France - petrol prices
Author
Discussion

Boxster5

Original Poster:

1,260 posts

138 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
Currently in France and thought it strange but supermarkets are no longer the cheapest for petrol or diesel.
Average around €2.18/litte for 95 unleaded at the usual Carrefour/LeClerc.
Total petrol average around €1.99/litre.
And yes diesel is more expensive than unleaded now.

Stick Legs

8,933 posts

195 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
Yup.

That was my experience recently.

My Brother-In-Law bought a Range Rover recently, and asked me my advice as whether he should buy the 5.0 Petrol or 4.4 Diesel.
I suggested the performance difference wasn't worth the economy difference, he bought the Supercharged 5.0 Petrol, and then promptly drove to Morzine.

I went to Alpe d'Huez and back at 32mpg in my Range Rover 4.4 Diesel and that was painful enough.
I look forwards to speaking to him about his choices. biglaugh



Edited by Stick Legs on Monday 7th September 17:39

_Rodders_

4,385 posts

49 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
Properly cheap compared to the Netherlands.

davek_964

11,300 posts

205 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
I'm clearly doing this wrong. In the last week, we drove through France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Obviously I needed petrol several times. I have no clue what the cost per litre was - although since it was typically motorway probably not competitive.

andygo

7,397 posts

285 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
I'm off to France early doors tomorrow, cant wait to see the queue at the tunnel..

Anyway, I paid £1.91 for Shell E5 today in MK. In Southport yesterday, the same stuff was 20p per litre cheaper. Gawd knows what it will cost on our way down to the Dordogne.

Magooagain

13,499 posts

200 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
My Mrs paid 2.09 this week and 2.19 last week for 95 both at Intermarche.

https://www.prix-carburants.gouv.fr/ This should help.



Edited by Magooagain on Monday 7th September 20:49

Pete102

2,388 posts

216 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
Yep, something that always makes me wonder how here in Switzerland the fuel prices can often be significantly cheaper than France or Germany.

a311

6,416 posts

207 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
That surprised me too. I’ve always headed for Leclerc or Carrefour for cheap fuel in France, but Total seems to be undercutting them at the moment.

I was paying about €2.25 a litre for diesel in France
last month, so made sure I brimmed it in Luxembourg where it was nearer €1.80.

One thing I did notice is that French autoroute fuel doesn’t seem to carry the ridiculous premium you get at UK motorway services. Still dearer, but nowhere near as bad.

And diesel being more expensive than unleaded still feels strange.

Boxster5

Original Poster:

1,260 posts

138 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
a311 said:
That surprised me too. I ve always headed for Leclerc or Carrefour for cheap fuel in France, but Total seems to be undercutting them at the moment.

I was paying about 2.25 a litre for diesel in France
last month, so made sure I brimmed it in Luxembourg where it was nearer 1.80.

One thing I did notice is that French autoroute fuel doesn t seem to carry the ridiculous premium you get at UK motorway services. Still dearer, but nowhere near as bad.

And diesel being more expensive than unleaded still feels strange.
Not sure if Total is being subsidised by the French government - every station appeared to be the same price 1.99 for 95 u/l. Just seemed strange.
Also, quite a few petrol stations out of certain grades when driving past.
Heading to Spain (Basque region) tomorrow for cheaper fuel!

Edited by Boxster5 on Monday 7th September 22:14

Boxster5

Original Poster:

1,260 posts

138 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
_Rodders_ said:
Properly cheap compared to the Netherlands.
I dread to think what it costs in the Netherlands now - when it was say €1.55 in France, it would be €1.80. Must be north of €2.50 now??

Rob 131 Sport

4,870 posts

82 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
andygo said:
I'm off to France early doors tomorrow, cant wait to see the queue at the tunnel..

Anyway, I paid £1.91 for Shell E5 today in MK. In Southport yesterday, the same stuff was 20p per litre cheaper. Gawd knows what it will cost on our way down to the Dordogne.
In 2023 I filled up with top grade diesel at the Total Garage on the outskirts of Sarlat. I asked the cashier for some plastic gloves. The owner overhearing my request whipped off the shop shelf some rather nice blue Total branded gloves.

