[N4Nikunj]

Voted a Very big no

I would say is the car is meant for Luxury. Cheap is always Expensive at the end of the day.

I will better buy either petrol or Diesel and call it a day.

[silverado]

Voted no since my current car usage doesnt demand a CNG car.
But if i needed a car for commute, handsdown it would be a CNG car especially since its easily available in my city.

For the economy you get, you need to lose boot space and also sacrifice on freedom of filing up your car anywhere.

CNG and automatic would be a perfect marriage, but only when retrofitted.
Not a single manufacturer has a product like that ever since CNG/ or automatics are getting popular , which tells us there could be technical reasons behind it

[headbanger]

I want to, but sadly much of the factory fit options are only limited to the world of Marutis in the segment where safety takes a backseat.

Heck, if the likes of Honda City and Seltos come in factory fit CNG kit, NCR folks will lap it up surely. Who doesn't want a car which pinches your wallet a little lighter without compromising on anything else?

Regarding availability of CNG, things have improved manifolds with CNG pumps now available on Tier 2 cities now in Haryana.

[Schneller]

Originally Posted by headbanger

I want to, but sadly much of the factory fit options are only limited to the world of Marutis in the segment where safety takes a backseat.

Heck, if the likes of Honda City and Seltos come in factory fit CNG kit, NCR folks will lap it up surely. Who doesn't want a car which pinches your wallet a little lighter without compromising on anything else?

Regarding availability of CNG, things have improved manifolds with CNG pumps now available on Tier 2 cities now in Haryana.

The grand i10 Nios seems to be a good option with good number of features. But yes, I’d pay good money for a factory fitted cng on something like the honda city. And if any of the european brand decide to launch their proper CNG variants, i would lap it up in no time. I think the market will evolve now slowly and steadily.
Maruti and Hyundai will expand their CNG line up’s. If all goes well, toyota and honda will follow.
If all of them do well then, we can assume VAG taking the thing seriously and launching their lineup in India.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Voted Yes!

I wouldn’t mind having a nice auto hatch + CNG for in city use. I would always prefer diesels for highway use. I feel the following reasons for CNG not being successful?

1. Apart from Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai in recent times, there are absolutely no manufacturers selling cars with company fitted CNG.

2. Maruti’s approach towards CNG variants is pathetic. I want a hatch with a rear wiper, ABS and airbags with CNG. Maruti won’t sell the VXi WagonR with cng. Because of this attitude of not giving CNG with the top variant, it’s always associated as cheap.

3. India is a country which is full of “log kya kahenge”. CNG is looked down upon and I find a lot of people hiding their CNG tanks. If your usage is high then it’s okay to have CNG. It’s not cheap to fit a CNG kit either. It’s okay to be cost conscious, there is nothing wrong in sticking to something which helps you save money.

4. CNG kits have progressed. I have seen variety of cars with 2lakh+ KMs on aftermarket kits running really well. The owners of these cars keep them really well, but that’s not the case with everyone.

5. Most Indians can’t maintain their diesels or petrols. Not that CNG requires any rocket science, it’s more or less similar to a regular petrol car just with reduced interval of replacement of parts like spark plugs, filters.etc. The rear struts might give up earlier than expected. The increase in cost of upkeep is still a small number if you look at the huge savings.

6. I do not own a CNG car but have accompanied friends to fill up CNG and in cities like mumbai & pune, the whole process is smooth like filling regular petrol or diesel. I haven’t faced any major waiting.

7. I see a lot of small cities in Maharashtra getting CNG now. It’s a great move which helps people even in small towns save up on expenses especially rickshaw/cab drivers.

8. Instead of promoting expensive electric vehicles, government should make it mandatory for all the govt vehicles to be CNG fitted. Most of them have a petrol Ertiga, Ciaz or SX4. Govt can save up big time on fuel expenses too. They can also set an example for Aam janta.

9. It took Manufacturers years to launch main stream diesels with an automatic transmission. Even today, the only liveable diesel auto is the Honda Amaze with CVT in the entry level segments. Rest all are AMTs and I won’t be surprised if it takes ages for us to get Auto transmission + CNG as an option. AMTs are anyway pathetic and when clubbed with CNG, they are disastrous.

10. We have to accept that as a fuel CNG has immense savings. Nothing is cheap, you need to take care of your car but while doing so your monthly running costs are all time low. Government also should encourage manufacturers to enhance their R&D on CNG especially to increase the range. Unlike EVs, there is no range anxiety here. The tanks need to be smaller for hatchbacks, otherwise boot space will never get utilised.

