When E10 was introduced in September, it became the standard petrol grade in Great Britain. At the time, the Government announced that petrol stations that offer two grades of petrol will stock E10 (95 octane) and E5 (97+ octane) petrol.
“Since the introduction of the E10 petrol I have made the journey twice. On each occasion I have used half a tank, rather than the usual quarter.
“Quite apart from the obvious economic disadvantage of using E10, I read that the pollutants in E10 were something like 10 percent less.
“How is it beneficial to the environment to use 50 percent more fuel to achieve a 10 percent improvement in emissions?”
In response, Brock.the.Elder, said: “I also find when my engine is cold it hiccups as I drive down the road for the first 400 yards.
“(There’s) 230 miles on the clock, it’s like it’s missing like the cars of old, so next fill up will be E5 and see if there’s a difference. (sic)
“Could be that the car is parked up and not used every day but then it could be the fuel, who knows, maybe the UK E10 is inferior to the European E10.
“I know one thing, it stinks!
“I’m supposed to get 53mpg from my car. With E10 it’s 37mpg so switched to E5 and the mileage went back to 52mpg.
“This particular car should be able to run on E10, it was recommended, even has it labelled on the filler cap.”
The Government advised drivers to use E5 if their car was not compatible with E10, in addition to drivers who could not confirm if the new petrol was safe for their vehicle.
Some drivers have reported mixing E10 and E5 to return to a normal level of fuel economy.
When it was introduced, the guidance said it was “perfectly safe” to mix E5 and E10 in the same tank.