V Power Petrol Prices

[markjay]

I was merely asking for a quantitative comparison i.e. will £50 of 95 RON get me as many miles as £50 of V Power 99?

There are so many other variables when you start to look at additives etc. I didn’t buy a 6.2 litre engined car to worry about fuel economy, but I begrudge paying daft 15 pence/litre+ premiums for V Power every fill up. I live in the countryside, so the nearest Momentum is miles away. There is a Shell on the way to the motorway and the nicer roads of Teesdale so that’s what keeps it fed. I see the 98 RON sticker under the fuel flap every time I fill up and have read the manual, so am aware of what Mercedes designed for it.

Premium fuels (V-Power included) differ from standard fuels in two ways: higher Octane, and better additives pack.

With regards the former, I don't think you should compromise on the manufacturer's recommendations. So only buy fuel that has the minimum Octane rating required for your engine.

With regards the latter, buy Shell V-Power if you believe that their additives pack is indeed superior as they claim (and will better-clean and better-lubricate the injectors etc etc). But if you don't care much about fuel additives, then just buy the cheapest high-Octane fuel that meets the minimum requirement for your engine and that you can get locally, be it from Shell, Tesco, BP, Essex, Texaco, etc etc.

As for fuel economy... premium fuels will possibly be slightly more efficient, but any additional mpg will be insignificant and never cover the extra cost per litre, so I suggest that you do not take this into consideration at all when debating which fuel to buy.

 

[TimHall]

That must feel flat if run on normal fuel?
Imo I would rather pay the extra than damage anything

It feels ok, but that’s “normal” driving, not a proper trial of back to back testing like the boffins at 5th Gear did in my link earlier.

 

[Spider10]

I thought the pre 2016 golf gti ran on normal fuel anyway (not 98 ron)

 

[Will]

Premium fuels (V-Power included) differ from standard fuels in two ways: higher Octane, and better additives pack.

With regards the former, I don't think you should compromise on the manufacturer's recommendations. So only buy fuel that has the minimum Octane rating required for your engine.

With regards the latter, buy Shell V-Power if you believe that their additives pack is indeed superior as they claim (and will better-clean and better-lubricate the injectors etc etc). But if you don't care much about fuel additives, then just buy the cheapest high-Octane fuel that meets the minimum requirement for your engine and that you can get locally, be it from Shell, Tesco, BP, Essex, Texaco, etc etc.

As for fuel economy... premium fuels will possibly be slightly more efficient, but any additional mpg will be insignificant and never cover the extra cost per litre, so I suggest that you do not take this into consideration at all when debating which fuel to buy.

What’s the difference between say V-Power and Momentum though - both high octane (99) and E5 with improved additive packages?

Only reason I ask is the benefit would need to be pretty tangible to justify the difference in price. From very rough calculations at today’s prices it would equate to an additional fuel spend of £5-6k over 100k miles in my instance so you’d want to know where your money was going and if it was likely to be worthwhile

 

[Bellow]

To further the above discussion, the engine will reduce timing AFTER it detects a knock event, which means damage is potentially already being done.

If you run a car designed for higher octane fuel, on lower octane a lot, and use all the power or lug the engine, this detonation may eventually cause premature wear of the engine.

So, whilst its possible to run on lower octane fuel with knock sensors and timing retard etc, its not a good idea.

I think - but have no proof - that in that scenario the ECU will eventually adapt and implement a timing strategy that avoids constantly butting against the detonation threshold. Even if it takes several tankfulls to achieve.
What evidence of this there is (if it is evidence) lies in when going in the other direction ie, from prolonged use of low octane to high and how long it takes the car to perk up. Four tankfulls in the case of my (turbocharged) smart and I was sceptical of the whole 'takes several tankfulls' to see the benefits.

 

[markjay]

What’s the difference between say V-Power and Momentum though - both high octane (99) and E5 with improved additive packages?

Only reason I ask is the benefit would need to be pretty tangible to justify the difference in price. From very rough calculations at today’s prices it would equate to an additional fuel spend of £5-6k over 100k miles in my instance so you’d want to know where your money was going and if it was likely to be worthwhile

Shell will argue that their additives pack is superior to all others. Whether this is true or not, I don't know, especially given that oil companies tend to treat the information regarding products development by their R&D teams as trade secrets.

You could check to see if Google finds say independent comparisons between different fuels additives pack, or just make up your own mind whether you believe that there's added value to choosing Shell over Tesco.

But without comparative data and independent testing there's no way of knowing, really.

