GasBuddy launched earlier this year in Australia, and since then—from WA to Queensland to Tasmania—drivers have been saving heaps at the pump:
With summer holidays about to start, Aussies will be hitting the road more and more. As you venture off to find that perfect escape, know which fuel grade provides the best value for the family road trip.
Let’s start with the basics: What’s available?
- E10: Available in some States in Australia, namely NSW and QLD, this new type of fuel is a blend of Unleaded with 10% Ethanol. When using E10 for the first time, make sure your car is compatible (you can use this handy checker).
- Unleaded: Definitely the most commonly used fuel in Australia. Just make sure you check in NSW, as some service stations have removed Unleaded to comply with the state’s Ethanol Mandate.
- Premium Unleaded 95 or 98: For the rev-head in us all, these are fuels with higher Octane Ratings. While all cars that use petrol can use either type, some car engines are specifically designed for Premium fuels. Generally when you open the fuel cap on a modern car, you’ll see a plaque telling you to use either Ron 95 or 98 as a minimum requirement.
At what price?
Good question, because none of these fuels cost the same. From July through September, GasBuddy shows that the average price of fuel type across Australia was:
- E10 – 112.8cpl
- Unleaded – 114.6cpl
- Premium 95 – 126.7cpl
- Premium 98 – 131.2cpl
Now what?
If you were looking at this on price alone, you’d try and buy E10—but that may not be your best option. For starters, your car may not be E10 compatible. The same would be true for other types of fuel as you work up the scale of compatibility with your vehicle.
Now, you could have a car that can take any of these fuels. At that point, power and efficiency come into play. For an example: E10 has a slightly higher Octane Rating than Unleaded, which might make it feel like it’s giving you more power. But due to the reduced efficiency of the Ethanol, E10 can increase consumption by 3.5%. That means that on the last quarter’s average prices, E10 would need to be lower than 110.6cpl for you to be better off.
The NRMA recently said that Premium 98 would give you 7% more power and efficiency compared to Unleaded. Based on this and the average prices from GasBuddy, if Premium 98 was at 122cpl or lower (something it wasn’t), you’d be ahead.
So, what to choose?
There’s been much written here and in the past about fuels and their power, efficiency and value for money. The common thread in all of this is: what your car’s engine is designed for.
The best way for you to make the decision on what fuel to use is knowing what your car engine’s optimised to use—and then to check the prices on GasBuddy. That way, you’ll always buy the right fuel at the right price.
From everyone at GasBuddy, we wish you safe (and cheap!) motoring these summer holidays.