[StarScream]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

Toda's TOI (Delhi Times Edition) carries an advertisement for the City CNG, which is available on select City variants. Honda is offering a 24-months+40k kms warranty on the CNG variant.

As discussed earlier, the CNG kit is not an OE offered by the company, & will be fitted at dealership premises.

There is something wrong here. This does not seem to be the Thai version, which comes from the factory with CNG badging and bolstered suspension. Hence there has been no launch and is a retrofit at the dealer end.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Sad to see a great engine succumbing to the CNG madness. However, I am sure Honda will do a great job of a hopeless task.

sgiitk, just curious, why do you say that? I've also been following FrankMehta's Civic AT CNG thread and he seems very happy with the conversion.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Sad to see a great engine succumbing to the CNG madness. However, I am sure Honda will do a great job of a hopeless task.

Originally Posted by F150

CNG kits are not factory fitted. Let's hope dealers don't mess up.

Any dealer's installation cannot match factory fitment. If we consider Maruti cng cars , their integration is excellent and day to day performance is as good as petrol. Filling is also quite quick due to different valve.
Also there is some amount of engine mods required like valve seats, etc. as the engine would be producing more heat. The combustion of petrol is more lubricating than cumbustion of cng. Maruti cars have another ecm for cng,something dealer wont fit. Also Changes are required for suspension which dealer wont be able to do.
Fine tuning cars running on cng is not everybody's cup of tea.
we are running 3rd cng car in family and can say that irrespective of warranty, factory installation is certainly better.

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Sad to see a great engine succumbing to the CNG madness. However, I am sure Honda will do a great job of a hopeless task.

It is sad to see someone as leaned & experienced as you succumbing to prejudice. @frankmehta's thread is an apt place for you to learn about the whole thing. Moreover, there are quite a few people on the forum who have thousands & even lacs of kms on crude CNG kits as compared to the sequential kits offered these days.

Yes there are few problems with CNG, which are more associated with the bulk of the kit & universal availability, but nothing major, & with companies (Honda included) offering NatGas kits US, don't you think they have been unjustly denying the benefits to Indians.

Here is the link to the advert:

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...=1350970287578

And the image:

[StarScream]

Just spoke to Ring Road Honda - the car will only be offered in V MT trim and will be made for CNG with bolstered suspension and other changes from the factory but the kit will be fitted at the dealer. Hence one will have to tell them at the time of booking if one intends to go for CNG and then the car will be made to those specs. It can't be done to a regular V MT.

Details on pricing, type/make of kit etc. are not known yet. Most likely these questions will be answered tomorrow, which is when the dealership is expecting display cars as well.

[zenren]

2 big mistakes from Honda - don't know which one is bigger and we'll never know unless they correct one of them!

1. Making it a dealer fitment, leaving the reliability of the fitment to the expertise of the dealers. This would mean that the CNG option is not tested as part of the QC checks before rolling out of the factory.

2. Making it avaialble only on the top variant - main reason people buy a CNG version of a car is cost saving and in majority of these cases, the prospective buyers opt for the base or mid variants. Very rarely do we see the cost concious buyer opt for a top variant with a newer design OEM alloys, cruise control and chrome finish.

So the price the buyer has to pay to get a dealer fitted CNG is the price difference between Corporate or SMT and VMT and the additional sticker price for CNG. Add to this the additional road tax that needs to be paid due to increase in ex-showroom price. Cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore would see a 14% to 18% addition to the CNG kit price as the road tax component for the same. Its definitely going to take ages to recover all that cost by 'slowly' running on CNG!

If making the fitment at dealer side would make the ex-showroom price at the same range as VMT and the CNG kit price as accessory cost outside of the ex-showroom price, it would give an advantage. But that is highly unlikely.

[Honda Monk]

Its good that the CNG adjustment will be done at factory stage prior kit fitting at dealer. People wont mind waiting for a week or so if they are getting factory tuned car ready for the CNG kit.
I believe Honda should soon launch Jazz (CNG) of which large boot can easily accommodate the kit with good space left for other goodies. It will be a wise move to woo the premium hatch buyer. Luxury with economy.
I am yet to see the great potential of Jazz to be rightly exploited! Its lovely car.

[StarScream]

Honda's Official Statement that I received in Mail

Honda Cars India launches the CNG ready Honda City

Introduces a new variant with “Interactive Intelligence” AVN system

New Delhi, October 23, 2012: Honda Cars India Limited, leading manufacturer of premium cars in India, today launched its new modified Honda City which is compatible with CNG bi-fuel option in India to complement the lifestyles and needs of the customers who are looking for an alternative fuel vehicle with unmatched performance and outstanding fuel efficiency.

The new modified Honda City will be available in V grade which will get retrofitted by a Honda approved CNG kit at all the 45 Honda dealerships located in 28 cities where CNG fuel option is available in the country. Rohan BRC has been appointed as the authorized dealer for providing the CNG kit. The modified Honda City will come with a 2 year warranty as standard value for all buyers.

To enhance the performance, the modified grade of the City has an optimized 1.5L, 4 cylinder i-VTEC engine and the suspension has been modified to adjust the additional weight of the CNG cylinder to offer similar driving experience as that of the petrol City.

The safety of passengers and pedestrians is a first priority for Honda and the new CNG ready City is fully loaded with various active and passive safety features including ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) with Brake Assist (BA), Dual SRS airbags, pre-tensioner seat belts. The front body structure of the car ensures advanced pedestrian safety features.

“Interactive Intelligence” AVN grade

Additionally, new Option City 1.5V Leather with AVN(Audio Visual Navigation) has been introduced in the City line-up which will feature ultra-premium-one-class-above features - Touch Screen, Audio Visual Navigation, Bluetooth, DVD player in addition to CD Player, USB/I-Pod/Aux-in connectivity and Leather upholstery with Leather wrapped steering wheel and Leather wrapped Gear Shift Knob (in MT).

