Though using Natural Gas as a fuel has become a common practice nowadays, there are still who prefer petrol and diesel. This is because though CNG and LNG have a lot of Pro’s, the Con’s are also significant.
Pros of Using CNG as a Fuel
Price – Natural Gas is abundant and inexpensive due to its extraction methods from underground shales. This makes the fuel cheaper than petrol and diesel. Although the price factor cannot be always relied on as the price difference is almost insignificant and it keeps on fluctuating due the continuous rise and fall in oil price.
Less Pollution – CNG vehicles reduces 90 – 97 % Carbon-monoxide emissions and 30 – 35 % nitrogen-oxide emissions compared to vehicles that use petrol and diesel as fuel.
Availability of CNG Hybrids – some CNG using cars can also run on petrol allowing you to go a long distance between consecutive fill ups.
Cons of Using CNG as Fuel
Availability of CNG Fuel Stations – though CNG has come to become a widely used fuel, there are not many stations that provide Natural Gas especially in smaller towns and village areas.
Efficiency of CNG – compared to petrol and diesel, Natural gas is a cleaner and cheaper fuel but not as good. Fuel efficiency for CNG is difficult to calculate compared to gasoline as the metric used is not MPGs (Miles per Gallon) but MPGe (Miles per Gasoline Gallon equivalent).
Rates of CNG using Vehicles – Though CNG as a fuel is cheaper, but the price of vehicles that are compatible for CNG use are slightly higher than the ones that use petrol and diesel even if you are buying used cars.
For example, used cars in Bangalore below 2 lakh, like Chevrolet and Tata Nano Models, using petrol and diesel are actually cheaper than cng used cars in Bangalore.
