Mme needs a new car

[Loup-garou]

Ours are a one and two threes - just in case we have a breakdown and need to go/are towed into a city with restrictions.

But didn't I read that the Crit'air cities were to be overuled by central government?

[RobertArthur]

Loup-garou, indeed, already for more than a year an ongoing debate.

The Constitutional Council struck down the abolition of Low Emission Zones (LEZs) in its decision No. 2026-903 DC handed down on 21 May 2026. Consequently, the repeal of the LEZs passed by Parliament has been declared invalid, and the LEZ scheme remains fully in force in France. The reasons for the decision: the Constitutional Council did not rule on the substance or the environmental benefits of the scheme, but on a procedural flaw.

You cannot simply have such a fundamental legislative amendment approved, packaged more or less as a minor financial provision, during a general debate on the government budget. That is an inappropriate means of introduction. It requires a separate, substantive parliamentary debate.

To summarise:


La vignette Crit'Air reste obligatoire en France pour circuler dans les Zones à Faibles Émissions (ZFE-m) et lors des pics de pollution (circulation différenciée), sans date de fin fixe à ce jour.Ce qu'il faut savoir

Où c'est nécessaire : dans les métropoles appliquant des restrictions ZFE (comme Paris, Lyon, Marseille, etc.) et en cas d'épisodes de pollution gérés par les préfectures.

Durée de validité : elle reste valable indéfiniment sur votre véhicule, tant que la plaque d'immatriculation ne change pas.Évolution légale :

Malgré des débats et annonces politiques autour de la souplesse ou de la modification des ZFE, la loi actuelle l'impose toujours pour éviter des amendes pouvant aller jusqu'à 450 €.

[Hotrodder]

Diesel or petrol: as long as you don't go downtown where the lights shine brightly, disco, disco, or have to visit a hospital, the choise is yours, the colour of your crit'air sticker that comes with your new secondhand car. The Hyundai I10 (Juin 2013, 3-cylinders), has the category one colour, not too bad.

The Crit'Air colours:

Niveau 0 (Vert) : Véhicules 100 % électriques et à hydrogène.

Niveau 1 (Violet) : Véhicules essence Euro 5 et 6, gaz et hybrides rechargeables.

Niveau 2 (Jaune) : Véhicules essence Euro 4 et véhicules diesel récents Euro 5 et 6.

Niveau 3 (Orange) : Véhicules essence Euro 2 et 3 (1997–2005) et diesel Euro 4 (2006–2010).

Niveau 4 (Bordeaux) : Véhicules diesel Euro 3 (2001–2005).

Niveau 5 (Gris) : Véhicules diesel Euro 2 (1997–2001)

Any guesses what my 307CC petrol is, year 2006?
I think I heard somewhere this window sticker thing had been dropped. I rarely go to any big cities but its just as well to know where I can and can't go.

[p4psb]

Diesel or petrol: as long as you don't go downtown where the lights shine brightly, disco, disco, or have to visit a hospital, the choise is yours, the colour of your crit'air sticker that comes with your new secondhand car. The Hyundai I10 (Juin 2013, 3-cylinders), has the category one colour, not too bad.

The Crit'Air colours:

Niveau 0 (Vert) : Véhicules 100 % électriques et à hydrogène.

Niveau 1 (Violet) : Véhicules essence Euro 5 et 6, gaz et hybrides rechargeables.

Niveau 2 (Jaune) : Véhicules essence Euro 4 et véhicules diesel récents Euro 5 et 6.

Niveau 3 (Orange) : Véhicules essence Euro 2 et 3 (1997–2005) et diesel Euro 4 (2006–2010).

Niveau 4 (Bordeaux) : Véhicules diesel Euro 3 (2001–2005).

Niveau 5 (Gris) : Véhicules diesel Euro 2 (1997–2001)

Any guesses what my 307CC petrol is, year 2006?
I think I heard somewhere this window sticker thing had been dropped. I rarely go to any big cities but its just as well to know where I can and can't go.

https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/

[Hotrodder]

Personally I would think about a petrol, no problems getting a critair sticker if you need to go into pollution zones, also try and get one that can be converted to E85, we have a 2.0l 2005 Toyota Rav4 and a 1.3l 2012 Suzuki Jimny, I converted both, the kit is about 200€ , if you are able to fit it yourself, obviously labour costs if you have it fitted, but when you consider 80 cents compared with over 2€ a liter, it doesn't take much to get your money back. We did the rav back in 2017 and must have saved 1000s of euros in fuel so far.