 

[Will]

Shell will argue that their additives pack is superior to all others. Whether this is true or not, I don't know, especially given that oil companies tend to treat the information regarding products development by their R&D teams as trade secrets.

You could check to see if Google finds say independent comparisons between different fuels additives pack, or just make up your own mind whether you believe that there's added value to choosing Shell over Tesco.

But without comparative data and independent testing there's no way of knowing, really.

I think that last sentence summarises the crux of my point - without the data to justify an additional spend of say 10%, it’s difficult to determine if it offers that much added value? My gut feeling is probably not. Two of the variables/measures of specification/quality (RON and Ethanol content) we know are identical so the additives package alone would need to demonstrate some real tangible benefit to be worth that much extra to myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure V-power is a decent fuel, and I used to use Shell fuels almost exclusively for years. I just think V-Power nowadays seems overpriced for what it is on the back of the marketing/rewards scheme/expected customer base etc who maybe don’t bother shopping around or look at the cost of what they’re buying.

I don’t mind paying a bit extra for branded stuff and generally buy the best of anything I can afford but I also like to make sure I’m getting value for money and I’m not convinced the above offers that currently

 

[Doodle]

I just think V-Power nowadays seems overpriced for what it is on the back of the marketing/rewards scheme/expected customer base etc who maybe don’t bother shopping around or look at the cost of what they’re buying.

Given that our local shell is charging an extra 20p per litre for V-Power over normal 95, I'm inclined to agree.

On the matter of the performance benefit, I recall a discussion over a factory approved ECU upgrade for the EA888 engine that was felt to be unperforming. It turned out to be as a result of over-sensitive temperature response in the new management, which was giving you no benefit at all until the engine parameters reached a certain point and then more or less immediately started pulling everything back the moment they got there.

However, while examining all the variables to figure out what was going on, it was discovered that the benefit of 98/99 was only realised during the summer months in the UK. At this time of year the ECU could fully advance the timing without needing the extra octane.

 

[markjay]

I think that last sentence summarises the crux of my point - without the data to justify an additional spend of say 10%, it’s difficult to determine if it offers that much added value? My gut feeling is probably not.

Sure - go with your gut instinct then - there's no quantitive way of measuring the manufacturers' claims (as far as I am aware, anyway). In this sense it is no different to other consumer products - you often buy goods from a brand that you believe to be better or more reliable etc.

Two of the variables/measures of specification/quality (RON and Ethanol content) we know are identical so the additives package alone would need to demonstrate some real tangible benefit to be worth that much extra to myself.

That's not accurate, because what E5 and E10 mean is that this is the maximum percentage (5% and 10%, respectively) of Ethanol in the fuel. Shell said that their E5 V-Power fuel contains not Ethanol at all in most of the UK. I am not aware that Tesco actually specified the Ethanol content of their E5 Momentum fuel. That said, ther's no reason to assume that Ethanol is bad for your engine, so even if it did turn-out that Shell V-Power has zero Ethanol while Tesco Momentum has 5% Ethanol (and, again, I don't know for fact that this is the case), then it won't necessarily make any difference to your engine, at least not one that justified the higher price of V-Power.

In short, there are a lot of unknown or unquantifiable variables here, and no definitive answer exists. Personally, I use Shell V-Power, because I believe it is a 'good fuel' (in terms of additives pack, I don't care too much about Octane), and ther's a Shell garage less than 3 minutes away from where I live. But then, I used to fill-up with BP Ultimate when I was working near a BP garage (the BP garage since closed down, and my office moved elsewhere anyway). Ther's no Tesco petrol station anywhere in my area (well, there's one, but it's actually an Esso petrol station in a Tesco forecourt). So get the fuel that makes you feel most comfortable.

What I am somewhat annoyed about is when people say that 'all fuels are the same'. I don't believe they are. It may be that we the public do not have the full information regarding the make-up of the different fuel brands, and possibly don't have enough data to make an informed decision, but it is not the same as saying that ther's no difference, simply because we don't know how to measure it.

 

[Will]

Sure - go with your gut instinct then - there's no quantitive way of measuring the manufacturers' claims (as far as I am aware, anyway). In this sense it is no different to other consumer products - you often buy goods from a brand that you believe to be better or more reliable etc.



