Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have dominated the CNG segment in India so far, with Tata Motors being the latest entrant.
The pace of CNG-powered vehicles in the Indian market is picking up in light of soaring gasoline and diesel prices.Three important new products have been launched in the CNG segment recently – Tata Motors has launched a new range of CNG cars with Tiago and Tigor CNG, and a CNG-powered version of Maruti Suzuki’s all-new Celerio.
Not only does this mark an expansion of the CNG car space from being dominated by Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, but more importantly, buyers now have the option to purchase CNG cars in different segments such as economy hatchbacks, mid-size hatchbacks and compacts type sedan.CNG vehicles are indeed more expensive than petrol vehicles, but have much lower running costs, making them ideal for use in cities.Hence, here is a list of all CNG cars currently sold in India, from the most fuel efficient to the most fuel efficient, offering a cheaper and cleaner alternative to petrol and diesel.
Starting with the Maruti Suzuki Eeco with a fuel economy of 20.88 km/kg, it is the only van with a factory-installed CNG package.While the Eeco is available in 5- and 7-seat configurations, the CNG package is only available on the 5-seat model with standard air conditioning.The Eeco is aimed at private and commercial buyers who use it for freight or commercial fleet vehicles.
The Eeco is powered by a 1.2-liter engine mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.In CNG specification, the engine produces 62hp and 85Nm, while in petrol specification it produces 72hp and 98Nm of peak torque.The CNG-powered Eeco is priced at Rs 5.88 lakh.
The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is the only large vehicle other than the compact sedan and hatchback with a factory-installed CNG package.Likewise, it is the only CNG-powered 7-seater MPV in India.Powered by Maruti Suzuki’s K15B, the 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine produces 92hp and 122Nm of torque when running on CNG – 13hp and 16Nm less than the petrol-powered engine.
In fact, this engine is also likely to be offered on the upcoming Brezza CNG.Maruti Suzuki claims fuel economy of 26.08 km/kg for the Ertiga CNG, the CNG package is only available on the second base VXi trim.Priced at Rs 987,000, it is Rs 95,000 more expensive than the corresponding petrol trim.
The Tiago CNG is the first CNG-treated model in Tata’s new range of cars.Powered by the same 1.2-litre three-cylinder Revotron engine, the CNG-powered Tiago produces 73hp and 95Nm of torque, 13hp and 18Nm less than its petrol-powered counterpart.However, the Tiago remains the most powerful CNG car in its segment.The Tiago CNG is priced between Rs 609,000 and Rs 752,000, which is Rs 90,000 more than the equivalent petrol price.Tata claims a fuel economy of 26.49 km/kg for the Tiago CNG, which is admittedly a bit behind the competition.
However, unlike other automakers that only offer CNG packages on base or mid-size trims, Tata offers CNG packages on all trims of the Tiago – from the base XE to the top XZ+ trim.That means the top-of-the-line version comes with projector headlamps with LED daytime running lights, a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, an eight-speaker Harman sound system, a digital instrument cluster, automatic climate control and more.Tata hopes that with this strategy, they can achieve “CNG premiumization” in India.
Launched alongside the Tiago CNG, the Tigor CNG is also powered by the same 1.2-liter three-cylinder Revotron as the Tiago.The fuel economy of the Tigor CNG is also the same at 26.49km/kg.While it may be less fuel efficient than its sole competitor, the Aura CNG, the Tigor is more powerful.
As for the interior, Tata only offers the CNG package on the Tigor’s top-of-the-line XZ and XZ+ trims.In fact, the Tigor CNG also comes with features such as rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlights in its XZ+ trim, features not found on any other CNG car currently on sale in the country.The Tigor CNG is priced between Rs 769,000 and Rs 829,000, which is Rs 90,000 more than the equivalent petrol trim.
Before the Tata Tigor CNG hit the market, the Hyundai Aura was the only CNG-powered compact sedan in the country.Under the hood, the Aura CNG uses the same 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine as the standard model, producing 69hp and 95.2Nm of torque in the CNG.Those figures are 14hp and 19Nm lower than the unit in petrol mode.The CNG version is only available with a 5-speed manual transmission.
Hyundai claims the Aura CNG’s fuel economy of 28.4km/kg is only slightly lower than that of the Nios CNG.It’s only available on the second base S trim, which isn’t as well-equipped as its hatchback sibling.The Aura CNG is priced at Rs 774,000, which is Rs 95,000 more than the equivalent petrol trim.