The complete range of the City has been expanded to give more options to the customers and will now be available in the following: Corporate, E, S MT/AT, V MT/AT, V (Leather with Sunroof) MT/AT, V (AVN) MT/AT (new) and V MT modified for CNG kit fitment (new).

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Jnaneswar Sen, Sr Vice President, Honda Cars India Ltd. said “Honda City is one of the most successful car brand in the country and certainly the most desirable sedan in its category due to its unmatched values of performance, mileage and overall reliability. We are extremely happy to bring the City with a CNG option for our customers. Adapting the CNG technology is another step to keep low cost of ownership for our customers and will add to the appeal of the car, as it will not only be cheaper to run and maintain but also eco-friendly.“

“In line with the preferences of our customers, we are delighted to introduce the new variant with Audio Visual Navigation which makes the car even more desirable in its category”, he further added.

The price of the City range (ex-showroom Delhi) is:

Rs

City
Corporate
726,000

E MT
788,000

S MT
841,000

S AT
915,000

V MT
894,000

V AT
968,000

V MT (modified)** (new)
903,800

V MT (AVN) (new)
972,000

V AT (AVN) (new)
10,46,000

V MT(Sunroof)
978,000

V AT (Sunroof)
1,052,000


** Price without CNG fitment.

CNG Kit: Rs.50,200

Installation Charges (Extra)

[sgiitk]

@CARDEEP; A swallow does not make summer. He may be happy but then ....

Any fitment which emasculates a beautiful engine like the iVTEC will not meet my approval. I would have been less critical if it was LPG and not CNG - 10% power loss vs 25-30%. I have a close relative whose boss has had a CNG Civic for at least a year, cheap to run but not exactly on the top of the world.

I guess the fitment would have been optimised and calibrated at the factory so the chances of a dealer messing up big time are minimal.

I guess next some of us will be going gaga about a CNG Veyron !!!!

[k2max6]

Why on earth would i not buy a verna crdi and buy a honda city 'CNG' for 9.6 Lakhs Ex-showroom price.
Not to stand in half hour waiting lines to get CNG filled and have a range of max 200 km even after spending equally.

I have a CNG car at home and i would never buy a cng car if i can buy a diesel vehicle for the same cost and of the same segment.

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Any fitment which emasculates a beautiful engine like the iVTEC will not meet my approval. I would have been less critical if it was LPG and not CNG - 10% power loss vs 25-30%. I have a close relative whose boss has had a CNG Civic for at least a year, cheap to run but not exactly on the top of the world.

But then isn't CNG the best of both worlds? When you want power switch to petrol, when just tooling round switch to CNG.
From what I've learnt from other threads here is that the new sequential kits with direct gas injection are much better in terms of performance, compared with the older closed/open loop installations.

Originally Posted by k2max6

Why on earth would i not buy a verna crdi and buy a honda city 'CNG' for 9.6 Lakhs Ex-showroom price.
Not to stand in half hour waiting lines to get CNG filled and have a range of max 200 km even after spending equally.

I have a CNG car at home and i would never buy a cng car if i can buy a diesel vehicle for the same cost and of the same segment.

My thoughts exactly. CNG makes sense as a retrofit to an old petrol car, but for a new buy, a diesel car from another brand saves you all the trouble.

[sourabhzen]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

..... 10% power loss vs 25-30%. I have a close relative whose boss has had a CNG Civic for at least a year, cheap to run but not exactly on the top of the world.

I think people who buy CNG cars are prepared for the loss of performance and they are ready to pay this price for added savings in their monthly budget. One of my friend in Greater Noida travels an average of 100KM daily and it makes a lot of sense for him to use CNG. He owns a diesel Verna and a company fitted CNG Wagon R. Verna is used only when he needs to take his family out.

No offence but sometimes the pocket force people to be content with being 25% lower than top of the world.

[amitpunjani]

Originally Posted by StarScream

Honda Cars India launches the CNG ready Honda City

Introduces a new variant with “Interactive Intelligence” AVN system

“Interactive Intelligence” AVN grade

Additionally, new Option City 1.5V Leather with AVN(Audio Visual Navigation) has been introduced in the City line-up which will feature ultra-premium-one-class-above features - Touch Screen, Audio Visual Navigation, Bluetooth, DVD player in addition to CD Player, USB/I-Pod/Aux-in connectivity and Leather upholstery with Leather wrapped steering wheel and Leather wrapped Gear Shift Knob (in MT).

Firstly thanks for the brilliant piece of information. Could you kindly elaborate, is this AVN system dealer or factory fitted.

The maps are provided by Caska, but who is the hardware provider?

BR

Amit

[avikamail]

Originally Posted by amitpunjani

Firstly thanks for the brilliant piece of information. Could you kindly elaborate, is this AVN system dealer or factory fitted.

The maps are provided by Caska, but who is the hardware provider?

BR

Amit

AVN seems to be factory fitted as per below link:

http://www.hondacarindia.com/City/features.html

Surce: Honda India website dated 23rd Oct 2012

[StarScream]

Originally Posted by amitpunjani

Firstly thanks for the brilliant piece of information. Could you kindly elaborate, is this AVN system dealer or factory fitted.

The maps are provided by Caska, but who is the hardware provider?

BR

Amit

Amit, I wouldn't know. I just posted the company's statement. It's probably better to just call a dealer to check.

[.sushilkumar]

Not sure if anybody noticed it or not But

Honda is Offering a 24 months / 40000 Km's Standard warranty . IMO this is the lowest in the segment or does it shows the confidence Honda has in it;s CNG kit's ?.