That's not accurate, because what E5 and E10 mean is that this is the maximum percentage (5% and 10%, respectively) of Ethanol in the fuel. Shell said that their E5 V-Power fuel contains not Ethanol at all in most of the UK. I am not aware that Tesco actually specified the Ethanol content of their E5 Momentum fuel. That said, ther's no reason to assume that Ethanol is bad for your engine, so even if it did turn-out that Shell V-Power has zero Ethanol while Tesco Momentum has 5% Ethanol (and, again, I don't know for fact that this is the case), then it won't necessarily make any difference to your engine, at least not one that justified the higher price of V-Power.

In short, there are a lot of unknown or unquantifiable variables here, and no definitive answer exists. Personally, I use Shell V-Power, because I believe it is a 'good fuel' (in terms of additives pack, I don't care too much about Octane), and ther's a Shell garage less than 3 minutes away from where I live. But then, I used to fill-up with BP Ultimate when I was working near a BP garage (the BP garage since closed down, and my office moved elsewhere anyway). Ther's no Tesco petrol station anywhere in my area (well, there's one, but it's actually an Esso petrol station in a Tesco forecourt). So get the fuel that makes you feel most comfortable.

What I am somewhat annoyed about is when people say that 'all fuels are the same'. I don't believe they are. It may be that we the public do not have the full information regarding the make-up of the different fuel brands, and possibly don't have enough data to make an informed decision, but it is not the same as saying that ther's no difference, simply because we don't know how to measure it.

I’m sure I may have read similar in the past but Shell don’t seem to specify the ethanol content for V-Power any more clearly than Tesco do for Momentum though - both can contain upto 5% as you say by the E5 standard which isn’t a ‘Shell’ or ‘Tesco’ thing, and to that end you simply don’t know what you’re paying for. I think if one or the other specifically guaranteed to be ethanol free then I would understand the pricing difference and could find that easier to justify but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Have you any recent information from Shell to confirm the Ethanol content? This was all I could really find on a quick google;

https://support.shell.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115005935369-What-is-Ethanol-

Likewise the claims for the additives and performance seem very vague - ‘no guarantees provided’ and by aggressive marketing/advertising/rewards (and no doubt market share of fuel stations etc) they can claim they’re ‘number one’ - which again is pretty much meaningless in terms of quality or value.

1By market share according to Kantar Worldpanel data (calculated by reference to volume of premium fuel sales to a representative sample of 2,000 motorists in GB over a 12 month period in both 2019 and 2020). See Shell V-Power for more information.
2Measured using industry standard and Shell proprietary tests. Helps to protect key fuel system components such as intake valves and/or fuel injectors from the build up of performance robbing deposits. Actual effects and benefits may vary according to vehicle type, driving conditions and driving style. No guarantees provided. See shell.co.uk/vpower for more information.
3 Measured using industry standard and Shell proprietary tests. Shell V-Power Unleaded with 99 Octane compared to lower octane (95 octane) fuels in octane responsive vehicles. Actual effects and benefits may vary according to vehicle type, driving conditions and driving style. No guarantees provided. See shell.co.uk/vpower for more information.

I’d be happy to pay more for V-Power if I felt it offered a decent cost/benefit but I can’t see how anyone can claim that to be, other than assuming that by it being reassuringly expensive it must be at least 10% better?

But going back to what I was saying earlier, one thing you can measure is cost. At say 18mpg and 100k miles it would represent an additional spend of about £5000 at today’s prices by exclusively using V-power, that’s big enough to want to know what you’re getting for your money

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Whilst I’d drive miles to save pennies per litre - I really don’t like wasting money, and I do realise the irony of spending more money by driving further to try and save some money - I have never been reluctant to pay the extra for high octane fuel.

That said, the pricing at the vast majority of Shell stations seems to be increasing in relative terms, both relative to the price of equivalent fuels from other brands, but also the price differential between 95 and 99 RON. I only know of one Shell station which hasn’t followed suit.

When the premium for Shell VPower 99 (or Optimax 98 as it was way back) was 8ppl more than Shell Unleaded, it seemed like an acceptable premium for the benefit of higher octane and enhanced additives. At 12ppl I could anticipate them losing customers, but it’s now as much as 20ppl then even I’m rethinking.

There’s more competition than ever now - until recently only Tesco Momentum offered 99 RON, but last year Esso started rolling out their 99 RON premium fuel too - but strangely Shell seem to be increasing the price differential between 95 and 99 RON even further, despite that competition!

 

[Will]

When the premium for Shell VPower 99 (or Optimax 98 as it was way back) was 8ppl more than Shell Unleaded, it seemed like an acceptable premium for the benefit of higher octane and enhanced additives. At 12ppl I could anticipate them losing customers, but it’s now as much as 20ppl then even I’m rethinking.

