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Byron Mathioudakis
Contributing Journalist
3 Oct 2024
3 min read

Most new vehicles with petrol-powered internal combustion engines nowadays are required to run on 95 RON (Research Octane Number) petrol or higher.

That’s premium unleaded petrol. The expensive stuff.

That’s expected in luxury vehicles and sports cars, but the need to improve fuel consumption and lower carbon dioxide emissions, has led to more-mainstream brands adopting technologies that either won’t work without, or work more efficiently and effectively with, 95 RON.

This was hammered home to us at the recent launch of the 2025 Toyota Camry – the ninth-generation version of the venerable mid-sized family car that now includes an across-the-board requirement for 95 RON (or above) premium unleaded petrol. The same also applies to the latest Suzuki Swift that’s now also hybrid-only.

In the Japanese-made American-focused sedan’s defence, that’s because the base Ascent grade’s non-hybrid 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine has been dropped for the latest iteration, making the series hybrid-only from here-on in.

And that’s hybrid-only as in, 95 RON premium-unleaded only.

Taking the average price of the petrols this week in Melbourne – 177.9 cents vs 194.9 cents per litre for 91 RON and 95 RON respectively ­– refuelling Australia’s bestselling petrol-powered vehicle this year, the Toyota RAV4 and its 55L tank, the price difference is $9.35 per refill. That’s around two flat whites.

Which has us thinking: how many new standard-unleaded petrol-powered vehicles – be it ‘normal’ or hybrid of any variety – remain in 2024?

From cheapest to most expensive at the time of publishing, the list may surprise you. If we’ve left any 91 RONers out, please let us know in the comments section below.

Kia Picanto
Suzuki Ignis
Hyundai Venue
Mazda2
Chery Tiggo 4
MG3 (not hybrid)
Mitsubishi ASX
MG5
Kia Stonic
MG ZS
Toyota Hilux Workmate
Mazda CX-3
Haval Jolion
Kia Cerato
Chery Omoda 5
Hyundai i30 Sedan
Kia Seltos
Suzuki Vitara
Suzuki Jimny
Mazda3
Toyota Yaris hybrid
Toyota Yaris Cross hybrid
Toyota Corolla hybrid
Toyota Corolla Cross hybrid
Subaru Impreza
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Hyundai Kona
Kia Sportage
Haval H6
Hyundai i20 N
Subaru Crosstrek
Hyundai i30 Hatch (not N)
Mazda CX-30
Mazda6
Mahindra XUV700
Renault Koleos
Mitsubishi Outlander
Nissan X-Trail (not e-Power)
Mazda CX-5
Subaru Forester
Abarth 695
Hyundai Tucson
Honda ZR-V
Renault Arkana
Toyota RAV4 hybrid
Toyota C-HR hybrid
Subaru Outback
Honda CR-V
Kia Niro HEV
GWM Tank 300
Honda Civic (not Type R)
Lexus LBX
BYD Sealion 6 PHEV
Hyundai Staria
Kia Carnival
Hyundai Santa Fe
Hyundai Sonata
Kia Sorento
Nissan Pathfinder
Mazda CX-60 (not PHEV)
Lexus UX
Honda Accord hybrid
GWM Cannon Alpha hybrid
GWM Tank 500 hybrid
Ford F-150
Ram 1500
Chevrolet Silverado
Byron Mathioudakis
Contributing Journalist
Byron started his motoring journalism career when he joined John Mellor in 1997 before becoming a freelance motoring writer two years later. He wrote for several motoring publications and was ABC Youth radio Triple J's "all things automotive" correspondent from 2001 to 2003. He rejoined John Mellor in early 2003 and has been with GoAutoMedia as a senior product and industry journalist ever since. With an eye for detail and a vast knowledge base of both new and used cars Byron lives and breathes motoring. His encyclopedic knowledge of cars was acquired from childhood by reading just about every issue of every car magazine ever to hit a newsstand in Australia. The child Byron was the consummate car spotter, devoured and collected anything written about cars that he could lay his hands on and by nine had driven more imaginary miles at the wheel of the family Ford Falcon in the driveway at home than many people drive in a lifetime. The teenage Byron filled in the agonising years leading up to getting his driver's license by reading the words of the leading motoring editors of the country and learning what they look for in a car and how to write it. In short, Byron loves cars and knows pretty much all there is to know about every vehicle released during his lifetime as well as most of the ones that were around before then.
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