Shell V-Power unleaded price premium over standard

[ging84]

it has got a bit out of hand, certainly in my area, a lot of petrol stations are now charging regularly charging 10p a L over what the supermarkets are charging, then the enhanced fuels an extra 10p or so on top.
Someone is making a lot of extra money every time someone buys vpower.

[Twig62]

bhstewie said:

Struggling with this as well.

Always used vPower but when the local Shell is £1.24 for standard I have a Tesco locally that does Momentum and a Sainsbury's that does super unleaded for £1.14 it's pretty damned difficult to justify.

Well I have learnt something today - I never knew that Sainsburys sold super unleaded ! Is it available at all of their sites ?

[bitchstewie]

Twig62 said:

Well I have learnt something today - I never knew that Sainsburys sold super unleaded ! Is it available at all of their sites ?

Sorry but I don't know.

I read that Sainsbury's use BP for their fuels but I don't know if that's still the case and I wouldn't like to assume that means Sainsbury's fuels are the same once you take any additive package into account.

[cslwannabe]

I think VPower might have better additives so keep your engine cleaner but my daily driver is a leaser so it's kind of irrelevant.

I have tried Texaco / Sainsburys / Esso Superunleaded, admittedly a few years ago now and in a previous car (330Ci) and to be honest they all felt like standard unleaded to me. I have heard that Costco 99(?) is good and also keenly priced. Personally I try and only use VPower or Tesco 99 but after years of using VPower almost exclusively I'm definitely swaying towards Tesco (plus the Shell app offers have been miserly for months now).

[vsonix]

I have no problems using Tesco Momentum99 - I would happily use Shell V-power but I am fairly sure any MPG increase I get from using premium over regular 95 is less than the difference in price between M99 and V-power. I've run V-power a few times and not seen any increase in performance over M99.

The best fuel I've ever used for a dramatic increase in economy was Total Excellium in France. Not sure what happened on that fill, I seemed to get a good 20-25% increase in MPG over normal. This was when I was actually calculating the exact mileage per fill as when travelling overseas I like to keep track of exactly how much it costs me to get how far.

[AlexRS2782]

Jeff_Enthused said:

Its worth it though i notice my car isnt as good without it. Which does my nut in cus its expensive but yes definitely worth it!!

I didn't realise an imaginary Mk3 Focus RS also needed to run on petrol

[gizlaroc]

bhstewie said:

Sorry but I don't know.

I read that Sainsbury's use BP for their fuels but I don't know if that's still the case and I wouldn't like to assume that means Sainsbury's fuels are the same once you take any additive package into account.

Sainsburys petrol sets of the EML light on my E350, then when you scan it is gives two codes, first is NOX Sensor and the other says Unknown Fuel Additive.

I use Shell V Power, I didn't think my E350 had was set up for 98 ron, so I used 95 ron for the first 10 months or so and averaged 27mpg over approximately 15k miles, that was March through to Christmas, then found a German brochure and it showed all figures were for 98ron so I started using that, over the next 15k miles it went up to just over 30mpg.

I was running really late for an appointment two weeks back and had to use Sainsburys as I didn't have enough fuel to get into London and once again, when I came out of London and put my foot down as I hit the M11 sure enough the EML light came on again. Scanned and Nox and Fuel Additive was stored.

It costs around 7% more, but I get 10% more mpg so cheaper overall, and if you put 95ron in you can really feel it loses some ummphhhh too!

[flimper]

Getting pissed off with the price of V Power now

Have Tesco Momentum as an option and will be using it as first choice from now on.

Last two visits to Shell were 136.9 and 139.9 (so partially filled up), today got shafted with 140.9 which I reluctantly brimmed the tank with.

It's good, but not that good....

[Mr Tidy]

Yes, Shell V-Power was recommended to me by my BMW Indy, but the price differential is getting to be a p*ss-take!

I've been using Tesco or Sainsbury's for a few months with no issues to date!

[to3m]

I'm using Costco 99 RON, because it's the cheapest. (£1.22/L when I went last week. The Tesco down my road charges more than that for ordinary 95 RON.) My car is a BMW with the notoriously flaky N53 engine, but the Costco stuff doesn't seem to do it any harm.

(I noticed that the manual only recommends 95 RON, so I'm going to switch to ordinary Costco fuel in a week or two and see what happens. I've been using the 99 RON petrol for six months now so it feels like I've got a good amount of data to compare with. Fingers crossed that the worst case is lower fuel efficiency rather than an exploding engine or something.)

Edited by to3m on Monday 7th May 00:54

[gizlaroc]

N53 has a knock sensor.

Yeah, 95 is recommended as a minimum, but 98 is advised.

Many have reported pinking when using 95ron, sounds a bit tappety. You will also lose about 20hp, whether you will notice that on a NA engine depends on the type of driving you do I suppose.

What does it say on the filler cap?

[redguy]

I think it's about 10p more over standard Shell around here - think I paid 1.36.9 yesterday.

I've been using it for a few years now, currently in an SLK 350.

I think it's better than standard - I did a rough test years ago with a BMW 328i, and the 'premium' fuel certainly made that car feel smoother, and also increased the MPG a bit.

For that reason, I've stuck with it....any MPG gain is a bonus....!

[bitchstewie]

Still seems a postcode lottery.

Local shell is around 1.36 for vpower, Sainsbury's is 1.19 for super.

[PantsFire]

139.9 near me, it'll get worse too, Saudi Arabia and Russia want oil to go higher.

[Siy]

Well - this has been an eye opener. I had no idea that Tesco sold 99 Ron petrol... and I certainly wouldn't have trusted it - but it seems everyone here holds it in similar regards as vPower

I only used VPower for my P&J. Am less picky with my daily, but even then, still tend to go vPower if I am nearby.

So - people actually think the Tesco M99 is on a par with (or almost) the Shell equivalent?

[Limpet]

I paid 136.9 the other day, a 14p premium. I keep it to one tankful in four now just for the detergents. M140i possibly pulls a fraction harder up top on it, but consumption identical to the cheap stuff, and no perceptible difference in 99% of driving.

[Alucidnation]

I use v power in all the vehicles and there is a noticeable increase in mpg and small saving in cost, especially with all he discount vouchers I keep getting.

[xjay1337]

100% worth it for >any< turbocharged engine or highly strung NA engine.
Not worth it on your Aunties 1.6 Ford Focus.

[Toonshorty]

Last time I checked my local was around +12p for V-Power.

That said, I rarely stop there now seeing as they want 136p for V-Power and I can get 99 fuel from Costco for 121.9p.

[daveinhampshire]

I've a fairly modified Rover V8 that only likes fine dining. BP ultimate and Texaco versions do not work, Shell V Power is good but my favourite is the 99 stuff from Tesco. It's well priced and consistent, Shell an expensive second. I have some octane booster which also does the job.