While the fuel prices are at an all-time high, it really might be time to switch to an alternative fuel. While the government is pushing hard for the adoption of EVs, there is one more fuel alternative in place already, the CNG! Although, after the BS6 norms kicked in, aftermarket CNG installation has been banned until further notice, you can still go for retrofitting your car with CNG if it is from the BS4 era or before. Or, if you are planning to buy a new car, you can go for one that comes with CNG fitment from the factory. Let’s shed some light on the pros and cons of installing CNG in your car.
Pros of installing CNG in your car
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Fuel Prices
While the price of Petrol in Delhi today is ₹97.76, CNG will only cost you ₹43.40. This is less than half of what you will pay for Petrol. Isn’t that great? Actually, CNG is the most pocket-friendly fuel you will find out there.
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Good fuel efficiency
Cars that run on CNG offer great mileage. For eg, the Maruti Suzuki WagonR can return a mileage of over 32kms on a single kg of CNG. This means for every kilometre travelled, you will be spending just ₹1.35.
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Low harmful emissions (Green Fuel)
If compared with diesel and petrol, CNG produces the lowest hydrocarbons and greenhouse gases in emissions. This makes CNG the most environmental fuel of the three.
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Your car can run both on CNG as well as Petrol
One of the best parts of CNG cars is that you get an option to switch between running purely on CNG or petrol. You must be thinking when everything is going in the favour of CNG, why would I ever switch to petrol? Wait, till you see the cons.
Cons of installing CNG in your car
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Low Acceleration
Ask a CNG car owner one of the major cons of CNG and he/she will tell you, it has low acceleration. CNG cars do offer great mileage and are cost-effective but if you love power, then you might not like driving a CNG car. Also, when the ignition is turned on in a CNG car, the car will first run on petrol and then switch to CNG. Why is this necessary? We’ll explain this some other day.
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Say goodbye to your car’s boot space
If you’re getting your car retrofitted with CNG, you will have to bid adios to the boot space as the CNG tank will be taking refugee there. You will be left with no or very little space. So, if you’re planning to take a good amount of luggage or let’s say (MURDER), you might have to rethink it. And I am talking about rethinking the murder part, believe me, jail is not the place you would like to be in.
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Reduces the life of the engine
If you are going for retrofitting, you must know that it will void the warranty of your car. Moreover, CNG reduces the overall life of your car, if not fitted with a factory CNG kit such as Maruti Suzuki’s S-CNG.
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Availability
If you are living in metro cities, this might not bother you. But the expansion of CNG has not been on a very large scale leaving you with no option but to switch to petrol if you cannot find a CNG refilling station.
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No retrofitting allowed in BS6 vehicles
The BS6 vehicles cannot be retrofitted with aftermarket CNG kits as it requires an installation of a catalytic converter that can only be fitted in a factory. This leaves the BS6 car owners with no choice but to run on costly fuels.
And this is all about the pros and cons of CNG. Are you planning to switch to CNG anytime soon? Do let us know in the comments section below.
