We are looking for a car in 2024, and the first reflex is to compare the engines. The real starting point lies elsewhere: in local traffic restrictions.
Since January 2025, several French urban areas have tightened their ZFE rules with Crit’Air categories and schedules that vary from one city to another. A car that is compatible in one metropolis may not be in the next. Before choosing between petrol, diesel, hybrid, or electric, we first check where we drive on a daily basis.
ZFE restrictions and engine choice: what changes depending on your city
Low emission zones do not follow a uniform national schedule. Each urban area sets its own Crit’Air thresholds, time slots, and exemptions. A Crit’Air 3 diesel can circulate freely in a medium-sized city but may be banned during the week in a nearby large metropolis.
The direct consequence for a purchase: we no longer choose just a vehicle suited to our mileage, but also to our territory. Someone living in the outskirts of Lyon and working in the center does not have the same constraints as a rural driver in Brittany. The Service-Public.fr website has been offering mapping tools since January 2025 to precisely check the areas where a given vehicle can circulate.
To compare models and their engines based on these geographical criteria, the autonov website dedicated to automobiles allows you to cross-reference technical sheets with actual traffic needs. In practice, you start by listing your regular trips, then you move on to the compatible engine.
Used electric car: the trap of the technical inspection on the battery
The used electric car market is growing, and prices are dropping enough to attract buyers who would not have considered new. The classic reflex is to ask for a recent technical inspection. For an electric vehicle, this document says almost nothing about the most expensive component of the vehicle: the battery.
The technical inspection does not measure the actual capacity of the battery. It checks safety points (braking, lighting, ground connections), but not the SOH (State of Health), which indicates the percentage of remaining capacity compared to new condition. Two identical cars with the same mileage can have very different SOH depending on charging and storage conditions.
What a reliable battery diagnosis should contain
A serious battery report specifies the measurement method used, the date of the test, and the exact vehicle it relates to. A simple percentage displayed on the dashboard is not enough: an external diagnosis is required, performed by a certified tool.
- The SOH measured by a third-party tool, not just the onboard estimate from the vehicle, which can be optimistic
- The test conditions (ambient temperature, charge level at the time of diagnosis), as they influence the reading
- The history of fast charging: a battery regularly subjected to fast DC charging degrades faster than a battery charged slowly at home
It is also recommended to test charging at a public station before purchase. A vehicle that shows a correct SOH but whose charging curve peaks very low reveals a problem that the report alone does not show.
Total budget for a vehicle in 2024: beyond the purchase price
The catalog price or used price represents only part of the actual cost. The car budget is calculated on the total cost of ownership, which includes insurance, energy, maintenance, and depreciation.
For petrol vehicles, the fuel cost remains the heaviest for high-mileage drivers. For electric vehicles, insurance often rises, as body parts and the battery are more expensive to replace. A plug-in hybrid seems to combine the advantages of both worlds, but its maintenance accumulates the constraints of two distinct engines.
Three items to compare before signing
Rather than relying solely on the displayed price, we ask three concrete questions to the seller or dealer:
- The insurance cost for the exact model (not the range): the differences between two trims of the same SUV can exceed several hundred euros per year
- The availability and price of common wear parts (brakes, filters, tires): some imported models impose long delays and high prices
- The expected depreciation over three years, especially for first-generation electric vehicles whose technology evolves quickly and causes residual value to drop
A plug-in hybrid costs more to maintain than a pure thermal vehicle because it incorporates two propulsion systems. On short urban trips, the thermal part runs little but gets dirty, which generates additional costs.
SUV, city car, or sedan: choosing the category based on actual usage
The SUV dominates sales, but it is not the right choice for all profiles. In the city, a compact SUV consumes more than a city car, is harder to park, and costs more to insure. Its real advantage appears on mixed trips with regular loading or on degraded roads.
A recent city car offers driving comfort and a level of equipment that did not exist five years ago. For home-to-work trips of less than thirty kilometers, a city electric car covers the majority of daily needs without a fast charging station.
The sedan, often forgotten in favor of the SUV, retains a clear advantage for high-mileage drivers: a better aerodynamic coefficient, thus lower consumption at highway speeds. On a daily suburban or highway trip, the difference in consumption between an SUV and a sedan with the same engine remains significant over a full year.
The final choice depends less on market trends than on the reality of your trips. A vehicle suited to your daily use, compatible with the restrictions of your traffic zone, and whose total cost of ownership has been calculated over three years remains the best definition of a good purchase in 2024.
