Petron has had it with the technical mumbo-jumbo. While its competitors are busy marketing highfaluting trademarks and what have you, the country’s largest oil refining and marketing company is looking to improve its fuels’ real-world advantage.

“The excise tax on fuel has already made pump prices more expensive. So, at Petron, our R&D team has focused on improving our fuels based on real-world usage,” said Ms. Ana Neri, Assistant Vice-President for Marketing. “Our fuels offer what we call the TriAction Advantage: better engine protection for longer engine life, better mileage for longer drives, and better power. We attest to these qualities and our claim of being ‘the best gasoline brand in the country’ has been certified by the Ad Standards Council.”

Having been the official fuel for the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Fuel Economy Run for 2 years, Petron has a working benchmark of how its fuels perform in a relatively controlled environment. However, since the DOE Eco Run is done on mostly empty stretches of highway in the middle of the night, Petron went a step further and opted for real-world driving conditions with mixed driving conditions which included hilly terrain, fully-loaded vehicles, and no convoys.

Petron opted for a six-day run that stretched from Manila to Baguio, Baguio to Ambuklao Dam, Baguio to Atok via Halsema Highway, and finally Baguio back to Manila. Eight vehicles of various makes and models piloted by seasoned rally drivers took part in a double-blind test which included Petron’s leading competitors. Aside from measuring fuel economy, drivers were told to subjectively measure each fuel’s “drivability” using a rating system.

The result is 20.6 percent average improvement over other leading brands. In fact, even compared to their benchmark DOE run, these eight vehicles all registered a 16.44 percent improvement. In particular:

• BMW X1 xDrive 2.0d: 34.08 km/L (+ 29.93 percent)
• Honda CR-V 1.6 S Diesel: 28.52 km/L (+ 15.99 percent)
• Ford Everest 2.2 Trend 4x2 AT: 27.21 km/L (+ 35.24 percent)
• Toyota Innova 2.8 E: 23.40 km/L (+ 7.69 percent)
• SsangYong Tivoli XLV ELX 4WD: 22.60 km/L (+ 1.11 percent)
• Isuzu mu-X 3.0 M/T [Not Blue Power]: 19.97 km/L (+ 8.71 percent)
• Isuzu D-MAX LS 3.0 AT Blue Power: 18.44 km/L (+ 11.44 percent)
• Nissan Urvan NV350 MT: 17.22 km/L (+ 21.43 percent)

Aside from better fuel mileage, drivers also attested to stronger engine performance and little or no tailpipe smoke.

Petron attributes the improvements to Petron Turbo Diesel’s improved formulation. As Petron’s high-performance, technologically-advanced diesel fuel, it has high ignition quality and combustibility that maximizes fuel energy conversion for optimum engine power and efficiency. It’s also able to effectively clean up and keep clean the fuel injection system to deliver exceptional protection and sustained optimum performance.

“People opt for diesel-powered vehicles because they want something fuel efficient and economical,” said Ms. Neri. “With Petron Turbo Diesel, owners are able to maximize that efficiency even more.”

As the Philippines’ undisputed industry leader with an over 40 percent market share, Petron continues to be a fuel innovator and is continuously improving its formulation to provide Filipino motorists with the best possible products. The Petron TriAction Performance Run Diesel Edition is just the start of their 2018 plans. Petron will launch more new and improved products during the year.