HONDA ACTIVA 3G WITH CNG KIT REVIEW

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What Are The Changes?

At first glance, it is really hard to distinguish the standard scooter from that of the CNG derivative. The demo vehicle that we have comes with the CNG badging, which is the giveaway. On a customer spec model though, it will be hard to know the same. We did find a host of folks (including some in very fancy cars) stop and take notice as well as come over and ask about the scooter's credentials.

activa cng price

The toggle switch allows to jump from petrol to CNG

That said, the CNG kit has been quite cleverly added into the scooter's body. The twin cylinders are located just behind the apron and covered with a black plastic panel. A small lockable opening at the front of the panel gives you access to the CNG fuel gauge. Toggling between petrol and CNG fuel options is taken care by a switch located right below the choke. There are air vents on top of the plastic panel that act as a safety feature, specifically added to let the gas pass, should there be a leakage.

I was a tad bit sceptical of the cylinders being fitted right behind the apron; given that I would be losing a major chunk of the legroom. However, that thankfully is not the case. Tall riders won't find the kit as an intrusion, but finding your footing can be a concern due to the location of the fuel filler valve. An ergonomic issue, Lovato tells us that the same has been identified by them as well and the next lot of scooters equipped with the kit will get the fuel filler valve repositioned.

The CNG valve gets intrusive and will be repositioned in the next lot of scooters

The other noticeable change comes with the under seat storage that is compromised to make way for the reducer. The device takes a quarter of the space, but can still easily accommodate a tool kit, first aid box and vehicle papers with ease. Fitting a helmet is out of question. The other major change comes in the emissions of the scooter. Lovato says that using CNG cuts hydrocarbons by 75 per cent on the model, while carbon monoxide is reduced by 20 per cent.

The throttle response is sluggish, the added weight doesn't help

How Does It Ride?

Now, the standard Honda Activa 3G makes around 8bhp of power and 8Nm of torque in its petrol-only avatar. Power output has taken a beating of 5 per cent and that is evident once you twist the throttle on the CNG version. There is a slight delay in response specifically on the CNG version, but the power delivery gets linear and seamless, once the scooter picks momentum. That said, cold starts do see the vehicle struggle for power in the CNG mode and it is best advised to run it on petrol for a few kilometres before switching to the alternate fuel. Being a carbureted motor, you won't have issues cranking the engine directly in the CNG mode.

Climbing flyovers or riding with a pillion is hardly an issue

While slow power delivery is a small compromise and can be lived with, the scooter's handling takes a hit as well. This is largely because of the additional 14-15 kg of the CNG kit with the weight concentrated at the front. This takes away the nimbleness of the vehicle and even though the additional kilos aren't felt once set in motion; it is in dense traffic where the light handling is missed.

Nevertheless, the marginal drop in power isn't intrusive when climbing flyovers or gradients. Having run completely on CNG in our test, the scooter managed to pull the rider and pillion with ease. We started the test with half a tank of CNG and managed to get a fuel efficiency of nearly 50 kmpl in our test cycle. On a full tank, MGL and Lovato claim a figure of around 110 kmpl.

The CNG kit returns a fuel efficiency of 110 kmpl on a full tank

How Much Does It Cost?

MGL and Lovato say that the CNG kit equipped scooters offer a running cost of ₹ 0.60 paise per km. This includes nearly ₹ 0.48 paise per km for the fuel and ₹ 0.12 paise for maintenance. However, when you compare it to the running costs of a standard scooter that runs at ₹ 1.2 paise per km; the difference is almost half between the two. As far as maintenance costs are concerned, the company says that the CNG equipped scooters need to follow the same service intervals as its petrol derivative.

A full refill of the CNG tanks will cost under ₹ 60 in Mumbai

Coming to after-sales support, retrofitting the kit on an all-new scooter directly impacts the OEM warranty on the vehicle. You do get a dealer warranty only on the CNG kit for a year and includes three services to check for any leakage or breaks. The kit will also be recalibrated, should the need be. The cylinders themselves have a lifespan of 20 years and need to be checked every three years for possible rusting or leakages.

