Displaying an unbeatable price, superethanol, or E85, has been the rising star of the gas pump for several years! However, only motorists with the best equipped cars can still use this fuel with more ecological and above all, economical promises!
Arrived in France in 2007, superethanol-E85 is a “renewable” fuel of agricultural origin. This mixture, containing a small part of gasoline without leadis mainly made up of ethanol (between 65 and 85% whose name, E85), a alcohol developed from the fermentation of plants composed of sucrosesuch as beets, orstarch. In reality, all gasoline-type fuels contain ethanol, but in a small proportion: Unleaded 95-E10, for example, is the second fuel to contain the most ethanol after E85, up to 10%.
According to the French bioethanol sector, running on superethanol could well reduce the emissions of greenhouse gas compared to gasoline fossil. But if today, 90,000 French people opt for this green fuel, it is above all because “driving clean” makes it possible to considerably reduce their gasoline budget and would allow, still according to the French bioethanol industry, tosave nearly 500 euros each year for some 13,000 kilometers traveled: much less taxed than standard fuels, the price of a liter of E85 is displayed, on average, at 70 euro cents.
A box to drive green
However, even if superethanol is increasingly distributed at gas pumps (two E85 stations open every day in France), the French are still few to “drive clean” and cheaper. The reason ? Very corrosive, this fuel is not suitable for all vehicles. Only the cars with gasoline engine, therefore non-diesel, new or old and equipped with an adapter box can opt for the E85 option. Nearly eight out of 10 petrol vehicles on the road today in France are eligible for this system!
With an average value of 1,000 euros, the superethanol boxes, approved, allow the engine to adapt to the proportion of ethanol and gasoline contained in the tank and to use, thus, all types of gasoline indifferently without risk of damage to the vehicle. However, adding a box being a modification of your car, it is mandatory to go through an approved garage and request a new gray card. And to encourage motorists to switch to green fuel, this change is free in most regions of France.
Original flex-fuel vehicles
Another solution: acquire a flex vehicle fuel. These cars are multi-fuel, that is to say that their engine was specially designed from the outset by the manufacturers to run on different types of fuel and therefore do not need a housing to run on E85. Even though flex-fuel cars are now available from many manufacturers (Renault, Fiat, Audi, etc.), Ford was the first to offer a flex-fuel model in France in… 2006! And still stands out today with its SUV Kuga. Gradually, superethanol is also moving upmarket: the prestigious Land rover thus announced in August, the declination E85 of its Evoque models and Discovery Sports for France.
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