A Rainy-Day Stop at Shell

It poured yesterday, and I figured hardly anyone would go out of their way to fill up in weather like that—so I took the Panamera to the gas station. I always stop at Shell. (I have a Shell EasyPay card.) But when I arrived, there were actually more cars than on a sunny day. “Seriously? I went out of my way to come on a rainy day, and it’s still busy!” I thought, a little disappointed. (Come to think of it, maybe more people drive when it rains.)

The Panamera’s fuel gauge was exactly half full.

Our Panamera has an 80-liter fuel tank, so with 40 liters left, it can travel 262 kilometers. That works out to 6.55 kilometers per liter. The figure on the “Consumpt” display confirms it. Still, that’s pretty poor fuel economy.

Filling Up the Panamera

The Panamera takes premium gasoline. With Shell EasyPay, it was ¥133 per liter yesterday—a ¥4 discount. I pressed the blue “Start fueling” button,

then tapped my IC card.

Of course, I chose “Fill with premium, please!” Then I picked up the yellow nozzle… (Choose the red one by mistake while distracted, and you’re in trouble.)

I made sure to insert the nozzle all the way before squeezing the handle. (Once, I squeezed the handle before the nozzle was fully in and ended up spraying gasoline everywhere.)

I’m usually bored while filling up, so I try to guess exactly how many liters the tank will take and wait excitedly for the numbers to stop, like a game show reveal. I’ve never guessed right. (This time, I guessed 41.5 liters, but it took 43.65.)

How Much Did This Fill-Up Cost?

43.65 liters came to ¥5,805… Ouch! (；ﾟДﾟ)

A full tank from empty would cost around ¥12,000 at that rate. Every time I fill up, I find myself wondering if my poor fuel economy is down to my driving—maybe I’m too heavy on the throttle or not smooth enough on the brakes.

Back in the car, I fired up the engine with a “vroom,” reset the trip meter,

and headed straight home without making any detours. Looking at the receipt again at home, I was reminded just how quickly fuel costs add up.

I’ve heard the next Panamera Turbo has a fuel-saving mode for stop-and-go traffic, so perhaps its fuel economy will be a little better. I’m certainly hoping so—and I’ll share more about it here on the blog.