Long term premium diesel users

[Transporter]

Been running on Woolies 'premium' diesel for about 400k's now. Can feel no difference.
Will see if it racks up the same k's as Shell.

1,700km for 55ltr tank + 3x 20ltr jerry cans.

That's not bad at 6.76L/100km, but it depends where you drive. City, highway or mixed? Don't expect any dramatic fuel savings when you switch from STD to Premium fuel, especially in the city.

[MarksVRS]

I am sorry everyone, I am yet to be convinced of any real benefits of "premium" diesel. We shop on price and still run on the highway at 5l/100km or better every time. Our 2 year average sits at just under 8l/100km with the majority of that being short trips of 1km to drop off kids, go shopping locally and LOTS of sitting in Sydney traffic.

For every person that says premium "cleans" the engine and gives better fuel economy, there is someone with a counter-argument. I do not know how many times I have heard the name brand stations receive their fuel from the exact same providers as the no-name stations.

So until Skoda tells me otherwise, I will use the cheapest non-bio diesel available!!

[Transporter]

It's your car and we can't change what you use, but consider this...

my van at 90,000km does on average 9.5L/100km (it is 5cylinders 2.5L TDI), is fully loaded with the tools 24/7 and majority of my trips are only 5km long (but not all) with 1-2 hours stops in between and I'm confident that it will stay in the same condition for a very long time.
Yours could fade out once you get close to 150,000km, the engine intake will be more blocked with the sooty deposits (lower quality fuel is partially responsible). Other benefit from cleaner fuel is that the fuel pumps and injectors will last longer.
The PD unit injectors can last long time and they do many in Europe report over 500,000km on the original PD injectors. So, using premium fuel gives my engine a better chance to last longer and be more reliable during its life.

The CR injectors, don't last that long (you will be lucky to get 250,000km out of them) and are expensive too. So, again using the premium fuel, should give you a greater reliability and maybe longer life for all fuel system components.

[Mysticality]

That's not bad at 6.76L/100km, but it depends where you drive. City, highway or mixed? Don't expect any dramatic fuel savings when you switch from STD to Premium fuel, especially in the city.

I drive from Bowral to Campbelltown on a Wednesday (120km round trip, highway), but about 80% of my driving is city.
The vehicle is only at 6,000km (clocked over today) and only just broken in, so I'm still in the stage of "Oh my god POWERR" and driving a bit like a p-plater.
Amazing economy for what it is and how I drive it.
Can manage 5L/100km city if I take it easy.


@MarksVRS- The 'premium' was 2c/ltr cheaper, thats why I went with it this time.
Should be interesting to see if there's any difference. So far I'm looking at 850km from the first 55ltr tank. Done 400-500k's since Wednesday.

[pwcar]

I have just hit 75,000 km on my Octavia vRS diesel and have used Caltex Vortex diesel almost exclusively.
The car has been reliable and the performance has been steady, economy seems excellent.
I'm hoping that my use of premium diesel will ensure the best life from the engine and fuel system.
If I don't find Vortex diesel I usually use the BP diesel (not premium which isn't available in Victoria), I don't think the car feels or sounds or performs any differently on the BP compared to the Caltex Vortex.

[chalkeroochy]

I was filling up at either the BP or Shell at Mulgoa Rd Jamisontown (Penrith NSW) ...

Not anymore and thank to them the golf tdi was running rough, coughing & occasionally stalling until the engine warmed up

Took it to Indianautomotives (nice honest bloke) and a new filter (the old one was full of crap) plus a full tank of vortex diesel and it's running like new again

[MarksVRS]

It's your car and we can't change what you use, but consider this...

my van at 90,000km does on average 9.5L/100km (it is 5cylinders 2.5L TDI), is fully loaded with the tools 24/7 and majority of my trips are only 5km long (but not all) with 1-2 hours stops in between and I'm confident that it will stay in the same condition for a very long time.
Yours could fade out once you get close to 150,000km, the engine intake will be more blocked with the sooty deposits (lower quality fuel is partially responsible). Other benefit from cleaner fuel is that the fuel pumps and injectors will last longer.
The PD unit injectors can last long time and they do many in Europe report over 500,000km on the original PD injectors. So, using premium fuel gives my engine a better chance to last longer and be more reliable during its life.

The CR injectors, don't last that long (you will be lucky to get 250,000km out of them) and are expensive too. So, again using the premium fuel, should give you a greater reliability and maybe longer life for all fuel system components.

I appreciate everyone's acceptance in being able to freely offer opinions! I am sure I am not the only one just filling up on the cheapest day at the cheapest station. One thing is for sure - the two places we typically fill up at are always extemely busy so no fuel sitting around building up moisture and crud.....

Possibly one big difference is the planned mileage. I doubt I will ever do more than 50,000km in ANY car I own before trading it in. We tend to average around 10,000km per year, including 1-2 interstate trips! So our servicing is always based on time rather than distance.

[K1W1]

I am sure I am not the only one just filling up on the cheapest day at the cheapest station.

Things must be different in Sydney. In Vic the price of diesel doesn't fluctuate on the weekly cycle like petrol it just slowly goes up or down over a period of months.
These are my cpl prices between June 2011 (top) and this week (bottom). The higher prices were over Christmas but were also at a service station that is usually 2-3cpl more than the normal one I use.
141.5
139.9
139.9
139.8
138.4
139.9
138.4
138.4
139.9
139.8
141.9
141.9
139.9
142.9
146.9
145.9
144.8
144.8
144.8
142.8
141.4