We as a family would have never purchased a car. You see, both me and my wife(and are hoping our daughter too) are a bit conscious about the environment. So whenever we needed to, we would use our bike. At 98ccs a Hero Honda Splendour drastically reduces your carbon footprint. We met with an accident on our way back from outside one day. I didn’t the courage to take my family on the bike any more and will probably not in the future.
We needed a car that would satisfy the following in the order mentioned.
Be as environmentally green as possible.
Accommodate all 3 of us.
Would not be humiliating for all 6’1” of me to get in and out of a vehicle.
Naturally LPG was the fuel of choice for us.
LPG is a mixture of propane(60%) and butane(40%). Both of these fuels burn to produce only carbon dioxide and water vapor. The volume of water vapor to carbon dioxide in the exhaust for propane is 4:3 and for butane is 5:4. The same amount of petrol produces a much higher content of carbon dioxide(and water vapor 8:9) along with other sulphides, nitrous gases and not to mention carbon monoxide.
One must also know that Petrol releases 34.8 MegaJoules of energy per litre and LPG 26.8 MegaJoules per litre. Therefore one must be prepared to compensate for loss of power at the advantage of not causing much harm to the environment.
The only cars that satisfy both 2 and 3 are either the Hyundai Santro or the Maruti Wagon R.
I wanted to buy a Hyundai Santro and then convert it to AutoGas. But when I found that the new Maruti Wagon R has a factory fitted LPG kit, I did not have any second thoughts. I went to check it out the very next day.
I was very surprised at how good the new Wagon R looked compared to the old model. The seats are just at the right place for me. The steering wheel perfectly placed. The rear seat could be made to straighten all the way down and could be converted to a bed for my family. This could be very useful on long trips. The Petrol tank has the same capacity(35 litres) as a non-LPG version. The LPG tank has a capacity of 22 litres. There is some place that has to be compensated in the trunk because the LPG tank is fitted there. But I guess the benefits overweigh the inconveniences.
We got a good deal with ABT dealers at Guindy Chennai. The purchasing process was smooth.
Initially the car gave me 13kmpl on petrol and 11kmpl on LPG. We had severe pickup and mileage problems after the second service, but one call to Maruti customer service fixed everything. We used the car on a long drive six months after we purchased it. The drive was amazing and I was not at all tired. I was told that it would be tiring. The mileage was amazing 14kmpl on gas and 16 on petrol. Keep the vehicle cruising at or below 90kmph for the best mileage. I found out that this car easily reaches 120 on good roads. But for the sake of mileage it is best not too. At 90kmph the drive is super smooth. The faster your transition to(and remain on) the 5th gear the better mileage. The 5th gear on all Indian cars is called a overdrive. It reduces the engine RPM while maintaining the same speed, thereby increasing mileage.
But let’s come back to the LPG part of the drive. As I said earlier, the energy available in LPG per litre is limited compared to petrol. The engineers at Maruti have made some attempts to make sure that this switch over is as un-noticeable as possible. If it is not for the “ping” sound when the solenoid valve opens, the switch over is almost un-noticeable. After the switch over occurs there is a significant change in the drive. Releasing the accelerator when the car is in motion causes a lot more loss of momentum when compared to petrol. While in petrol on top gear, the car actually accelerates while climbing on a slope; on LPG this is lost. Switching over to a higher gear takes some time more than on petrol. I estimate that it takes about 30% more time to achieve the same speed on LPG compared to petrol. As a general rule things that you can do on petrol, they are possible on LPG with one gear less. But if you keep in mind the physics involved, you will appreciate the reason why these things happen.
Getting in and out of this vehicle is super easy for me. Drivers are seated a little above other drivers on the road. This provides for a much better decision making ability when avoiding obstacles. I should warn though, there is a blind spot on this vehicle where the wind shield meets the car frame on the right hand side. But I guess it takes little while to get used to. The sunshades could have had a mirror. How much does that cost Maruti? The AC is too cool. When on LPG you can actually use the AC as a 6th gear. Let’s say you are traveling at 70kmph, if you want to gain another 5kmph without pressing the accelerator, switch off the AC and see what happens. It’s fun.
For a family of 3 this vehicle is fantastic. But also give the Santro and Alto a look because they are in the same category. If you are environmentally conscious, looking to convert to LPG, but don’t want anyone else other than the manufacturer meddling with your engine, then go for this. There are no other cars available in the market with factory fitted LPG.
Overall it has been a good experience with this car.