I did have it running on E85 in the end. I did the "start with 50% E85, then 75% and finally 100%" procedure, and it ran ok. No hiccups, no warning lights. Consumption went up by about 30% which was exptected. Only when going WOT at high rpm it hesitated a little, meaning the injectors were not flowing enough fuel, and it went a little lean. At about 75/25 mix of E85/95E it was all good. But when the weather got cold, like below +10°C, it would take three tries to do a cold start, and it would run pretty rough for the first few minutes. So I switched back to all gasoline. So yeah, the ES9J4 ECU can handle driving with E85 without modifications, injectors not so much. Also the cold start enrichment would need to be sorted.
I went on to buy a 1992 Clio S as a winter beater. What a fun little car. Absolutely no extra features to go wrong. And I got to learn how to adjust valve clearance. But then the cam belt failed mid winter, and I had to dig up the good old Mini R53 (the same one I bought back in 2012) from the garage. I found myself again selling a car in a rather sad state, but again managed to find a buyer. 120€ and a bottle of terrible whisky was the haggled price. Enthusiast are a strange bunch.
I didn't want to drive the Mini in the winter any more, so in late 2019 I bought a 2001 Xsara Break in Exclusive trim and with 2.0 gasoline engine. Unbelievably reliable motor. I only planned to drive it for one winter, but it's still here going strong. It is in dire need of new winter tyres, though, and that gave me an excuse to start looking for yet another sensible daily. So tomorrow I'm going to take a three hour drive to see a Xantia... not an Activa this time, but still a rare bird: V6 estate with a manual gearbox.
My dream car was always a V6 Xantia Activa Estate!