I agree, when it was something like 8p per litre premium for Optimax/V-Power I never worried and used Shell almost exclusively for many years. Nowadays, although I wouldn’t go out of my way for fuel I just wouldn’t fill up at those current prices so they’ve effectively lost a longstanding customer as a result.

It’s a strange business model and I can’t quite get my head around it!

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

I have a diesel, but for the first time in my 3 year ownership of the car, I intentionally put in regular shell diesel vs the v-power. I think with diesels it actually matters more the older/higher miles the car has, especially if you don’t know who owned it before you and what kind of fuel/driving they did… but it is simply too expensive now, and I’m doing too many miles to be able to keep up the ‘luxury’ for V-power… it hasn’t dropped since the ‘crisis’ at all the stations I go to.

I think fuel is actually my biggest expense after rent. I think part of me feels like instead of being ‘rewarded’ by giving Shell so much of my money, they’re taking the ****. Their rewards/GO+ scheme is insultingly bad, and I’ve used it religiously.

I’ll probably go down the redex/millers/etc route as it doesn’t look like the prices will come down soon. I get redex whenever I see it on offer for £2 anyway and throw it in, but I’ll start researching which additive is best and probably be a bit more regimented about it

 

[E55BOF]

I agree, when it was something like 8p per litre premium for Optimax/V-Power I never worried and used Shell almost exclusively for many years. Nowadays, although I wouldn’t go out of my way for fuel I just wouldn’t fill up at those current prices so they’ve effectively lost a longstanding customer as a result.

It’s a strange business model and I can’t quite get my head around it!

At first glance, it's basic capitalism - charge what the market will bear... Presumably retailers all buy their fuel at the same sort of price from Shell, and Shell keeps an eye on sales volumes, so unless they're looking to phase it out, sales are holding up OK. If not, as you say, it's a strange business model. The gap between standard and premium diesel doesn't seem to be nearly as much, though.

Apropos the benefits of premium fuel, the previous time I filled the SLK was with Momentum, but this last time, as I said, I put in Morrisons' own 97 octane. It may be that it was accidentally overdosed with a special magic ingredient on delivery, or just possibly that the Momentum wasn't Momentum, but the car feels noticeably more lively, and even the bellow from the exhaust at full bore is more meaty. I'll put V-power in next time - 99 vs 97 octane - and see how that goes.

 

[markjay]

I have a diesel, but for the first time in my 3 year ownership of the car, I intentionally put in regular shell diesel vs the v-power. I think with diesels it actually matters more the older/higher miles the car has, especially if you don’t know who owned it before you and what kind of fuel/driving they did… but it is simply too expensive now, and I’m doing too many miles to be able to keep up the ‘luxury’ for V-power… it hasn’t dropped since the ‘crisis’ at all the stations I go to.

I think fuel is actually my biggest expense after rent. I think part of me feels like instead of being ‘rewarded’ by giving Shell so much of my money, they’re taking the ****. Their rewards/GO+ scheme is insultingly bad, and I’ve used it religiously.

I’ll probably go down the redex/millers/etc route as it doesn’t look like the prices will come down soon. I get redex whenever I see it on offer for £2 anyway and throw it in, but I’ll start researching which additive is best and probably be a bit more regimented about it

I used Redex for many years and I think it's great stuff.

I moved to Premium fuels 20 years ago when I got fed up with fumbling with the Redex bottle at the pumps...

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , Shell V power petrol at one time was my go to fuel.To fill my car up with Shell fuel I had a round trip of 30 miles.

In reality I must have been the and man's dream sucker but I can and do purchase man juice down the road in my local town , 99 Octane Esso fuel.

Expensive it is , £1.66 per litre but I just cannot venture over to the 95 octane stuff , sorry boys , but what noticeable difference to V power I ask my self , very little in all honesty.

 

[E55BOF]

Try some Morrisons 97 octane.

 

[Rich764089]

Will, where do you buy your Tesco 99? The only Tesco filling station convenient to me is the one in Amersham - affluent area, admittedly, but still...

Ha, this is my old 'hood. One doesn't use tesco in South bucks doesn't one know think you're limited to Amersham, Watford, hemel from memory!

 

[Rich764089]

Expensive it is , £1.66 per litre but I just cannot venture over to the 95 octane stuff , sorry boys , but what noticeable difference to V power I ask my self , very little in all honesty.

And girls.
From, Stan/Loretta.

 

[bob6600]

Just filled up. It is 161.99ppl at my local. Cost me £115 and that's before the fuel light had come on so about 1/4 tank was still in it!