Fuel Types Explained

When refuelling your car you have a wide range of fuel to choose from, so what fuel is the best to use?

Different fuel stations have different names, but most fuels come under handful of simple categories: Ethanol Blend (E10), Unleaded (91RON), Premium (95RON), and Super Premium (98RON).

These different categories describe what is actually in the fuel included octane levels and chemical blends if present.

ETHANOL BLEND FUEL

An ethanol blend or E10 fuel is a mix of unleaded fuel (91RON) and ethanol that is alcohol made from fermented sugar and starch components from plants. If you’re conscious about your impact on the environment, an ethanol blend might be a good choice as it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Whilst ethanol blend fuel is cheaper at the pump, not all engines are able to use this fuel and even if your car can, you won’t get far on a single tank compared to other fuels. Sometimes being even more expensive than Premium (95RON) fuel.

UNLEADED (91RON)

Standard unleaded fuel is easy to find at petrol stations around Australia, and almost every car will be able to use this fuel.

Unless your car requires Premium or Super Premium fuel (check your manual or fuel flap), this is the fuel that will get you the best combination of performance and economy.

Note: In NSW, unleaded 91RON fuels are required to have a blend of ethanol.

PREMIUM (95RON) AND SUPER PREMIUM (98RON)

Premium and super premium fuels are marketed as the fuels to choose when needing to refuel. Some even say that you’ll get more power and better fuel economy from using this type of fuel.

However you will only see the benefits of better power and fuel economy if your car either requires or recommends using these types of fuel. If not, you’re

BUT I WANT BETTER FUEL ECONOMY AND MORE SAVINGS

There isn’t a fuel design specifically for saving fuel, saving money and cleaning your engine. The best choice for all of these is to choose the fuel that the car manufacturer says the car needs.

Most, if not all, fuel companies also state that their fuels including regular unleaded fuel has engine cleaning technologies to avoid carbon build up.

To get the most out of each tank, you also need to drive in ways that will extend the periods between visiting the petrol station. You can check out our fuel saving tips here:

GETTING HELP

If you’re not sure what fuel type your car needs check the cars manual, fuel flap or even pop in and let us find out for you.

Fuel Types Explained