Petrol price

[Tony Griffiths]

My 20 year old Merc E Class has a long range tank. It holds 80 litres of diesel, but it does have an effective range of over 1200km, something I doubt many moderns are capable of, especially the leccy ones. Fortunately I filled it before the price rises.

In 1990 I had a Diesel Discovery with a long-range tank. The standard tank held 89 litres, the auxiliary 35 litres = 124 litres = 27 gallons; one could see the suspension compress when both were filled. The car only ever did 32 mpg no matter how it was driven, giving a range of about 800 miles. I kept the installation a secret from my wife and, on holiday as we approached Souillac - with 750 miles on the clock - she said, "It seems to be doing a lot of miles without filling up, I bet you're stretching it to the limit again."