OPTRA CNG - Owner's tale of saving $ and the earth. Review on Chevrolet Optra 1.6 Base

UPDATE: 6/10/2006

Fortpoint, Bombay seems to bear GM's bad news. The OPTRA CNG kit STILL has bugs in it and those have not been sorted out as yet.

GM Engineers are not responsive and the dealership does not correspond well GM or the customer AT ALL. I have changed my rating of this kit. My previous impressions are below:

Before we begin, please read my review of my 2003 Chevy Optra 1.6, one of the first 1.6L Optra's sold in Bombay. It is in the "Chevrolet Optra" menu. You will see that nearly 15,000 people have gained from my personal experiences with the car.

In July of 2006, we decided that the Optra had drained our wallets enough, thanks only to it's high petrol consumption. (See my original Optra review for my real world mileage in city conditions).

While the car has performed VERY well for the past 30 months, we decided to find a more economical option. Just as we were ready to sell the car, GM announced the CNG Optra kit fitment at the dealership. I immediately rushed to the dealership and tried to ascertain more details, such as cost, mileage, reliability estimates but found no one with any real information. GM really needs to inform and train their dealers well.

Finally, I found someone named Vishal at Fortpoint, Mumbai. Vishal is a young guy who is obviously underpaid and inexperienced, but has dedication. He managed to find some initial information for me and thus began the CNG installation.

Before I talk about the kit, let me enlighten you about CNG:

1. It is a Gas- DUH! And is the only automotive fuel that is in gaseous form. (No, LPG is not a gas. LPG is a liquidmixture of Propane and Butane).

   
   




2. It has an Octane rating of 127 vs. 87 Octane for Petrol (translation: clean combustion, no knocking).

   
   




3. It can be derived from Sewage, waste, Natural venting in the earth etc. and is comprised primarily of Methane. It is NOT derived from Crude Oil. We have 1 Billion people in India = lots of waste gas.

   
   




4. India has abundant reserves of CNG, enough to power 600 BEST Buses in Bombay, ALL of Bombay's 1.25 lac taxis and private vehicles - And that's just Bombay. CNG has maintained it's price of around 20 odd Rupees per kilogram since year 2000. Try saying the same for Petrol/ Diesel? Incase there is another Oil shortage, CNG will not be directly affected. (before CNG was used for propulsion, it was totally wasted as it had no use). On the other hand, LPG is in peak demand during the winter months in the West as it is used for heating. As such, it's price ranges from Rs. 22 - Rs. 29.

   
   




5. It is safe to use as a fuel as it is lighter than air and rises. BUT make sure your kit is installed ONLY by an authorized dealer.

   
   




6. Your car will give an average of 12 km per kilo of CNG. Each tank has a range of 120 - 130 kilometers at a cost of Rs. 220 per fill up. I have noticed that even Taxi's get this much range at this cost. While it is inconvenient to keep filling up, the cost for driving 500 kms is Rs 900. Petrol costs Rs. 2500. SHOCKING!!!

   
   

7. CNG Optra kits have closed loop systems with a separate ECU for gas control. Don't worry about your cars stalling in the rain like Taxis or anything else. Your CNG OPTRA will run just reliably as it does on Petrol.

So back to my review,

It took another month for the kit to arrive. During this time, I visited the dealership and met with GM engineers who had fitted a test car with a kit. They mentioned that they had tested the car for a long duration and found it to be reliable and safe. Time will tell if they were honest.

I was NOT impressed by the fit and finish of the kit. The control module (that allows you to switch from CNG to Petrol) is placed near the steering wheel and has exposed color wiring that spoils the show of the dashboard. Additionally, the CNG cylinder in the trunk is HUGE and takes up 60% of the space in the rear. These are the main cons of this kit.

Here are the pros:

-- 60% savings MINIMUM over your monthly fuel bill. The kit pays for itself in 2 years.

-- Factory Warranty stays intact. This is a GM authorized kit. While they do not manufacture all the components, they do supply the electricals. As such, you are covered by the GM warranty.

-- Power loss is around 18% on paper but the car feels only a little slower than Petrol power. 0-60 in 14 seconds with Top Speed remaining the same.

-- You're saving the environment. CNG emissions are 70% lower than a Petrol powered car. No more PUCs EVER!!!! THIS IS A GREAT SHOW OFF POINT!

-- You're reducing India's dependence on Oil imports. CNG is a gas that was wasted till a few years ago. Now, it is helping us reduce our oil imports by 3% a year while the China and America's keep rising. ANOTHER SHOW OFF POINT!!!

So, there you have it. My thoughts, views and feelings on this fuel option. So far, the car drives well and while it doesn't let us forget that we are driving a dealer installed aftermarket kit, the savings still keep us smiling. In the end, this is the most luxurious car you can drive on CNG. Needless to say, we're keeping it for a few more years.

GM would do well to adopt these technologies full swing, not just half heartedly and stop at the dealer level. It would be nice to see factory fitted kits on all their cars as an option. God knows, our planet needs it just as much as our wallets!!!