Soon after the news of Maruti Suzuki India coming up with the small cars Maruti Wagon R and Maruti Zen Estilo with company fitted CNG Kit, here comes another pleasing news. The launch of Maruti’s best seller small car Maruti Alto & its luxurious sedan, the Maruti SX4 is also on the cards. The launch of Maruti Alto CNG as well as Maruti SX4 CNG will happen somewhere near end of 2010.
The SX4 has a powerful engine, so a minor power loss due to CNG fuel will not hamper the performance of the car much. On the other hand, the Alto with already small petrol engine is expected to loose some power. To compensate for the inherent power losses which happen in ordinary CNG based engine, Maruti has developed an advanced CNG injection system called iGPi which will minimize such power loss for a better drive even on CNG.
The use of CNG is beneficial in two ways, cleaner emissions and cheaper running cost. Apart from there there are some advantages and disadvantages of a CNG system, the major one being the boot space constrains. The fitting of CNG cylinder consumes a lot of boot space. Also it increases weight of the car and puts additional load on the car’s suspension system.
Major advantages of factory fitted CNG system over the after-market kits are :
- High safety standards followed during assembly
- Superior quality kits fitted
- Fully compatible with the Engine
- Integrated wiring and switching system
- Neat and safe fitting on the surfaces
- CNG Kit & Engine are covered under warranty
- No risk of damage to engine
- Well tuned engine to work with the CNG system
- Compliance with safety and emission norms
- Adjusted shock absorbers to take additional load of the CNG Cylinder
- Better mounting of the kit components which add safety for electrical systems and does not obstruct the required air-flow in the engine compartment
With the recent price rise of CNG in Delhi & Mumbai, the buyers are expected to be comparatively less enthusiastic, especially those who do not drive their cars much.
Price Of Maruti Alto CNG & Maruti SX4 CNG
The price of Maruti Alto CNG & Maruti SX4 CNG is expected to be about Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 80,000 higher in comparison to their petrol only models. Also considers the added insurance premium which will be there because of increased cost of the car.
