Car insurance: Shopping around for cheap fuel 'could be a false economy'

Wednesday, 06 January 2010

Those who shop around for the cheapest online car insurance might also try to find the most budget-friendly fuel brands.

With recent reports that petrol prices have soared above £5 a gallon for the first time in 15 months, cash-strapped motorists are easily swayed by headline grabbing pence-per-litre prices.

However, recent Auto Express research suggests they could be wasting their time.

The weekly car magazine tested six top-selling UK fuel sellers - Shell, BP, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco - and discovered that the performance differences between the biggest sellers were tiny.

Auto Express compared fuel economy to cost to give a pence-per-mile rating and found that Shell was the only fuel to get more than 22 miles per gallon (mpg) out of the test car - a Vauxhall Astra - with Tesco and Sainsbury's less than two per cent behind.

When price was factored in, the gap between the six brands was even smaller - separated by just hundredths of a penny over a mile.

Auto Express news editor Julie Sinclair said: "Our investigation clearly shows that time spent shopping around for these fuel pumps could simply be a false economy."

Posted by Rick Malone

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