As petrol prices remain high and upgrading diesel engines to meet BS-VI norms becomes a costly affair, carmakers are choosing the next best alternative – CNG. The cheapest and most environment friendly fuel, preference for CNG is also because India has vast reserves of it. Maruti Suzuki can be described as the leader in offering factory fitted CNG cars, but now, Korean carmaker Hyundai is also catching up. After offering factory fitted CNG variant of Santro, Hyundai has now launched CNG variant of Grand i10.
CNG kit was earlier available for Grand i10, but it was offered only in prime variant. This limited the car’s use to fleet operators. Hyundai has now launched CNG for Grand i10 Magna trim, effectively making it available to the masses. CNG variants are usually costlier than their petrol counterparts and in case of Grand i10, the price hike is Rs 67,000. Hyundai Grand i10 with factory fitted CNG kit is priced at Rs 6.39 Lakh.
A drawback of CNG is that cars running on this fuel have to sacrifice their power and torque. In case of Grand i10 Magna petrol, the car is powered by a 1.2 Kappa Dual VTVT Petrol engine that generates 83 PS power at 6,000 rpm and 110 Nm torque at 4,000 rpm. The CNG variant uses the same engine, but power and torque output is reduced to 67 PS and 98 Nm. Magna’s CNG engine sends power to the front wheels and is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.
However, CNG is still preferred, as it effectively covers for its shortcomings in the long run. Operating cost of CNG cars is quite less, as compared to petrol cars and CNG engines tend to last longer and require less maintenance.
Hyundai Grand i10 Magna is just above the base trim Era, but it offers various features as standard such as rear AC vents, power windows, steering mounted controls, and electrically adjustable outside mirrors. Safety features include ABS with EBD, impact sensing auto door unlock, dual airbags, central locking, immobilizer, and day & night inside rear view mirror.
Hyundai is currently testing the next generation of Grand i10, which will replace the existing model. As revealed in spy shots, next-gen Grand i10 will be bigger and come with a host of contemporary and hi-tech features.