I could hardly believe it when I read your post about the advantage to using E85 over petrol. My latest purchase has been a heap of dung generally. I realised too late that I should have stuck with the devil I know, a 2litre Peugeot diesel. Instead, I bought in a hurry because my little Expert van failed the CT from terminal rust. I was tempted to replace it with a 2006 307 cabrio with a petrol engine because it was cheap and I thought it would serve although not quite as useful as a van which I prefer. It has turned out to be a major headache. I have already spent hundreds replacing things that don't work, the top doesn't go up and down at all, and although it goes like a cat with its tail on fire, it is the thirstiest car I have ever owned (apart from the Corvette). What is involved with converting from normal petrol to E85? I always buy the petrol with the least percentage of ethanol in it, even for my garden equipment, to avoid destruction of internal seals, gaskets, etc. Where do you get the conversion kits and how do you find out if a particular engine is convertible?

[widge]

Personally I would think about a petrol, no problems getting a critair sticker if you need to go into pollution zones, also try and get one that can be converted to E85, we have a 2.0l 2005 Toyota Rav4 and a 1.3l 2012 Suzuki Jimny, I converted both, the kit is about 200€ , if you are able to fit it yourself, obviously labour costs if you have it fitted, but when you consider 80 cents compared with over 2€ a liter, it doesn't take much to get your money back. We did the rav back in 2017 and must have saved 1000s of euros in fuel so far.

I could hardly believe it when I read your post about the advantage to using E85 over petrol. My latest purchase has been a heap of dung generally. I realised too late that I should have stuck with the devil I know, a 2litre Peugeot diesel. Instead, I bought in a hurry because my little Expert van failed the CT from terminal rust. I was tempted to replace it with a 2006 307 cabrio with a petrol engine because it was cheap and I thought it would serve although not quite as useful as a van which I prefer. It has turned out to be a major headache. I have already spent hundreds replacing things that don't work, the top doesn't go up and down at all, and although it goes like a cat with its tail on fire, it is the thirstiest car I have ever owned (apart from the Corvette). What is involved with converting from normal petrol to E85? I always buy the petrol with the least percentage of ethanol in it, even for my garden equipment, to avoid destruction of internal seals, gaskets, etc. Where do you get the conversion kits and how do you find out if a particular engine is convertible?

This was the company I used last year to convert the jimny.
https://www.kit-ecosystem.com/en/

The box has leads with the same connectors as the leads that go to the injectors, so you unplug the injector lead and plug it into the input socket, then plug the output socket into the injector, do this for all the injectors, you also need a live wire that is after the ignition, that also stays connected when you start the car, a lot of auxiliary stuff like radio, cigarette lighter socket etc, get disconnected when you are running the starter motor.

You will also need to secure the controller box, unfortunately this one, unlike the one I fitted back in 2017 on the rav4 does not have any mounting tabs to screw it anywhere, so you need to use tie wraps to secure it, finaly this version has a switch to disable the box if you are using standard 95 and possibly E10 fuel, otherwise it is happy with E85 or a mixture of E85 and 95., you will need to mount this somewhere, I made a mounting bracket for both the box and switch.

I have had a lot of success, but suggest you read up fully about using E85 before purchasing, personally I havent noticed any real difference in performance or fuel consumption, but they usualy say that consumption can increase, but it probably depends on the car.

E85 is also more hydroscopic, so not a good idea to leave it in a car that you intend to leave parked up for several months, just let the E85 run low then put 95 in. Lastly in cold weather the rav 4 often takes 2 or 3 goes to get it to start from cold, but once it has started it runs fine, the information with the box I installed on the rav, suggested mixing E85 with about 25% 95 if starting was a problem.

Probably not the tidyest of installation

[Hotrodder]

Diesel or petrol: as long as you don't go downtown where the lights shine brightly, disco, disco, or have to visit a hospital, the choise is yours, the colour of your crit'air sticker that comes with your new secondhand car. The Hyundai I10 (Juin 2013, 3-cylinders), has the category one colour, not too bad.

The Crit'Air colours:

Niveau 0 (Vert) : Véhicules 100 % électriques et à hydrogène.

