Vokswagen: Polo Compatible With E20 Petrol, Using It Will Not Void Warranty
Volkswagen models enjoy great acceptance in the Indian market. Models like the Polo and Vento have played key roles in shaping this. The Polo, in particular, was a huge success here. Though it was discontinued in 2022, it isn’t rare to find well-kept examples on our roads, even today. You might now wonder what the E20 petrol (petrol blended with 20% Ethanol) will do to these vehicles. Volkswagen India has now come up with a clarification. Replying to the concerns of a 2022 Polo owner, the carmaker said that the vehicle is E20 compatible and using the same will not void warranty.
Volkswagen Polo And E20 Petrol
Ramu Chelloju, a Cloud and DevOps engineer from Telangana, asked in a LinkedIn post mentioning Volkswagen India, if his ‘2022 Polo TSI Highline Plus’ is compliant with E20 fuel, and also mentions that it is marked E10 compatible. He also asked if the regular use of E20 petrol will affect the engine’s health and durability, and if it would affect the warranty coverage. Below is a screenshot that shows the exact question and the response it got.
The carmaker soon came up with a response, saying that the Polo in question, is compatible with E20 petrol. It reads “Hi Ramu, thank you for writing in. Your Volkswagen Polo is compatible with E20 fuel and using it will not void the warranty.”
It is interesting to note that the manufacturer has ‘missed’ to take the question about ‘impacts of E20 petrol on engine health and durability’. It mentioned that the vehicle is compatible and promised warranty coverage, but never addressed concerns around possible impacts on engine health- at least not directly.
The Internet Reacts
The owner was greatly relieved and thanked the brand for the quick response. He even said that the information will be useful for other Polo owners as well.
In the comments of this post, another user asked Volkswagen India to come up with an official statement listing all models and variants which are E20 compatible and publish across various channels, media and dealerships, so that owners remain at peace. We will have to wait to see how the brand responds to this request.
Many users (car owners) have also questioned VW’s comment. One of them asked ‘Does it mean the 2022 Polo was already tested with Fuel which has 20% Ethanol, 2 years ago? So, the brand manufacturers were already aware of something like E20 3 years ago?’ Volkswagen India hasn’t replied to any of these, at the time of writing this article.
Most vehicles that were manufactured after 2023 are E20 compatible. We cross-checked the user manual of the outgoing Virtus sedan and found out that it recommends the use of E20 fuel with the 17021:2018 standard, alongside E10 with GSR 889 standard. Therefore, the scope of the above discussion is strictly limited to older Volkswagen cars and SUVs.
Renault’s Response On E20 Compatibility
The French carmaker Renault recently made headlines by sharing a response on the E20 compatibility of Triber, its MPV offering. Addressing the concerns raised by a customer, it said in a private email exchange that his 2022 Triber hasn’t been tested for E20 compatibility and therefore, it wasn’t advisable to use E20 petrol in it.
In a statement that followed, the carmaker said that rigorous durability testing was conducted by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and ARAI to find out the impact of using E20 fuel in E10 cars. The draft report of this study, it said, showed no adverse impact from using E20 blended petrol.
It says 'Based on these findings, no serious challenges have been perceived in Renault cars plying on roads using E20 fuel in E10-compliant and tested vehicles.’ You can read more about this here.