Fuel and tire pressure confusion

[Oranjiboom]

So this is my first VW Polo (2016 1.2 Bluemotion DSG) and im getting a bit confused with the fuel and tire pressure stickers! Would someone help enlighten me a little please?

What the hell is Super Unleaded? Is this just standard 95 Ron unleaded? I've filled it up with the standard stuff from Shell but now I'm thinking it means the premium fuel? Does it even matter?

Secondly, I've already encountered a low tire pressure warning so I went to check what tire pressure I should be on... There's two different rows with various PSIs for 2x person and luggage but ones got an 'i' by it? Which one is even the right one?

Please help this VW noob out

[SRGTD]

The symbol of the exclamation mark in an open book is referring you to your owner’s manual.

I always go through the manual when I get a new car. Admittedly, it’s not the most exciting read, but apart from information on the basics such as fuel and tyre pressures, it helps me familiarise myself with the various features / functions of the car from day-one, reducing the chance that I might discover a ‘new’ feature 2-3 years into ownership that I could’ve been making use of.

The fuel filler flap sticker shows petrol that has a minimum octane rating of 95 RON is fine to use. From the owner’s manual under ‘Petrol’ section;

Petrol types
Vehicles with a petrol engine must run on unleaded petrol in compliance with the European standard EN 228 ⇒ . Fuels with a maximum ethanol content of 10% (E10) can be used for refuelling.

Petrol types are categorised according to their octane number, e.g. 91, 95 or 98 RON (RON = research octane number). The vehicle may be filled with petrol that has a higher octane number than the engine requires. However, this does not provide any advantage in terms of fuel consumption or engine output. Where petrol complying with the EN 228 standard is not available, Volkswagen dealerships will have information on which fuels are suitable for the vehicle. Volkswagen recommends using petrol with a low sulphur content or sulphur-free petrol for petrol engines.

And from the manual under the ‘Tyre Pressure’ section;

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Information on the tyre pressure sticker⇒ Fig. 167 :
A - Specified pressure for the tyres on the front axle.
B - Specified pressure for the tyres on the rear axle.
1 - Tyre pressure for cold tyres.
2 - Tyre pressure for partial load.
3 - In some vehicles: comfort tyre pressure for partial load.
4 - Tyre pressure for full load.
5 - Tyre pressure level for the spare or temporary spare wheel.

Comfort tyre pressure
In some vehicles the tyre pressure sticker may show details of a "comfort" tyre pressure ⇒ Fig. 167③ . This should make driving extra comfortable. Fuel consumption may increase when driving with comfort tyre pressure.

If any of the above items don’t appear on your sticker, then they’re not relevant to your Polo model.

[Oranjiboom]

Awesome thanks for the reply! That helps a lot.

I'll just pump to the standard recommended amount then... 38 and 35 for front and back seems a little high from any other car I've driven. Anyone with a similar model feel it helps with the MPG when pumping that high?

Under the min 95 Ron it seems to state super premium too? That's not implying that I should be putting 95+ Ron premium only, surely?

[SRGTD]

I think it’s the terminology that VW have used on the fuel flap sticker that’s causing the confusion.

In some markets, unleaded petrol is available with an octane rating of 91, 95 and 98/99. In those markets, 91 RON is ‘normal’ unleaded and 95 RON and 98/99 RON fuel will be described as Super, Super Plus or Premium Unleaded, hence why the fuel flap sticker makes reference to 95 RON unleaded as being Super Unleaded.

I’m pretty certain 91 octane unleaded isn’t available in the UK, and the minimum octane rating for unleaded is 95 RON, which in the UK is the standard / normal fuel that is fine to use in your Polo. My GTI only requires normal unleaded (95 RON) so your Polo shouldn’t require anything more than normal unleaded either.