in my opinion, there are more disadvantages. Let's assume that all ships are powered by antimatter or thermonuclear fusion. It's better to sell reactors that are powerful, weak, and so on. This was a popular trend in the Donkobash curse.
This thread is going to be a wonderful litmus test of who plays fighter-based unlawfuls and who does not.
Let's assume I have a bomber parked on Battlecruiser Santander and an ERP sesh scheduled in Shikoku. Like a proper unlawful High Roleplayer I make my way there without using lanes or gates, plotting my route through the Taus. How far do I get before my tank runs empty if I cruise the route? What if I thrust the route? What happens to me once I am out?
I'm open to trying it, but as much as I'm a fan of more realistic gameplay, I also can agree with some of the voices here that say it's not exactly in line with the gameplay doctrine at the game's core. Sure, it adds for roleplay possibilities, but when it comes at the cost of styming trade, hampering combat and making travel into deep space like in Earhart or the Omicrons much, much more difficult.. I don't know if I can fully get behind it.
Freelancer is an arcade-style game. Don't turn it into a simulation. We don't need to be Eve. We don't need to be Elite Dangerous. And we don't need to be Star Citizen. Nomads and Wild players will have the worst time in their life. Unlawful players are right behind them. I honestly don't think I would play if there was fuel added, but that is just my personal view on it.
If you want to add fuel to the game then there needs to be a new mechanic to travel. Like a short-burst speed boost to reach speeds that are otherwise impossible. Otherwise it will just become annoying for everyone but lawful players that can dock everywhere in every system within their house.
Besides the things that have already been mentioned, it would also be pretty weird to suddenly lose the ability to roam freely that the game has had since vanilla. Overall, I think we will lose more than we gain from this.