With the increasing prices of petrol demand for CNG cars is Increasing daily. Car Manufactures are also producing CNG variants along with diesel and petrol. Now the question arises, Is CNG a better option than petrol? Petrol or CNG which is best? Let us have a detailed analysis of the petrol and CNG cars and conclude which suits you best.
What is CNG?
To know “Is CNG better option than petrol?” First, let us understand what is CNG. Compressed Natural Gas known as CNG is a fuel gas with the major components of Methane. Natural gas is compressed to 1% of the volume and filled in metal cylinders for further use. Hence it is known as compressed natural gas.
Is CNG Better Option Than Petrol?
To know which fuel has the major advantages let’s analyze CNG and Petrol with multiple aspects as below.
Comparative Analysis of Petrol and CNG Car
Running Cost And Efficiency:
As we mentioned earlier petrol prices are increasing rapidly. The unit cost of petrol is higher than the CNG. The average price of CNG in India is INR 70-80 per Kg and the average cost of petrol is INR 100-110 Per litre.
And CNG fuel yields maximum efficiency compared to petrol. Lower cost and higher efficiency, In terms of running cost, CNG is a better option than petrol.
Price of the car
The price of the CNG version of the same car and variant is higher than the petrol version. The CNG version is approximately 70k-80k higher than the petrol version. considering the Initial investment CNG version is more expensive.
Engine Health And The Service
CNG combustion works at higher temperatures compared to petrol combustion. Due to excess heat generation, Changing the oil, spark plugs and filters slightly earlier than the scheduled service date is better. But it doesn’t mean that CNG harms the engine and its operation.
Fuel Station Accessibility And Infrastructure
In India, you will get a number of petrol stations at least one in every 40km (Except remote areas) but in the case of CNG, accessibility is less compared to petrol stations. This is one of the limitations of the CNG. Considering fuel availability and infrastructure petrol is better.
Pollution And Environmental Effects
Petrol combustion causes black residuals and has higher environmental pollution compared to CNG. CNG combustion produces fewer emissions and is an eco-friendly fuel. Hence when we speak about the Pollution And Environmental Effect CNG fuels are better than petrol.
CNG has a higher octane rating, So it causes less noise pollution than petrol. CNG combustible engines are smooth and less noisy.
Availability Of The Model And Variant
CNG version of the cars is available in a limited variant. If you consider a petrol version car manufacturer produces all the variants lower, mid and top in petrol versions but this option is not available in the CNG version.
And CNG comes with only manual transmission. Whereas in the petrol version, you have the option for manual and AMT as well.
No Option For Premium Cars
The CNG option will not e available in premium cars. Most of the car manufacturers in India provide the factory-fitted CNG option to commuter cars only. One has to compromise with the choice of his car in order to have the CNG option. This is one of the limitations for the CNG buyers.
Boot Space Accessibility
As we know CNG cylinders are placed at the rear boots space it occupies the major portion of the boot space. This causes the space shortage to carry the luggage. But in petrol cars, you have complete boot space for the luggage. Considering the boot space accessibility petrol version is the best option.
Power and Pickup
Petrol cars have higher pickup and power compared to CNG. While travelling on the terrains and mountains petrol is preferably powerful and avoids lagging compared to CNG fuel.
Case Study: Is CNG better option than petrol?
Let’s take an example of the compact hatchback Maruti Suzuki Alto K10. It comes with a petrol and CNG version. Let’s understand which is better with an example.
- Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 VXI CNG starts at INR 5,96,000 Ex-Showroom Delhi and the K10 VXI Petrol version starts at INR 5,06,000 Ex-Showroom Delhi. CNG Version is 90,000 more expensive than petrol.
- Alto K10 VXI Petrol claims a mileage of 24.39 km/l and the CNG version claims 33.85km/kg. Price of the petrol is INR 101 per litre and the price of the CNG is INR 75 per KG. In this case, the running cost of petrol is INR 4.14 per km and the CNG version is INR 2.21 per km.
- In Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 Petrol comes with 6 different variants including an automatic transmission option but the CNG version comes with only one mid-end manual variant.
- The petrol version of the ALto K10 gets 214 Litre of boot space whereas in the CNG version, it’s occupied by the CNG cylinder.
- Alto CNG has less emission than lLto petrol, making the CNG variant more eco-friendly.
I hope this information is sufficient to understand the advantages and limitations of CNG fuel compared to petrol. Is CNG a better option than petrol? Yes CNG is better than petrol in terms of efficiency, Eco Friendly and running cost but needs an improvement in running range, accessibility, performance and limited variant options.
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