TSI,s can love the ethanol when they are mapped to appreciate it. Reduced in the UK in winter formulation because hygroscopic. A location location location thing even in the UK what is distributed and on sale.

10 hours ago, Exkiwi said:

Well as the cheapest servo is also the busiest in our area the fuel will be fresh and cheap so what more can one want. Also this one is only 10c more for 95 than 91 when most are 18c or more extra. They also have an attendant who will pump it for you. Remembering I am in Australia. so no high octane E10 here thank god.

All I'll say is that it's not about freshness (because of turnover), it's about quality and consistency of the fuel and where it's sourced from before it gets to your servo. Turnover and cheaper prices are not reliable indicators of quality or value.

As well as post stating known problems it has also been written that the VAG engines have problems altering timing far enough to compensate for the requirements of 91 octane> Therefore will have pre ignition and pinging as a sign they dont like it. The sulphur content may take some time but will inevitably cause problems also. It is known that should you have engine problems and take it to the dealer that they could do a fuel test to see what has been used. If 91 is found as a reason they may say goodbye as they hand you the keys .

Absolutely. From factory spec, using anything in Aus other than 95 (minimum) or 98 would be asking for trouble.

21 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

Skoda must have better market penetration in your state than mine. No friend of mine has one although one guy I'm on 'nodding terms' with down the road has a Kodiaq. Do you belong to a Skoda club?

4 friends and a sibling have Skodas, all 2019 or newer. I see dozens every day and many parked in my neighbourhood when I m out walking. I recently did ask all the people I know that have them what fuel they put in and they all go for whatever is cheapest, except for one. The two that had bought new had not been told by their dealer about fuel choice. The one that always went for 9t is the only one out of the lot with engine issues, some sort of leak that has corroded electrical systems and stopped the turbo working.

Anyway, these are just anecdotes and not really statistical of anything but I appreciate your comments and I am reconsidering my e10 choice.

However, I do like this quote from https://www.goauto.com.au/news/conflicting-claims-about-australian-fuel-quality/2021-11-01/86245.html

"Fuels supplied to the Australian market are far better than the regulated standards. For example, the regulated standard for premium unleaded petrol is 50ppm of sulphur and in 2020 the average level of sulphur was 21ppm"

Realise this doesn’t address e10.

There’s this from

The average sulfur in ULP in Melbourne is 60ppm, and in Sydney is 26ppm. o The average sulfur in PULP in Melbourne is 28ppm, and in Sydney is 16ppm. o Almost half of the PULP supplied to Sydney is below 10ppm sulfur.

10 hours ago, astr0b0y said:

4 friends and a sibling have Skodas, all 2019 or newer. I see dozens every day and many parked in my neighbourhood when I m out walking. I recently did ask all the people I know that have them what fuel they put in and they all go for whatever is cheapest, except for one. The two that had bought new had not been told by their dealer about fuel choice. The one that always went for 9t is the only one out of the lot with engine issues, some sort of leak that has corroded electrical systems and stopped the turbo working.

Anyway, these are just anecdotes and not really statistical of anything but I appreciate your comments and I am reconsidering my e10 choice.

However, I do like this quote from https://www.goauto.com.au/news/conflicting-claims-about-australian-fuel-quality/2021-11-01/86245.html

"Fuels supplied to the Australian market are far better than the regulated standards. For example, the regulated standard for premium unleaded petrol is 50ppm of sulphur and in 2020 the average level of sulphur was 21ppm"

Realise this doesn’t address e10.

There’s this from

The average sulfur in ULP in Melbourne is 60ppm, and in Sydney is 26ppm. o The average sulfur in PULP in Melbourne is 28ppm, and in Sydney is 16ppm. o Almost half of the PULP supplied to Sydney is below 10ppm sulfur.

Not sure I understand this. When you say your friends are using "whatever is cheapest", do they mean from 'wherever' it is cheapest for the correct grade? Or do they mean they're using the cheapest fuel regardless of grade?

What is 9t? Is it this a typo meaning 95? If so, has the fuel leak been proven due to the specific fuel they're using, or is this just a tenuous link?

They meant whatever is the cheapest fuel, so likely 91 or e10 depending on the price cycles.

Yes that was a typo and should be 95. No link to a fuel leak, just another anecdote. I can't really remember the details but it is more likely a coolant leak.

Point was, so far this all seems like a bunch of anecdotes with little evidence available. We seem to have to trust VAG or the AIP (and the rest of the oil industry), all are likely to have a lot of bias and conflicting interests, all with many examples of misleading and lying.

2 hours ago, astr0b0y said:

They meant whatever is the cheapest fuel, so likely 91 or e10 depending on the price cycles.

Yes that was a typo and should be 95. No link to a fuel leak, just another anecdote. I can't really remember the details but it is more likely a coolant leak.

Point was, so far this all seems like a bunch of anecdotes with little evidence available. We seem to have to trust VAG or the AIP (and the rest of the oil industry), all are likely to have a lot of bias and conflicting interests, all with many examples of misleading and lying.

Thanks for clarifying. I find it sad that so many blindly equate price with value. Maybe they don't realise they're risking destroyed fuel pumps or turbos, even catastrophic engine failure in the long term. Despite any skepticism around manufacturers specifications, there's a scientific reason they mandate minimum octane fuels and would rightly void a warranty claim if they saw evidence of incorrect fuel being used. It's also another reason to be very cautious when buying a used car, no matter how pretty it might look on the outside, you just don't know what abuse it's been subjected to, such as the regular use of incorrect fuel.