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Ive got a Polo GTI and i started off using normal 95 octane fuel, assuming that higher-octane fuel is mostly a gimmick - which is probably true for most cars.

However, VW actually recommends 98 octane for GTI models (yes, you can safely use 95 and that's why it says 95 on the fuel cap but VW *recommends* 98)

Since i started using Shell V Power 99 i can feel the car is far more responsive, i can actually feel the front of the car lift more due to the extra power. This ofcourse could be a coincidence but this is my experience so far. This fuel also is E5 so has less bioethanol than E10 so i guess its a double boost of higher octane (more compression) AND more energy from the fuel.

Anyone else noticed good results with higher octane E5 fuel?

I did use super unleaded in my 2020 GTI+ most of the time up until the time fuel prices went stratospheric during summer 2022, at which point I switched to normal E10 unleaded. In all honesty I’ve noticed no difference whatsoever - either in terms of performance or economy, so I’ve stuck with normal E10. If anything, the long term computer-calculated mpg is better on normal unleaded than it was when I used the higher octane stuff. Any MPG gains I might have seen aren’t the result of me using my car differently or any change in my driving style - I’m a creature of habit, and drive it just the same as I always have, predominantly on the same local roads that I always drive, and at the same times if day .

I occasionally put a tankful of super unleaded in as the additives supposedly help keep the engine internals clean, but it is only occasionally.

I'm with SRGTD on this one.

I wish that I had a fiver for every time this issue comes up on a motor forum... I'd be a rich man by now

I’ve tried both extensively over my gti and my previous gti+ and even my wife’s 2016 gti. Yes it feels marginally more responsive but makes zero difference to my mpg. I’d rather keep my money and fire the odd tank of premium just to clean the injectors.

Have a read of this guys. 99 RON adds ~20HP to a stock Focus RS vs. 95 RON.

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/2 ... ms-95-ron/

Interesting read.

I could well imagine that the engine in a car like the Focus RS is maybe set up to take advantage of the higher octane fuels. Though I'm still not convinced that a Polo GTI would benefit greatly from running a higher octane fuel. Only my opinion

Question. Anyone out there had their Polo GTI on a rolling road?

PS. I've owned two mk3 (2016 and a 2019) Focus ST's (fair enough, not an RS) and I know for a fact that both of these made Ford's quoted power output (IE. had them both on a rolling road) on 95 RON fuel.

If there are performance gains to be had from using higher octane fuel, with my driving being on mainly busy single carriageway A and B roads that are clogged up with other traffic at the times of day I’m out driving, I doubt I’d ever realise those gains.

SRGTD wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 11:03 pm If there are performance gains to be had from using higher octane fuel, with my driving being on mainly busy single carriageway A and B roads that are clogged up with other traffic at the times of day I’m out driving, I doubt I’d ever realise those gains.

Not to mention that, from my experience, you can’t even go driving fast anywhere now. It’s either too busy or there’s average speed cameras. When I took my gtd to the highlands years ago there was average speed cameras everywhere. One of the roads over the tops near me that’s fun, grane road, covered in average speed cameras. The roads over the tops near Bolton, again average speed cameras.

Add that to my majority of miles being up and down the m61 and m60 I’d see zero benefit. These are the main reasons my beloved polo gti is going in a couple of weeks, I can’t drive it fast anywhere and my main journeys are just motorway drives.

lancslad1985 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 26, 2023 7:44 am

SRGTD wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 11:03 pm If there are performance gains to be had from using higher octane fuel, with my driving being on mainly busy single carriageway A and B roads that are clogged up with other traffic at the times of day I’m out driving, I doubt I’d ever realise those gains.

Not to mention that, from my experience, you can’t even go driving fast anywhere now. It’s either too busy or there’s average speed cameras. When I took my gtd to the highlands years ago there was average speed cameras everywhere. One of the roads over the tops near me that’s fun, grane road, covered in average speed cameras. The roads over the tops near Bolton, again average speed cameras.

Add that to my majority of miles being up and down the m61 and m60 I’d see zero benefit. These are the main reasons my beloved polo gti is going in a couple of weeks, I can’t drive it fast anywhere and my main journeys are just motorway drives.

Agree. Based on how I use my car, plus the reasons you cite, my next car is highly unlikely to wear a GTI (or similar) badge; no real opportunity to use it to its full potential. I’ll probably be driving a Japanese run of the mill hybrid of some sort…….

SRGTD wrote: ↑Sun Nov 26, 2023 10:13 am

lancslad1985 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 26, 2023 7:44 am

SRGTD wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 11:03 pm If there are performance gains to be had from using higher octane fuel, with my driving being on mainly busy single carriageway A and B roads that are clogged up with other traffic at the times of day I’m out driving, I doubt I’d ever realise those gains.

Not to mention that, from my experience, you can’t even go driving fast anywhere now. It’s either too busy or there’s average speed cameras. When I took my gtd to the highlands years ago there was average speed cameras everywhere. One of the roads over the tops near me that’s fun, grane road, covered in average speed cameras. The roads over the tops near Bolton, again average speed cameras.

Add that to my majority of miles being up and down the m61 and m60 I’d see zero benefit. These are the main reasons my beloved polo gti is going in a couple of weeks, I can’t drive it fast anywhere and my main journeys are just motorway drives.

Agree. Based on how I use my car, plus the reasons you cite, my next car is highly unlikely to wear a GTI (or similar) badge; no real opportunity to use it to its full potential. I’ll probably be driving a Japanese run of the mill hybrid of some sort…….

That’s exactly what I’ve gone for, a Mazda mild hybrid. I wanted a Lexus but they spent ages badmouthing the competition instead of getting to a deal. Plus with all the issues with the golf mk8 tech and now the Tiguan is going the same way I don’t trust vw to do a good job of it.

Luckily round this part of SW Scotland there are nothing but nice quiet B-roads (as long as you give the A75 a miss). Very unlikely to bump into the boys in blue either. And there's only a couple of police cars to cover a massive area.
And no fixed speed cameras of any sort. Biggest hold up will likely be cows on the road!

Plenty of amazing roads to enjoy round here, even at legal speeds

VW rates cars with higher octane fuel, so if the 2022 GTI is rated at 207 HP, it develops that amount of power only when using premium fuel.
My personal experience is that the car feels a bit more feisty when using 100 octane fuel and consumes it a bit less, but the difference is marginal.
As it's not my daily driver, I tend to fill it up with cheaper 95 when going on long motorway journey.

The Polo GTI 207 hp actually produces 213.59 hp and 333.8 newton meters of torque on 95 octane petrol

95 octane fuel

Polo 26 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 02, 2023 12:02 am The Polo GTI 207 hp actually produces 213.59 hp and 333.8 newton meters of torque on 95 octane petrol

That will do nicely