I thought this was rather nice gesture until I saw the price of the fuel that was shockingly high. wink

Palmela

1,412 posts

14 months

Monday 7th September
quotequote all
I'm in Portugal right now, having fuelled (several times) in France, Spain and Portugal over the past week. OP is right that the supermarkets aren't necessarily the right go-to in France any more and it is worth doing some research.

Spain is the cheapest at around €1.90 ish pretty much everywhere, although i found a place at 1.79. Portugal is odd; I brimmed today at a pingo doce supermarket site, with BP fuel, at €1.99 (E95 petrol) whilst the BP station a kilometre away was selling at €2.20!

SchillingTwo

873 posts

4 months

Tuesday 8th September
quotequote all
Stick Legs said:
Yup.

That was my experience recently.

My Brother-In-Law bought a Range Rover recently, and asked me my advice as whether he should buy the 5.0 Petrol or 4.4 Diesel.
I suggested the performance difference wasn't worth the economy difference, he bought the Supercharged 5.0 Petrol, and then promptly drove to Morzine.

I went to Alpe d'Huez and back at 32mpg in my Range Rover 4.4 Diesel and that was painful enough.
I look forwards to speaking to him about his choices. biglaugh

Edited by Stick Legs on Monday 7th September 17:39
I averaged about 25mpg over long distances and at quite high average speeds in my RR Sport SVR this summer, which I thought was quite reasonable.

blueg33

46,521 posts

254 months

Tuesday 8th September
quotequote all
I’ve done 3000 miles in France on road trips since May. In quite a few areas fuel was as cheap or cheaper on the autoroute than in towns. I was quite surprised.

I still spent about £100 for every 4 hours of driving.

omniflow

3,847 posts

181 months

Tuesday 8th September
quotequote all
In May it was €2.60 / litre for vPower at a services on the A10 southbound. I was so appalled, I just put in €20 worth and went elsewhere (I don't recall what I paid at the next place, it was still over €2 / litre, but much less than €2.60). By the time we got to Spain it was a much more reasonable €1.85 / litre.

I do find that premium unleaded is normally worth the extra as I definitely get better MPG using it. However, once it's more than 10% dearer than standard unleaded it becomes less clearcut.

_Rodders_

4,385 posts

49 months

Tuesday 8th September
quotequote all
Boxster5 said:
_Rodders_ said:
Properly cheap compared to the Netherlands.
I dread to think what it costs in the Netherlands now - when it was say 1.55 in France, it would be 1.80. Must be north of 2.50 now??
€2.70 was the highest we saw a few weeks ago.

981Boxess

11,995 posts

288 months

Tuesday 8th September
quotequote all

In Mayenne

Edited by 981Boxess on Tuesday 8th September 07:44

Busa mav

2,834 posts

184 months

Tuesday 8th September
quotequote all
Drove an un restricted stretch of Autobahn on Sunday ,between 220 and 250 kph ,needed a top up at 2.99 for super !

Now in France, Nuit Saint George, meandering in to Spain for Thursday , then another 7 weeks away, via Portugal .

Den Den

508 posts

49 months

Tuesday 8th September
quotequote all
blueg33 said:
I ve done 3000 miles in France on road trips since May. In quite a few areas fuel was as cheap or cheaper on the autoroute than in towns. I was quite surprised.
That was my experience last week, just a drive down to Le Havre and back from Calais, fuel was the same price or slightly cheaper on the autoroute, and now as expensive overall as the UK

halfpenny43

1,085 posts

266 months

Tuesday 8th September
quotequote all
_Rodders_ said:
Boxster5 said:
_Rodders_ said:
Properly cheap compared to the Netherlands.
I dread to think what it costs in the Netherlands now - when it was say 1.55 in France, it would be 1.80. Must be north of 2.50 now??
2.70 was the highest we saw a few weeks ago.
I filled up yesterday - EUR3 per litre for Shell V-Power