Is it really true that Hungarian petrol is worse than the Austrian? – here is the answer
In Hungary, a shared opinion circulates saying that Western petrol is better than Hungarian, and that is why cars in Hungary consume more fuel than in Western Europe. Blikk tried to prove it, and they discovered something interesting regarding the issue. Details below.
According to Blikk, one needs to be aware of only a few basic facts to realise that the popular opinion mentioned above cannot be true. First, Directive 98/70/EC clearly states the quality standards regarding all types of fuel that can be put into circulation in the EU member states. Of course, that does not mean that small petrol stations cannot do tricks with fuel. However, if that was discovered, they would have to pay significant fines.
Second, the European market is built on the products of two or three oil giants. In the Central European region, these are MOL and ÖMV. The former is a Hungarian company while the latter is an Austrian one.
Quality control is continuous in both cases
and, of course, neither would risk failing any of them since, as a result, their market share would decrease. Therefore, one can exclude the option that refineries would produce lower quality products. Of course, they sell only the “basic” fuel, which companies develop further. That is partly why some petrol stations become cheaper than others.
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Blikk added some further points on why it seems that cars consume Hungarian petrol faster:
- 84 pc of Hungary is less than 200 metres above sea level, and all countries around us are higher. Therefore, going abroad equals going up a hill, which requires more energy and fuel.
- In Hungary, west winds are conventional. That is why there are so many windmills on the way to Austria.
- Finally, those who fill their tanks abroad tend to save on fuel (because it is more expensive than at home) while those who do that inside Hungary do not.
Blikk tested Hungarian petrol with two similar Volkswagens, and they found that the difference on a 400-kilometre-long ride was
only 4 kilometres in favour of the Austrian petrol. That means only 1 pc.
Source: blikk.hu
1 Comment
Fuel economy is also affected by the manner in which a vehicle is driven. Here in downtown Budapest (Újlipotváros, where I live) the streets are quite narrow with frequent intersections. Yet many drivers rapidly accelerate only to have to cone to a screeching halt at the next sarok (corner); a pointless exercise that increases fuel consumption and wears out brake pads in no time at all. The irony is that most Hungarian drivers agree that most Hungarian drivers are terrible drivers! The number of road accidents and fatalities seems to bear that out.