What is the right size for a fuel tank?
Discussion
Following on from a pub chat over the weekend;
What is the optimum size for a fuel tank?
This is a discussion rather than out and out correct answer.
I drive an E39 M5, which has a tank size of 70 litres. A friend of mine has a Fiat 500 with a 35 litre tank. Mine costs twice as much to brim, and certainly doesn't do twice the milage.
They are incredibly different cars worth similar money. Each is better for different purposes. I'm not trying to start a which is better thread. They are so different that it really isn't worth it. I have a mk2 Punto in my stable for what it's worth, so I'm really not trying to play the 1.2 Fiat vs 5 litre V8 game.
But what is the optimum size for a tank on a new car? It needs to be small enough to feel cheap to fill, which the Fiat does wonderfully. I hired one back in the summer and it genuinely does feel like a walk in the park paying for 30 litres when usually it's twice that. I'm used to filling right up to minimise visiting petrol stations, but when it is 65+ litres it somehow feels much more costly than filling up a 500, despite knowing that the tank is annoyingly small and will see you visiting a petrol station daily if doing anything approaching serious milage.
Still, there's something about paying around £35 to fill a car that makes it feel cheap, don't you think? And long distance range isn't something most small hatchback buyers think of when buying. I'm sure that if my car only had a 35 litre tank I'd find it frustratingly limiting. Yet in a 500 I think they have it only slightly too small. So, averaging all cars, is there an optimum tank size?
What is the optimum size for a fuel tank?
This is a discussion rather than out and out correct answer.
I drive an E39 M5, which has a tank size of 70 litres. A friend of mine has a Fiat 500 with a 35 litre tank. Mine costs twice as much to brim, and certainly doesn't do twice the milage.
They are incredibly different cars worth similar money. Each is better for different purposes. I'm not trying to start a which is better thread. They are so different that it really isn't worth it. I have a mk2 Punto in my stable for what it's worth, so I'm really not trying to play the 1.2 Fiat vs 5 litre V8 game.
But what is the optimum size for a tank on a new car? It needs to be small enough to feel cheap to fill, which the Fiat does wonderfully. I hired one back in the summer and it genuinely does feel like a walk in the park paying for 30 litres when usually it's twice that. I'm used to filling right up to minimise visiting petrol stations, but when it is 65+ litres it somehow feels much more costly than filling up a 500, despite knowing that the tank is annoyingly small and will see you visiting a petrol station daily if doing anything approaching serious milage.
Still, there's something about paying around £35 to fill a car that makes it feel cheap, don't you think? And long distance range isn't something most small hatchback buyers think of when buying. I'm sure that if my car only had a 35 litre tank I'd find it frustratingly limiting. Yet in a 500 I think they have it only slightly too small. So, averaging all cars, is there an optimum tank size?
Krikkit said:
Krikkit said:
Enough to give you 400 miles range imo - enough to do in half a day before you need a proper rest and fill-up. 
I should add that a bigger tank is nice on cars that don't have performance aspirations. I'd like a 70 litre tank on all diesels for example!
I think it depend on the type of driving you're doing, ideally you want a weeks worth of driving on a tank if you use the car every day. My old VRS Octavia diesel had a 55 Litre fuel tank giving it a near enough 600 mile range, which worked out at about 5 days worth of driving for me. The Hilux that replaced it had an 80 (IIRC) litre fuel tank but would only do about 400 miles between fill ups. The Civic Type R after that only had a 45 litre fuel tank and it was frankly a right pain in the arse as I was in the petrol station 2 or 3 times a week.
Therefore I'd go for
Diesel - 60 Litres
Petrol - 80 Litres
That said, something like a Supercharged Range Rover may be better suited to a much bigger fuel tank, but last I recall you could only put 100 litres in at most retail filling stations before having to get the pump reset, so with a huge tank you'd be in and out of the shop paying for it!
As others have said however, it depends on the car really
Therefore I'd go for
Diesel - 60 Litres
Petrol - 80 Litres
That said, something like a Supercharged Range Rover may be better suited to a much bigger fuel tank, but last I recall you could only put 100 litres in at most retail filling stations before having to get the pump reset, so with a huge tank you'd be in and out of the shop paying for it!
As others have said however, it depends on the car really
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