Premium VS Regular: Part 2
So here’s a little story for you. My sister was on her break from work the other day and decided to swing
through a well-known gas station to fill up her tank. Her car only requires regular fuel and so when she went to begin pumping, imagine her surprised when no gas came out. Yes, that’s right. The gas station was completely out of regular gas. As odd as that sounds, the station rectified the situation by allowing customer to fill up using premium gas for the same price of regular. Now, my sister being the clever girl she is decided this would be the perfect opportunity to test out the theory of whether or not premium gas really is better for your car. After keeping a thorough records of her mileage for that week she deciphered that her car, which is a 2009 Toyota Corolla, got 36 extra miles out of that tank of gas, meaning that she was able to pull a better mileage per hour ratio.
Although this may sound like the answer lies within her proof, let’s take a closer look. Premium gas is normally a good 10 to 20 cents higher priced than regular gas because it is slated not necessarily as being better, but just being of a higher quality. Many consumers believe that using premium gas allows your car to run longer without routine maintenance, and gives it better gas mileage but are these beliefs true? Well in looking at my sister’s car, the answer is no. Basically because premium gas is priced higher it may seem like you are getting more for your money, but that is not the case. The reality is that you are actually breaking even because even though you’re getting a few extra miles to the gallon, you’ve technically paid more for that tank of gas to begin with. And so it appears as though the premium vs. regular gas myth has been busted.
Studies have shown that the difference in quality between 87 and 93 fuel is so very slight that unless your car requires the higher grade, you’re just as well off filling up with the lesser fuel. So the moral to the story is if possible, always go with the cheapest option because “bigger” doesn’t always mean better.
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Very interesting!
My vehicle actually says it requires premium fuel and for the first few years I owned it, I put nothing but the top grade in. However, the car is nearly 20 years old now and rather beaten up, so I decided to go with regular grade at every fill-up. I’ve been doing that for at least 6 or 8 months and haven’t had a single problem with it. The car feels a tiny bit more sluggish than it used to, but that’s ok anyway, it’s age explains most of that.