Suzuki S-Presso using compressed natural gas to be launched in India

Suzuki S-Presso CNG launched in India

Suzuki Philippines, as you might already know, has been expanding its model lineup. The recent additions to its lineup include the macho-looking Suzuki XL7 MPV, and of course, the cute, but tough-looking Suzuki S-Presso city car.

For those who might be unaware, the Suzuki S-Presso was developed by Maruti-Suzuki, the Indian subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation. As such, it can be understood that India, the S-Presso’s home market, will have more variants for the said model. One such variant is the Suzuki S-Presso CNG, and it is close to being released.

So what does the S-Presso CNG have that the regular S-Presso doesn’t? And what does CNG even mean?

The S-Presso CNG at the 2020 Auto Expo in New Delhi, India

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Suzuki S-Presso CNG: It’s powered by natural gas

Unlike the regular, gasoline-sipping S-Presso, the S-Presso CNG uses compressed natural gas. This is under the Mission Green Million plan, which is the name for Maruti-Suzuki’s mission to make environmentally-friendlier vehicles.

Under the hood, the S-Presso CNG will still be powered by a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine, updated to run on natural gas. However, this will reduce the S-Presso CNG’s output at 58 horsepower and 78 Nm of torque.

By comparison, the gasoline-powered S-Presso makes 67 horsepower and 90 Nm of torque. However, the CNG model, like the regular S-Presso will still be a front-wheel-drive vehicle, utilizing the same five-speed manual transmission.

Besides the mechanical differences, the exterior looks the same save for the added graphics

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Under the Mission Green Million plan, Maruti-Suzuki has already introduced the Wagon R CNG and the Suzuki Ertiga CNG. What’s notable about the CNG variant of the Wagon R, is its ability to achieve a whopping mileage of 32.52 km/kg of natural gas.

Based on this figure, we can assume that the Suzuki S-Presso CNG will also be remarkable in terms of fuel mileage.

In the Philippine market, some of our local drivers are already familiar with gas-powered vehicles. However, most of them are taxis, since CNG has yet to catch on with private vehicles.

We're also guessing that the S-Presso CNG's interior will have the same features and design as the regular S-Presso

Although gas-powered vehicles used locally are fueled by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) instead of CNG, note that the latter has the advantage of being cheaper than LPG although it runs a bit leaner, power-wise.

Would it be a great idea for Suzuki Philippines to introduce the S-Presso CNG here?

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