Petrol tanks

Whilst waiting in on the forecourt, it struck me how many vehicles fill from the driver's side but there are an equal number of pumps on each side. We have 5 vehicles, 4 of them have it on the drivers side only the VW van has it on the passenger side.
Is there any convention for siting them, national, manufacturer?

Strange. Here in The Netherlands most are on the passenger side :-)

Somewhere I found a plausible reason. In most countries cars drive on the right side of the road thanks to Napoleon. If you stop next to the road for a petrol fill, the storage tank will be on your right side.

Does that mean that manufacturers change filler side if you drive on the left? I don't think so! All my vehicles are from countries that drive on the right except the Nissan.

Our Citroen has the flap on the passenger side. As does the Corsa for charging. Nissan Micra was on the passenger side, as have been all our vans (VW, Transit and Peugeot Boxer).
Can't remember others for sure. Except my Fiat Coupés of course. The 16VT was passenger side, the 20VT driver's.

Oh really Jim? Was the 16vt LHD?

Jag used to have two tanks and two filler caps, British design ahead of the times back then

As did the original Cooper S. I can remember when they first came on the market!

Was it the Jenson Healy with a center filler? Maybe I just imagined it.

It was the Healey, you didn't imagine it. I know because I've just googled it as answering this question is much more interesting than sorting bills which is what I'm supposed to be doing.

My old 1969 Fiat 500 D you had to open the bonnet to get to the fuel tank, the126 that followed had a flap.

Blimey that's right, so it did - my ma had a '65 model from new. Think the 600 might have been the same

Heater control was a feely-ankle for the rear passenger - for them that fittted

Dave G - yes, my 16VT was French!

The Mk IV / 1500 Triumph Spitfire also had a central filler cap.

My wife used to have a Peugeot 306 XSi and that had one "real" fuel filler cap on one side, and a matching "fake" cap on the other side, but I don't remember which side was which

On the Fiat 850 you had to open the "boot" (engine compartment lid) to access the fuel filler cap. And didn't the original VW Beetle (and early Porsches) have a similar arrangement where you had to open the bonnet first?

I'm trying hard to recall any vehicle I've owned that's had the filler on the left. One kit that I built in the 80s, though that was on an external fuel tank cover. Maybe a MK1 escort and perhaps an early proper Mini, but I can't think of any others. And the only one I'm sure about is the kit.

So that's why the queue tends to be for drivers side filling! My Vauxhall Agila has the filler cap on the passenger side.

Just to be contrary, when filling the Coupe I always pull forward of the pump on my left and fill with the hose held over the top/back of the boot lid. I just find it easier to fill that way without the hose touching the car.

I never worried about the queue for the same reason. It is advantageous with the filler cap on the Coupe being where it is.

With our 500X, it is on the driver's side corner so I am able to fill it from either side also.

Barnacle, my late mother once had a Mk 2 Escort with a "blank" covering the original position of the filler on the passenger side. Ford had relocated the filler to the back of the car.

I do exactly the same I find it helps gets the last few drops of fuel out too, as well as from the previous customer who's left it all in the U shape of the pipe

Filler is usually on the opposite side to the exhaust on regular cars to avoid the inevitable.
Old Jags with twin exit exhausts had the filler caps far enough away from the exhaust for it to be an issue but not sure where the fillers are on modern day, multi exhaust supercars!

This thread is so 20th century

Next thread - "Which side is your charging point?"

Or which side is your flux capacitor

Is it the 20th century already? Does this mean I can dismiss my manservant with the redflag in front of me?