[Kumaran93R]

I have a annual running of around 25,000 km. Coming from the south, we don't have much (any?) CNG pumps here. But we do have a lot of LPG fuel stations. For the city runabout beater car, I have an alto vxi 1.1 with a sequential lpg kit with a smaller cylinder that fits in the spare tyre area. The spare tyre is mounted in the rear hatch. For me an ideal city car would be an alto k10 amt with a sequential lpg kit. A bigger hatch (like baleno / jazz) with the same setup would be ideal for a single car household.
For the highways, I use a vento 1.6 tdi. Although a lpg powered sedan would fit the bill, I prefer the midrange torque of a turbo car too much. As far as I know, there aren't any kits in india for direct injection engines.

[fhdowntheline]

I may be totally off the scientific track here, but somehow the thought of lugging highly compressed fuel around at speed in a hatchback bothers me. If this was a bus or truck, no problem. I dont know ( also dont think) that the present cars chassis have been designed by default for CNG. It all seems to be a retrofit right from the assembly line itself.

[mvadg]

As per today's price in Bangalore, I have calculated the price per kg of fuel by using the density of the fuel.

Petrol litre 94 /. 71 =130.56 per kg
Diesel litre 86.37/. 85 =101.60 per kg
Lpg litre 38.85/(1/1.83) = 71.1 per kg
CNG per kg = 50.50
Note that the price of LPG is quite high.

I doubt there's any R&D on CNG or LPG fueled engines for cars at the scale it is being done on petrol and diesel engines, because the developed world is on the EV bandwagon now. I don't see any reason the government will not raise prices for CNG and LPG to keep it at par with petrol in future. CNG or LPG for reducing pollution will seem quite unconvincing once people start using EVs. So problems with the use of these fuels in cars are likely to remain.

[ariesonu]

CNG seems is like Compact Disk that got sandwiched between Magnetic Tapes (Cassettes) & MP3 systems.
When Petrol pricing is triple digits, CNG would have made a cut, but like MP3 the EV vehicles are available on the block & would make more sense when charging station issues are sorted out.

We should have a thread on all the factory fitted CNG cars presently on offer or available in India.

Rgds.

[Schneller]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

I may be totally off the scientific track here, but somehow the thought of lugging highly compressed fuel around at speed in a hatchback bothers me. If this was a bus or truck, no problem. I dont know ( also dont think) that the present cars chassis have been designed by default for CNG. It all seems to be a retrofit right from the assembly line itself.

Present car chassis designed for CNG and LPG are present but, they aren’t present in India. In Europe, the 3 affordable VAG brands (VW, Skoda & SEAT) are the leaders but, other brands like Fiat offer it too. Those chassis’s are made for CNG.
And, i too wouldn’t be comfortable doing high speeds with a CNG car, if i were to buy one, it’d strictly be for city commuting with a little highway (70 kmph speed limit). For Highway drives, I’ve got my Karoq to do the duty.

[WanderinNomad]

Installed CNG yesterday.
I have some small doubts regarding the kit, which is M Sequent OBD2 CNG kit in Honda City ZX 2006 model. Many CNG reviewers on youtube say that an advancer is definitely required but my installer says there is no need for an advancer in this car .However, he is ready to install it if I insist. Have driven 190km so far on CNG and I do not feel any difference between petrol and cng. Should I still install advancer ?
Secondly, the installer has not connected the 3 OBD2 wires present in the kit ECM to the car as he says that those 3 wires are not present in such an old car. How can that be possible as the car has an OBD2 port?
Finally, has any one seen police catching a cng vehicle with cng not endorsed on RC ? What is the fine atc. as per rules.

[vinitk89]

Mod note: Trimming the quote, please avoid quoting entire large post for replies. It affects readability especially over mobile browsers. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Schneller

We can all agree that the future is electric and, i'm sure you all will also agree that it will a lot of time to get the requisite infrastructure.
======

Please continue this discussion in the comments, maybe some carmakers will come across this thread and get some ideas!

I'm sorry for being late to the party. This is my first reply on Team-Bhp.

Here's my bit:

I own a Maruti Suzuki Celerio CNG variant which has clocked 1 L km+
It has proved extremely economical to move around in a CNG car. My daily running is in excess of 80 kms/day with occasional outstation trip in a month or two. I have driven my Celerio 5 times from Mumbai to Bhuj rural areas in North Gujarat (850+ kms one way). With the availability of CNG filling stations all along the Gujarat highway every 70-80 kms, it has been ultra convenient to get along such a long journey. Moreover, CNG pumps are being added every quarter in other Tier 2 cities as well.

