Fuel quality

We refer to the letter on fuel quality from Ivan Visanich (The Sunday Times, August 12). Mr Visanich does not make any direct reference to Enemalta Corporation in his letter, nevertheless since to date Enemalta Corporation is the main distributor of car fuel in Malta, we feel we should clear a number of inaccuracies and misconceptions which arise from this letter.

In making any fair comparisons one always has to compare 'like with like'. One cannot compare Super Unleaded Petrol with the Premium Unleaded Petrol that is marketed in Malta.

These are two different grades of petrol and it is superficial to simply state that one is of a better quality than the other. The two products have different minimum octane readings but this is not the only indicator of quality.

Fuel marketed by Enemalta is compliant with European standard EN228. This is certified by the refineries that supply it and by intensive quality control and monitoring procedure. Each fuel parcel received is re-certified by an international independent laboratory, and then again from assessments of samples taken at fuel stations.

 Your correspondent argues that his car performs better on Super Unleaded Petrol. This is likely to mean that his car is tuned to run on this higher octane fuel. Although the car is most probably capable of running on the Regular Unleaded Petrol (minimum octane rating of 91 - now no longer allowed in the EU), the car engine has to be tuned to run on a particular grade. It is therefore suggested that such cars are fine-tuned to run on the fuel type marketed in Malta.

Regarding the superior fuel consumption experienced in Sicily, this is almost entirely attributed to the different driving methods between the two countries. Motorway driving is the most economical way of driving a car - cruising for a long time.

Unfortunately, due to the short distances and heavy traffic of our island we cannot drive for more than a minute or two without having to stop and accelerate again. This extreme method of urban driving is very wasteful on the tank load, and no 'superior' fuel can match the economy experienced when driving on a motorway.