottering to and from work. However, do any distance and the fuel gauge soon starts coming down. I've noticed this with several cars I've had - which is why if I know I've got any distance trips coming up, I'll avoid it and go to a branded station instead. 

Our local Morrisons fuel station, which regularly used to be the cheapest in town, is now just as expensive as our local BP. As a result, my car has had a few nice fills of BP over the course of this month.

[Jgtcracer]

On 7/12/2023 at 10:39 PM, Kaizen said:

Thanks for this. I have been using Shell for a long time, but considering their focus on profits, I am interested in switching to another fuel provider. I have Esso, Asda, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s closer to me. I am wondering which one would be the best alternative to Shell? Should I switch to Sainsbury’s?

Although Costco is a bit far for me, whenever possible, I fill up at Costco. I have noticed that the MPG is higher compared to Shell. I have not yet tried E5s, but perhaps next time I should try the Costco E5.

I appreciate how Costco offers quality fuel at a much more affordable price. The savings on fuel alone make my membership worth it 🙂 .

I had personally noticed a drop in economy over Feburary/March/April using E10.  I read that although advertised as E10 for sometime, this is actually the maximum allowed ethanol content, rather that actual.  I have a sneaky feeling that some fuels have progressively moved closer to 10% over the last year or so, rather than from day 0.  I have exclusively been using E5 fuel from either Tesco Momentum or Shell V-power for 3 or 4 months and have noticed a 10%+ increase in fuel economy as a result so will be sticking with it.  Looking elsewhere online the Tesco Momentum gets really good write-ups as does Shell.

Its worth noting that there aren't a million refineries knocking about so I can imagine that a lot of different suppliers get fuel from the same place (perhaps with slightly different additive blends).  Fuel quality generally is pretty good nowadays and cars so well engineered that I cant imagine any of the fuels on sale in the UK would be "bad" for a car, otherwise OEMs would have issues with customers using it!

[wharfhouse]

On 7/12/2023 at 10:39 PM, Kaizen said:

Thanks for this. I have been using Shell for a long time, but considering their focus on profits, I am interested in switching to another fuel provider. I have Esso, Asda, Tesco, and Sainsbury’s closer to me. I am wondering which one would be the best alternative to Shell? Should I switch to Sainsbury’s?

Although Costco is a bit far for me, whenever possible, I fill up at Costco. I have noticed that the MPG is higher compared to Shell. I have not yet tried E5s, but perhaps next time I should try the Costco E5.

I appreciate how Costco offers quality fuel at a much more affordable price. The savings on fuel alone make my membership worth it 🙂 .

I use Costco E5 as much as possible - it works out cheaper than the branded E10 and delivers good fuel consumption (between 5 and 10% more than any E10, including Costco) and the car seems to run very well on it, smooth and quiet. The Costco E5 is about 9p more per litre than their E10 so from the financial point of view I am certainly no worse off financially using their E5 and most likely better off so unless that calculation swings the other way I don't see any reason not to use their E5.

[Spacewagon52]

2 hours ago, wharfhouse said:

I use Costco E5 as much as possible - it works out cheaper than the branded E10 and delivers good fuel consumption (between 5 and 10% more than any E10, including Costco) and the car seems to run very well on it, smooth and quiet. The Costco E5 is about 9p more per litre than their E10 so from the financial point of view I am certainly no worse off financially using their E5 and most likely better off so unless that calculation swings the other way I don't see any reason not to use their E5.

I have just filled up my NX for a long journey with E5. It will not be scientific but I will see what difference in mpg there is compared to E10

[Rabbers]

1 hour ago, Spacewagon52 said:

I have just filled up my NX for a long journey with E5. It will not be scientific but I will see what difference in mpg there is compared to E10

I recently drove from Denmark to Italy, all motorway, starting with a full tank of E5 (which is the grade I customarily use).  The low-fuel warning light came on after 806km.  I then filled up with E10 and, having driven at much the same speed on the same type of road in much the same weather and traffic conditions, the light came on after 742km.  This indicates that E10 is 8% less economical than E5 - and I presume this figure is somewhat understated since my tank must have contained at least 8-9 litres of E5 when I put in the E10.  

