With the recent surge in petrol and diesel prices, demand for CNG cars is expected to increase and continue to go upwards in the long term as well
With the declining gap between diesel and petrol prices, as well as the increasing prices of both the fuels, the demand for CNG passenger vehicles in the coming years is expected to rise, said ICRA Limited, an independent and professional credit rating agency. With the BS6 emission norms in place, majority of the entry-level and compact cars in India are now offered with petrol and CNG options only, barring a few.
However, with a range of CNG cars to choose from in the country today, which one makes the most sense for you? We put together a list of 5 of the best CNG cars that you can buy in India under Rs 8 lakh, keep reading to find out more about the said cars –
1. Grand i10 Nios CNG
The Grand i10 Nios was launched as the successor to the Grand i10 in the Indian market last year. However, the CNG variant of the car was launched this year itself, taking the total tally of powertrains available to 4 – which include a 1.2-litre petrol; a 1.2-litre diesel; a 1.0-litre turbo petrol; as well as the 1.2-litre petrol-CNG.
The CNG kit is offered with two variants, namely Magna and Sportz, which are priced at Rs 6.64 lakh and Rs 7.18 lakh (ex-showroom) respectively. The 1.2-litre powertrain puts out 69 PS of maximum power and 95 Nm of peak torque, and comes mated to a 5-speed manual transmission as standard.
2. Maruti Suzuki Celerio CNG
The Celerio might not be the best-selling Maruti Suzuki hatchback in the country, but it does manage to sell in fairly good quantities which are enough for the Japanese carmaker to not axe it from its line-up.
The Celerio is powered by a BS6-compliant 998 cc three-cylinder engine that churns out 68 PS/90 Nm on the petrol trims, and 60 PS/78 Nm on CNG. Maruti Suzuki offers a CNG kit with two variants of the Celerio, which are the mid-spec VXi as well as the VXi (O). The former is priced at Rs 5.6 lakh, while the latter is offered for Rs 5.68 lakh (both prices, ex-showroom).
3. Hyundai Aura CNG
The Hyundai Aura is the Grand i10 Nios’ sedan sibling, and comes equipped with the same engine options as the Grand i10 Nios. However, unlike the Grand i10 Nios CNG that can be had in two different trims, Hyundai offers only one variant of the Aura with the CNG kit, i.e. S, which is retailed at Rs 7.28 lakh (ex-showroom). The power and torque output, as well as the transmission is same as the Grand i10 Nios.
4. Hyundai Santro CNG
The Santro was the first car to be launched by Hyundai Motor India Limited, and debuted back in 1998. The tallboy hatchback was a runaway success, but due to the rising competition, was discontinued in 2014. However, Hyundai decided to bring the Santro nameplate back to the country, and launched the current third-gen model in 2018.
Powering the Santro is a 1.1-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine which produces 69 PS power and 99 Nm torque. However, when had with the CNG kit, the power and torque figures come down to 60 PS and 85 Nm respectively. Hyundai offers two CNG variants of the Santro – Magna, priced at Rs 5.84 lakh, and Sportz, which will set you back by Rs 6.2 lakh (both prices, ex-showroom)
5. Maruti Suzuki Wagon R CNG
A list of affordable CNG cars without mentioning the Wagon R will be incomplete. The Wagon R has been one of the best-selling compact hatchbacks in the country for quite some time now, and is also immensely popular among fleet services.
Maruti Suzuki currently offers the Wagon R with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder and 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engines, but the CNG kit is only offered as an option on the former. The output figures of the petrol-CNG powertrain stand at 60 PS and 78 Nm, and comes with a 5-speed MT as standard.
The Maruti Suzuki Wagon R CNG can be had in two different variants i.e. the base LXi trim, priced at Rs 5.25 lakh, as well as the LXi (O) variant, which costs Rs 5.32 lakh (both prices, ex-showroom).