CNG as a fuel, as we know it is very efficient in terms of combustion quality and does return a fuel efficiency that surpasses that of petrol. I regularly get fuel efficiency from 1 full tank of CNG (7.5 kg - 8 kg, depending on pressure) in the range of 190-200 kms (With AC) in city driving conditions. That translates to around 25-26 kms/kg in city while on highway the Celerio easily returns 230-250 kms (With AC) which translates to over 30 kms/kg. With the CNG rates hovering around Rs 50/kg, the per km cost is less than Rs 2/km. This is something not even a frugal Diesel hatch can achieve in current scenario. May God bless Maruti Suzuki to come up with more such cars.
PS: There have been multiple instances where Celerio has returned in excess of 270 kms from 1 tankful of CNG.

Downsides: Yes, you do have to sacrifice on boot space in a hatch, but with a sedan, such as Hyundai Aura CNG, the boot can accommodate 2 medium sized bags.
The power drop with running on CNG is barely noticeable (Only at higher rpms, the engine may feel mildly sluggish), thanks to the factory fitted kit. The maintenance costs increase marginally due to CNG filter that needs replacement every 20,000 kms along with spark plugs.

I would like to concluded by mentioning the following points:

1) CNG is a great option for a daily commuter even if the running is around 40 kms/day as the costs will be recovered within a few years.

2) The advantages of CNG fueled vehicles easily overshadow a few limitations like loss of boot space, lower range per tankful of CNG etc, without a doubt.

3) If the CNG manual is followed, then then there is no drop in performance of car on CNG fuel. (Since my car has successfully covered 1L + kms, I am confident that engine might not require any major work for more 1 L kms)

4) CNG filling stations are on the rise, the CNG filling time on an average has reduced. Also some states like Gujarat have probably more CNG pumps in Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities than any other states (As per my observations)

5) CNG is indeed a clean burning fuel which will damage the environment much lesser as compared to Diesel/Petrol.

6) I feel manufacturers must put up few hatchbacks/Sedans with a configuration of AMT & CNG. It will be a boon for commuters in cities.

Thank you for patiently reading my post

[aditya.s.s]

Hello everyone, I am the proud owner of the previous generation Ertiga VXI CNG. Having owned it for 6 and a half years, I have driven it just a little bit over 1 lakh kms.
And over this time, I have managed to save over a ton of money in running costs.
I live in Thane and the price of petrol today is around ₹97 / litre whereas it is just ₹49.8 / kg for CNG!
Yes that's right!
It costs almost half as much as petrol!
While calculating the basic running costs for my Ertiga, I decided to calculate the amount of money that I have saved.
I have even made a video about it on YouTube so that it reaches the maximum number of people and they can take advantage of these prices too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6ty0vOCmG0

I had bought my 2014 Ertiga in August 2014 and therefore I have taken the price of petrol as ₹85 / litre and the price of CNG as ₹45 / kg.
When I used to drive my car on petrol, I used to get an average of about 9 to 12 kmpl combining city and highway running conditions, and at the same time, I used to get an average of about 15 to 17 km/kg in CNG!

That means, not only was I paying less for using my car, I was also getting better mileage through CNG!
There were some downsides though.
I didn't get as much power in CNG as in Petrol. But that was just a minor issue and anyway while driving in Mumbai and Thane you don't get to use all the power that your car has on offer anyway. Hence, I was not complaining.
Talking about the queues at CNG filling stations, I have never spent over 1 to 20 mins at a station at any given day!

In Thane, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, there are ample of CNG filling stations because the autorickshaws here run on CNG.
I am really happy with my experience of owning a CNG car and I would also like to recommend to anyone living in these 3 areas as well (Thane, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai) or to people living in states where CNG pumps are easily available.

[1985Darkkid85]

Do we have any good cng stations in Southern Bangalore?

I'm thinking of taking the plunge & dumping in a Cng on the Honda Brio, but I don't find any stations near my home.

Also, do I need to be wary of very long lines?

I have been quoted some 43k for a Cng Italian kit instalation.

[svsantosh]

I got my SPresso Lxi CNG from Mandovi, Bangalore on 2-Sep-2021. I have done nearly 3000Kms in the last month thanks to my home to office commute.

A simple excel file work of my savings in 1 month alone.