All said, the Lovato CNG kit will set you back by ₹ 17,000 (including taxes and RTO registration in Mumbai), over and above the scooter's asking price. That does make the kit slightly more expensive than anticipated and one needs to factor in the return of investment, which begs us to question...

Petrol scooter or the CNG equipped one?

Continuing in its endeavor to protect the environment through its eco-friendly fuel, Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) in association with M/s Eco Fuel (Indian Partners of Lovato, Italy) launched CNG fueled two-wheelers thus enabling them to run on safe and economical fuel, further contributing to a pollution free environment.

The launch was done by the Honourable Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan in Mumbai, and was presided over by Shri. Vinod Tawde, Honourable Minister for Education, Youth, Sports & Cultural Affairs and Guardian Minister of Mumbai Suburban, Govt. of Maharashtra. Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan also launched e-wallet payments which can be used at the time of filling CNG, thus supporting and working towards the objective of making India a cashless economy.

The event was held in the presence of other dignitaries including Honourable MP Smt. Poonam Mahajan, Honourable MLA Adv. Smt. Trupti Prakash Sawant, Shri. Rajesh Pandey, Director - MNGL, Shri. B.C Tripathi, Chairman & Managing Director - GAIL (India) Limited, and Shri. Rajeev Mathur, Managing Director -MGL.

Speaking at the occasion, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that the launch of CNG fueled two wheelers will give an opportunity to more than 36 lakhs two wheelers running in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to opt for this eco-friendly  fuel. In the last few years CNG powered vehicles have grown in Mumbai Metropolitan Region at a CAGR of over 70% given the fuel economics and eco-friendly nature of CNG.

The CNG kit for two wheelers comprises of two CNG cylinders of 1.2 kg each, which can run up to 120 to 130 km per kg at an approximate cost of INR 0.60 per km per single fill and is expected to be substantially economical as compared to a similar petrol run vehicle at the current level of prices as per the kit manufacturer. In the initial phase, the scooters shall be retrofitted with a CNG kit manufactured by Lovato.

Presently two kit manufacturers namely M/s ITUK & M/s Lovato have got two-wheeler CNG kits approved by ARAI, Pune and ICAT Gurgaon respectively. Lovato has got approval for 18 Scooter models of various OEMs present in the market. Considering the huge potential of this segment other kit manufacturers are also planning to launch their two-wheeler kits.

Salient Features of a Two-wheeler CNG kit:

• CNG Cylinders: 2 Nos each having capacity to 5 litre of Water

• One fill CNG quantity: 1.2 Kg (0.6 kg in each cylinder)

• Mileage on CNG:  Avg. 90 km/kg and 110 km per fill

• Per KM operating cost: 60 paise per Km (approx.)

In the current state following multiple scooter variants can run on CNG fuels.

Easy availability and accessibility of CNG stations across our operational area is the driving force of our CNG network. Barring few peaks in the day due to shift timings of the autos and taxis, there is almost a drive-in, fill-up and drive-out scenario in the CNG stations. The linear avg. distance among CNG stations across MMR in the given zone is as follows:

Western: 1.52 KM
Central: 1.47 KM
Navi Mumbai: 3.2 KM
Kalyan, Dombivali, Ambernath and Badlapur (KDAB): 4.5 KM

The present infrastructure spread has the capacity of dispensing more than 27 lakh kgs of CNG per day which can fuel over 10 lakh vehicles in its operational area.

Additionally, MGL has also launched MGL Connect Mobile App (available on Google Play Store) which will assist consumers to find the nearest CNG station in MMR and nearby areas for convenient refueling experience.

In its endless endeavour towards its commitment of making Mumbai a greener city, MGL also promotes the opening of CNG stations from third parties on availability of plots and other pre-requisite permissions.

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