Does this car run on petrol or diesel?
ben-ZI-na — stress on second syllable. ga-SO-lio — stress on second syllable.
Before driving away with the rental car, to ensure you put the right fuel in.
'Benzina' (petrol/gasoline) vs 'gasolio' (diesel). Using the wrong fuel type is a serious and expensive mistake. Always check. Italian petrol stations have colour-coded pumps: green for benzina, black for gasolio. Electric cars (elettrica) and hybrids are increasingly common in rentals.
È un'auto ibrida o elettrica?
Is it a hybrid or electric car?
Growing number of EV and hybrid rental options
Dove posso trovare un distributore di benzina?
Where can I find a petrol station?
'Distributore' is the Italian word for petrol station
È più economica la benzina o il gasolio in Italia?
Is petrol or diesel cheaper in Italy?
Diesel is usually slightly cheaper than petrol in Italy
Misfuelling (putting the wrong fuel in) is more common than you might think — especially for travellers from countries where diesel is rare (USA) or where pumps are colour-coded differently. Italian pumps: verde (green) = benzina; nero (black) = gasolio; blue = gas. Many modern diesel cars also have a misfuelling preventer device in the fuel cap.