Fuel Types Explained

The most common fuel used to power cars in the UK, unleaded petrol is mixed with bioethanol to make them more environmentally friendly

Here in the UK, the most common petrol types are:

• E10 (95 Octane)
• Premium Unleaded (95 RON)
• Super Unleaded (97 / 98 RON)
• Premium Fuels (e.g. Shell V-Power)

Before we explain the various types of petrol fuel, it’s important to understand what the ‘RON’ rating means. You would most likely of seen numbers on or above petrol pumps at fuel stations with numbers like ‘95/97/98 RON’. These refer to the octane rating of the fuel, which is a measure of how easily the fuel will ignite within the car’s engine – the higher the octane rating is, the harder it is for the fuel to ignite as it needs greater compression.

This may make you wonder why higher-octane fuels are offered, but these fuels burn much hotter, meaning they can burn more efficiently and perform more optimally in higher-performance car engines.

This became the standard grade of petrol in Great Britain on 1 September 2021.

Despite the ‘Premium’ label, Premium Unleaded is actually the most commonly used petrol across the UK and Europe and is suitable for almost all petrol engines.

Super Unleaded has the higher-octane rating that is widely available here in the UK. It is mostly used for high-performance cars that require it, and that will benefit from using it.

Premium fuels, such as Shell V-Power, have a higher-octane rating. Manufacturers of these premium fuels claim that as well as the higher-octane rating, the fuel offers benefits such as “improved lubrication, cleaning action and a higher performance.”

If your car journeys are shorter and you travel fewer miles, a petrol engine may be more suited for your car needs, rather than a diesel engine. A lot of diesel engines are now fitted with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), which needs regular long journeys to avoid any clogging.

If you are in doubt about which petrol you should put in your car, please check your car manual. It’ll give you a recommendation, though unless your car is a high-performance model, basic 95 RON unleaded will do the job.

Although UK demand has dropped due to some high profile scandals and concerns over diesel’s environmental impacts, common diesel types are regular diesel (low sulphur) and premium diesel.

The most common diesel types in the UK are:

– City diesel
– Premium diesel

A cetane rating or cetane number (CN) is the rating given to diesel fuel to determine its combustion quality – this refers to the fuel’s delay of ignition time.

Most diesel vehicles use fuel with a rating between 45 and 55, and the higher the cetane rating is, the easier and more efficiently it will ignite and burn.

There is often only one type of diesel available at a fuel station, and sometimes it is even just labelled ‘diesel’. Any fuel labelled as such should be fine to use in any current diesel car or van.

The fuel pumps are usually black too – although it’s always best to double-check!

As with petrol, some manufacturers offer premium diesel too.

Premium fuels generally have a higher cetane rating, so when it is used in a vehicle it ignites and burns more quickly and efficiently, whilst also lubricating and cleaning the engine.

If you cover a lot of miles, travel on the motorways often, or you need to tow something, diesel engines are better suited.

Though it may be more expensive upfront, you could save more money long-term as they are more fuel-efficient and are good at producing huge amounts of torque (aka pulling power).

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) is made up of butane and propane. It is both cleaner and cheaper to buy than petrol and is available at a number of UK fuel stations. That said, though it’s a cheaper alternative to petrol, you don’t get as many to the gallon as conventional petrol.

Most petrol engines can be specially converted to be able to run on LPG, with conversions being reasonably good value.

If you are looking to use LPG, you will only see the benefit if you do high mileage or are planning on keeping your car for a few years. This is due to the cost implication of converting your car in the first place.

Biodiesel is made up of rapeseed oil and other plant oils, and bioethanol is made up of sugar cane sugars, wheat, and other plant resources. They can be used on their own or blended with regular diesel (biodiesel) or petrol (bioethanol).

It’s really important to check if your car is compatible before using biofuels – it’s pretty likely that your car will need modifying beforehand.

A hybrid uses two or more distinct types of power source. In the case of a car, it can run on petrol or diesel (depending on which fuel type a vehicle should use), as well as an electric motor powered by a rechargeable plug-in battery.

When the electric energy is depleted, the car will revert to its internal combustion engine, and consume fuel to power it.

You can charge your car at home, or there are various plug-in points across the UK, located at places such as supermarkets, retail parks, or motorway fuel stations.

Hybrid vehicles are a great step to take if you’re not ready for a fully electric vehicle but have efficiency at the top of your list of priorities. It’s important to consider each hybrid option you have and understand that hybrid vehicles are more expensive than their petrol and diesel alternatives.

An electric vehicle uses a motor that is powered by a rechargeable plug-in battery; that means absolutely no forecourt fuel is required.

As with hybrids, you can charge your car at home, or there are various plug-in points across the UK, in supermarkets, retail parks, motorway fuel stations etc.

Electric vehicles are a fantastic choice if you regularly commute on short the moderate journeys and are happy to pay the small premium that comes with purchasing an electric car. While they can perform long journeys, it’s important to consider that you may have to recharge the battery on particularly long trips.

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