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A study, by What Car? Magazine took two premium brands (BP Ultimate and Shell V-Power) in United Kingdom and wanted to see whether they fulfilled all their expectations. These premium brands claim that your car will go further and perform better.
Peter de Nayer, former AA senior research engineer, who carried out these tests found these premium fuels performed little or no better than cheaper gases available The cheaper unleaded gas costs 30 pence (60 cents) a gallon cheaper.
Magazine Editor Steve Fowler said the tests showed premium fuels are an unnecessary expense with neither major fuel economy nor performance benefit.
He said the premium fuel doesn’t help the vehicle travel seven per cent further on a tank of fuel for a seven per cent increase in the fuel bill.
In their ads, British Petroleum companies claim their ultimate fuel adds up to 28 miles on a full tank, but independent tests showed the car traveled only 1.5 miles further at an additional cost of £6.14 (US$12.28).
Long-term tests using three full tanks of fuel showed some high-octane fuels performed worse than unleaded fuel versions.
Shell V-Power could manage only 22.9 miles per gallon (mpg) in normal driving conditions compared with 23 mpg using Shell’s normal unleaded.
Both Shell and BP responded to this study's claim, but they remain unfazed and stick to their claim that premium fuels give extra performance and fuel economy.
Shell UK spokesman Nick Adams told Dailyrecord.com:
"V-Power has been designed to give improved performance and responsiveness. It can help new cars to perform like new for longer and, in some cases, rejuvenate older cars."
BP's Sheila Williams said independent tests showed Ultimate could
"boost power and acceleration, reduce exhaust emissions and improve economy."
Do you see any difference in the premium vs. unleaded versions? They told me that it keeps the engines healthy and I used to believe them, but I didn’t see any changes neither in the performance nor fuel efficiency.
