Just thought I'd post this up as I wrote to BP Shell and Esso on behalf of another car club.

It turns out Esso Premium fuel still has no ethanol in it.

I've been using Shell Premium until recently under the false impression that it was ethanol free. Unfortunately not, it's up to 5%, as is BP. The UK will probably be moving to 10% at some point, which is even worse.
Esso told me there is no current requirement to add ethanol to the higher octane versions of fuel, and they've no plans to add it at the moment.

The only catch is, this doesn't apply if you live in Devon, Cornwall, Teeside or Scotland. If you're fussy like me this might be of use. I tried the Millers anti ethanol additive but that makes for an expensive tank of fuel. (My other cars have 90 litre tanks.)
I cycle most places so my cars will sit, which is potentially a problem if ethanol is in the fuel.

Very interesting, Ian, and thanks for passing this on. Esso premium from now on, then.

It will be interesting to compare results as I usually use BP or Shell premium, which I've assumed has no Ethanol added.......until now! However, even these two premiums give better running than the cr@p normal petrol in my experience.

I use premium only in my bike too, a more modern fuel injected engine, and there is a noticable improvement in running (and starting, strangely) there, too.

It's about time the fuel companies came clean about ethanol isn't it? On the continent it's marked as such (E10) at the pumps, never seen this here. Just another case of keeping the public in ignorance about whats really going on.

Well we British are sheeps, lol. We do just seem to just take what we're given though.

Yeah its Esso premium for me only.

Guys, E5 or E10 is not a problem. I have ran those fuels for about 100000 km in D, NL and S now and did not have any ethanol in fuel related issue, nor did I hear of any other than "it is very bad & eats your fuel hoses + carburetor" kind of pub talk, never real examples!

Yeah I don't worry too much about the Deuche with ethanol really, but it is proven to dissolve the sealant in the fuel tanks for some cars, and attack fittings etc. Its bad news for my other cars but I think the 2cv soldiers on with no worries really. (Lol.)

Different for my old Mercs, many leaks occurring on those and burning to the ground as a result. Fuel hoses, catastrophic leaks and fire, also the electro-hydraulic actuator on the Bosch K-Jetronic, seems to start to leak profusely. Of course it snot proven to be ethanol, but its occurring in E10 and above areas - not here yet where we don't have that fuel.

and as a bonus you will have a higher use in petrol....very good for the environment...

Yeah I don't quite understand how ethanol is meant to be green when you use more of it overall anyway. There doesn't seem much of a gain. Also bad for the environment to be scrapping loads of cars because of mechanical problems.

Although maybe that's partly the aim. Like cash for clunkers though, good for the economy, which is not the environment.

Its all a bit bonkers.

Yup.

The fact that the most pollution any vehicle ever makes throughout its' life is when it's manufactured appears to have been convieniently ignored.

But that's done somewhere else, so we can conveniently ignore it

Oh yes, of course. Silly me. Strangely, this argument can also be applied to electric cars with uncanny accuracy, can't it?