With diesel cars losing favour within the subcompact SUV space, CNG-fuelled alternatives have regained a substantial fan following despite the issue of long waiting periods at a fuel station to fill up CNG. The promise of lower running costs and the factory-fitted CNG option brings a piece of mind too.
Both Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors have been aggressively expanding their CNG portfolios. While Maruti Suzuki's Brezza is already present in the market, the arrival of the Nexon iCNG will bring in more competition soon.
Let us take a look at the Brezza CNG first. The Brezza is available with the LXi, VXi, and ZXi trims. It also comes with a 1.5 L petrol engine and a factory-fitted CNG cylinder. It has a 5-speed manual and develops 87 bhp and 121Nm. The Brezza's price starts at Rs 9.3 lakh.
The Nexon iCNG, meanwhile, will be the first CNG car to come with a 1.2 L turbo petrol engine. The Nexon does not come with a naturally aspirated petrol unit. Tata has not disclosed the power figures, though. The petrol-powered Nexon develops 118 bhp and 170 Nm torque.
We expect a manual gearbox in the Nexon iCNG, but Tata may also make an AMT option available for it. Further, the Nexon iCNG includes twin-cylinder tech, just as in other Tata CNG cars. It has two cylinders tucked beneath the boot floor, to not hamper the boot space. It also has a single ECU and a direct start mode.
We expect the Nexon iCNG to cost Rs 1 lakh more than the standard version. Overall, the Nexon iCNG brings in many new changes with the turbo petrol and the twin-cylinder tech while giving buyers more options in the CNG space. Compared to the Brezza, the Nexon iCNG has turbo petrol power and the split cylinder tech is also different.
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