semiatic
E5

E5 in a circle

Petrol containing up to 5% ethanol. On a vehicle, an E5 circle means it can use petrol with up to 5% ethanol.

What to do

Match it: if the circle by your filler flap or in your manual shows E5, fill from a nozzle marked E5. In the UK, E5 is now the 'super' grade (97+ octane) at stations that sell two petrol grades; the standard 95-octane pump is E10.

What it looks like
The letters E5 in bold inside a circle, black on white.
Where you find it
On the nozzle and on the dispenser at the filling station; next to the fuel filler cap or flap of vehicles built after the labels became compulsory (12 October 2018 in the EU, 1 April 2020 in the UK); in the owner's manual; at car dealers.
Kind
petrol-type fuel
Set by
EN 16942:2016+A1:2021, identifier for petrol-type fuels (a circle), required by Directive 2014/94/EU Article 7; in the UK, SI 2019/421 Schedule 1, Part 1

Can my car use it?

“If your brand or model is not listed, consult your manual or contact your vehicle or equipment manufacturer.”

“If in doubt, continue to use E5 (97+ octane) petrol.”

Check your vehicle's manual or the label inside the filler flap. We do not say which makes or models can use this fuel.

Official guidance:

In detail

  • The UK Department for Transport describes E5 as '97+ octane petrol with no more than 5% renewable ethanol' and says it remains on sale at filling stations that sell two grades of petrol; some rural, remote or very small stations sell only one of E5 or E10.
  • The E is shorthand: the filling-station operators' guide says it shows the petrol 'can contain ethanol and/or other oxygenates up to a maximum amount', the number being that maximum.
  • UK law (SI 2019/421, Schedule 1, Part 1) defines the symbol as 'EX' where X is 'the maximum ethanol content in volume percentage'. The circle must be at least 13 mm across on a nozzle, a vehicle or in a manual, and at least 30 mm on the dispenser.
  • If your vehicle can use E10, GOV.UK says it is safe to mix E5 and E10 in the same tank or to fill with E5 when E10 is not available.
  • The octane is not part of the identifier. UK dispensers carry it separately: the label layout in SI 2019/421 Schedule 2 puts the grade or octane rating in its own section beside the circle.

What it does not mean

It does not mean ethanol-free petrol (5% is the most it may contain), and it is not an octane rating: 97+ or 98 is printed separately.

Labels that go with it

E10E10 in a circlePetrol containing up to 10% renewable ethanol. On a vehicle, an…E85E85 in a circleA petrol-type fuel containing up to 85% ethanol by volume. On a…

Sources

Each document was fetched and read on the date shown; the clause or section is the one that sets or explains this label.