FROM today E10 will become Britain’s default petrol standard. It might be more environmentally friendly, but it’s not good news for everyone.
Forecourts have been converting their pumps for the past few months to the new standard and to inform motorists of the change but some 600,000 cars are estimated to be unable to use the greener fuel.
The government has set up a website where drivers can check whether their car will run on E10 fuel but has warned it will not be liable for any damage to vehicles as a result of drivers using its checker – especially if their car has been fitted with replacement parts.
What is E10?
It contains less carbon and more ethanol than fuels currently on sale. Ethanol is manufactured from plants, including sugar beet and wheat. It is actually possible to run cars on pure ethanol, as in Brazil.
In the UK it is blended with fuel derived from oil. Current petrol grades in the UK – known as E5 – contain up to 5% ethanol, with the other 95% being regular unleaded petrol. The replacement, E10, will see this percentage increased to 10%, bringing the UK in line with countries such as Belgium, Finland, France and Germany.
The change is being made to cut carbon dioxide emissions. The Department for Transport (DfT) said that introducing E10 could cut carbon emissions by 750,000 tonnes a year, the equivalent of taking 350,000 cars off the road.
The RAC said 26% of drivers surveyed had already checked online, with a further 15% saying they had found their car was compatible by another means.
Those with incompatible vehicles will have to use E5 super unleaded instead, which the RAC said can cost 12p a litre more than standard unleaded. It added that drivers of older cars, particularly classis, who rely on E5 will need to make sure the filling station they’re visiting stocks the fuel.
How will it affect your car?
Every petrol vehicle built after 2011 should accept E10 but if a car is not compatible with the new fuel, it could damage the engine. The Government’s website
The website features a drop-down menu listing all manufacturers whose cars are sold in the UK, with details of all the models not approved to take the new fuel. If you are still not sure, use E5 petrol. It will still be available in the super grade at many filling stations.
You can mix E5 and E10 and the RAC recommends drivers with an older car who fill up with E10 by mistake top up with E5 as soon as possible after they have used a third of the tank.
Using E10 in an incompatible car, it will still run, according to the RAC, but in the long run, it could cause damage to rubber seals, plastics and metals.
Also, some motor industry analysts are concerned E10 might be a less efficient fuel than E5, meaning cars would burn more of it to achieve the same effect and running costs rise as drivers fill up more often.