[wharfhouse]

42 minutes ago, Rabbers said:

I recently drove from Denmark to Italy, all motorway, starting with a full tank of E5 (which is the grade I customarily use).  The low-fuel warning light came on after 806km.  I then filled up with E10 and, having driven at much the same speed on the same type of road in much the same weather and traffic conditions, the light came on after 742km.  This indicates that E10 is 8% less economical than E5 - and I presume this figure is somewhat understated since my tank must have contained at least 8-9 litres of E5 when I put in the E10.  

That aligns with difference I have seen over many thousands of miles now of like for like comparisons between E5 and E10. That's also a comparison using the same E5/E10 brand of fuel so takes away differences between brands. 8% is much more than just the E5/E10 ethanol content would suggest, here is the quote from the DoT "The Department for Transport says using E10 petrol can “slightly reduce” fuel economy, but it insists this is only by around 1% to 2%" - comparing to the old E5 that may of course have more merit, but compared to the only E5 available now which is also super-unleaded with higher octane rating (97-99 instead of 95 and maybe with other modifiers too) this slaps of somewhat pulling the wool over peoples eyes...

[Spacewagon52]

Three adults, 1 dog, large roofboot full. 39.7mpg (E5) - 38.7mpg (E10). Not scientific, just on the car's computer.

[Malc1]

On 7/19/2023 at 2:43 PM, wharfhouse said:

this slaps of somewhat pulling the wool over peoples eyes...

no surprises there then ................. whatever we see hear or know, I do know that over the weekend I passed a Sainsburys down on the A24 in Sussex where the E10 was emblazoned at 135.9p / ltr

My Sheerness Kent  local Tesco's at 143.9p and a not quite so local ( Gillingham )  one at 140.9p ........ why do they continue to just brazenly rip us off ........... sorry rhetorical useless Question ..  answer is coz they can and will forever continue to do so .....  they're no one's " friend " eh !

Rant Over 🥶

Malc

[Brian R]

51 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

no surprises there then ................. whatever we see hear or know, I do know that over the weekend I passed a Sainsburys down on the A24 in Sussex where the E10 was emblazoned at 135.9p / ltr

My Sheerness Kent  local Tesco's at 143.9p and a not quite so local ( Gillingham )  one at 140.9p ........ why do they continue to just brazenly rip us off ........... sorry rhetorical useless Question ..  answer is coz they can and will forever continue to do so .....  they're no one's " friend " eh !

Rant Over 🥶

Malc

Regretfully Malc, you may well see cost increases in the very near future. Our local supermarkets are already upping their cost/litre. I presently pay circa £136/£137 from either Sainsbury or Tesco and will be brimming the car in preparation for a longish trip next week, by which time I would fully expect at least another penny or two on the foregoing figures.

 

[Malc1]

1 hour ago, Brian R said:

Regretfully Malc

I've given up worrying about the fuel price tbh .  2 cars to fill and i always do when she reaches the orange light .............  she indoors only ever puts max £20 in the Honda Legend and then leaves it for me to fill-up whenever i take it out 

Cest le vie ! ......  it's only money and you can't take it with you ( so they say )

BUT I sure do try to do all my shopping in either Aldi or Lidl coz they're the only one's never ever ripping us off with fuel prices .........  and may they long never sell the stuff eh !

Malc

[Gary H]

Indeed. I’ve noticed during the course of this week that prices are creeping up again. My father said he knows of two petrol stations which he passed on both Tuesday and Wednesday. Overnight, the pair of them went up 3p per litre for both petrol and diesel. 

The cheapest petrol in my immediate area, that I know of anyway, is 141.9p per litre.

[Malc1]

hahahahaha .......  spent nigh on £200 filling up both cars this week  .  the Lexus Ls400 with E5 and the Honda Legend with E10  .  it's only money £££££ 🤣

Malc