The Grand i10 Nios, the hatchback sibling of the Hyundai Aura, is one of the fancier, more functional CNG cars you can buy right now.Hyundai offers the CNG package on the Nios in mid-size Magna and Sportz trims, so it comes with features like an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, automatic air conditioning, projected fog lights and a reversing camera.Since most of Maruti Suzuki’s CNG models are offered on the base trim, they miss out on this feel-good feature.
The Grand i10 Nios is powered by the same 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine as the Aura CNG and produces the same 69hp and 95.2Nm of torque.The engine is paired to a 5-speed manual transmission and has a claimed fuel economy of 28.5km/kg.The Grand i10 Nios CNG is priced between Rs 7.07 lakh to Rs 7.6 lakh.
The Santro is the most affordable and efficient of the Hyundai CNG vehicle range.It is powered by a 1.1-liter engine that produces 60 hp and 85.3 Nm of peak torque in CNG specification.Compared with the three-cylinder engines of competitors such as Celerio CNG and Tiago CNG, the 1.1-liter engine of the Santro is a four-cylinder engine, which also has advantages in power and torque.
Hyundai claims the Santro CNG has a mileage of 30.48km/kg, making it one of the top 5 cars with a fuel economy of over 30km/kg.It is available in mid-size Magna and Sportz variants priced between Rs 609,000 to Rs 638,000, which is around Rs 69,000 to 76,000 more expensive than the equivalent petrol variant.
The CNG version of the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso is powered by a 1.0-liter K10B engine mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.Power and torque figures for the CNG-powered S-Presso are rated at 58hp and 78Nm, and the S-Presso CNG has a claimed fuel economy of 31.2km/kg.The WagonR CNG also offers the same engine in the same specification, although the latter is slightly more fuel efficient than the S-Presso.
The CNG-powered S-Presso’s power and torque figures are down 9hp and 12Nm, respectively, compared to the petrol-powered S-Presso.Contrary to other Maruti Suzuki models, the company offers CNG packages on the S-Presso’s mid-size LXi, LXi(O), VXi and VXi(O) trims.S-Presso CNG is currently priced between Rs 524,000 and Rs 556,000.
The Alto is powered by the only 796cc three-cylinder engine that produces 40hp and 60Nm of peak torque in CNG specification.That’s 7hp and 9Nm less than the petrol-powered Alto.Transmission options include a 5-speed manual transmission.The Alto 800 may be the least powerful CNG-powered car in the country, but it’s also the most affordable at the moment, priced between Rs 489,000 and Rs 495,000.
The Alto 800 CNG is available in the second base LXi and LXi (O) trims for Rs 95,000 more than the petrol model.Maruti Suzuki claims a fuel efficiency of 31.59 km/kg, making it the third most fuel-efficient CNG-powered car in the country.
The country’s second most fuel-efficient CNG car once again comes from Maruti Suzuki’s stables.The WagonR is available in 1.0-liter and 1.2-liter gasoline engines, but only the 1.0-liter engine is CNG-treated.The CNG-powered WagonR produces 58hp and 78Nm of torque, the same as the S-Presso CNG.Equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission, the engine is ARAI certified and has a fuel economy of 32.52km/kg.
Like most Maruti Suzuki CNG models, the WagonR CNG is limited to base-spec LXi and LXi (O) trims, which again cost Rs 95,000 more than its petrol counterparts.WagonR CNG is currently priced between Rs 613,000 to 619,000.
The newly launched Celerio CNG is currently the most fuel efficient CNG car in India.The Celerio CNG is powered by Maruti’s new 1.0-litre K10C DualJet engine with a claimed fuel economy of 35.60km/kg.Thanks to two injectors per cylinder, a higher compression ratio and improved thermal efficiency, this new engine has made the Celerio the most fuel-efficient gasoline hatchback in the country, as has its CNG iteration.
Maruti only offers the Celerio CNG on the mid-size VXi trim, which costs Rs 95,000 more than the petrol version.In CNG specification, the Celerio produces 57hp and 82.1Nm of peak torque, 10hp and 6.9Nm less than the petrol-powered car, and is only available with a 5-speed manual transmission.Maruti Suzuki Celerio CNG is priced at Rs 6.58 lakh.
Post time: Feb-14-2022