Niveau 1 (Violet) : Véhicules essence Euro 5 et 6, gaz et hybrides rechargeables.

Niveau 2 (Jaune) : Véhicules essence Euro 4 et véhicules diesel récents Euro 5 et 6.

Niveau 3 (Orange) : Véhicules essence Euro 2 et 3 (1997–2005) et diesel Euro 4 (2006–2010).

Niveau 4 (Bordeaux) : Véhicules diesel Euro 3 (2001–2005).

Niveau 5 (Gris) : Véhicules diesel Euro 2 (1997–2001)

Any guesses what my 307CC petrol is, year 2006?
I think I heard somewhere this window sticker thing had been dropped. I rarely go to any big cities but its just as well to know where I can and can't go.

https://www.certificat-air.gouv.fr/

Thankyou for the link. Clear as mud as expected, but it seems the only City that requires a sticker is Rennes and the only reason I would need to go there is if I need heart surgery, and if that is the case I won't be driving.

[Hotrodder]

Personally I would think about a petrol, no problems getting a critair sticker if you need to go into pollution zones, also try and get one that can be converted to E85, we have a 2.0l 2005 Toyota Rav4 and a 1.3l 2012 Suzuki Jimny, I converted both, the kit is about 200€ , if you are able to fit it yourself, obviously labour costs if you have it fitted, but when you consider 80 cents compared with over 2€ a liter, it doesn't take much to get your money back. We did the rav back in 2017 and must have saved 1000s of euros in fuel so far.

this was the company I used last year to convert the jimny.
https://www.kit-ecosystem.com/en/
I have had a lot of success, but suggest you read up fully about using E85 before purchasing, personally I havent noticed any real difference in performance or fuel consumption, but they usualy say that consumption can increase, but it probably depends on the car.

Many thanks for the link. I am very interested. The installation doesn't sound like any bother at all. A bit disappointing that it doesn't live up to the performance claims on the website. As long as it saves money in the long term it may well be a good investment. E85 around here is 86cts a litre vs SP98 at €2.27. The actual savings will depend on how many km I'll get out of a litre of E85. Hard to work out until I have already spent the cash and tested it. Your extra info is very useful if I decide to get one. I will be sending an email to ask a few questions. The website isn't very clear on what you have to buy. It seems to list it all in bits rather than a complete kit, and when I tried to find out if my car was on the list, it couldn't be found. Also it looks like the prices shown don't include delivery on top.

[widge]

this was the company I used last year to convert the jimny.
https://www.kit-ecosystem.com/en/
I have had a lot of success, but suggest you read up fully about using E85 before purchasing, personally I havent noticed any real difference in performance or fuel consumption, but they usualy say that consumption can increase, but it probably depends on the car.

Many thanks for the link. I am very interested. The installation doesn't sound like any bother at all. A bit disappointing that it doesn't live up to the performance claims on the website. As long as it saves money in the long term it may well be a good investment. E85 around here is 86cts a litre vs SP98 at €2.27. The actual savings will depend on how many km I'll get out of a litre of E85. Hard to work out until I have already spent the cash and tested it. Your extra info is very useful if I decide to get one. I will be sending an email to ask a few questions. The website isn't very clear on what you have to buy. It seems to list it all in bits rather than a complete kit, and when I tried to find out if my car was on the list, it couldn't be found. Also it looks like the prices shown don't include delivery on top.

i found them very helpfull when i emailed them with questions.

[widge]

Many thanks for the link. I am very interested. The installation doesn't sound like any bother at all. A bit disappointing that it doesn't live up to the performance claims on the website. As long as it saves money in the long term it may well be a good investment. E85 around here is 86cts a litre vs SP98 at €2.27. The actual savings will depend on how many km I'll get out of a litre of E85. Hard to work out until I have already spent the cash and tested it. Your extra info is very useful if I decide to get one. I will be sending an email to ask a few questions. The website isn't very clear on what you have to buy. It seems to list it all in bits rather than a complete kit, and when I tried to find out if my car was on the list, it couldn't be found. Also it looks like the prices shown don't include delivery on top.

i found them very helpfull when i emailed them with questions.

Also, this is the french site, somehow I posted the us site, maybe that is why you cannot find your car.

https://www.kit-ecosystem.com/fr/