Kia Carens Pairing Of A Turbo Petrol Engine And CNG Might Be The Best Way To Fight Rising Fuel Prices

Kia could soon add a CNG-equipped variant to the Carens variant lineup in India. According to a new report and spy pictures of a test mule, the Carens’s natural gas powertrain could be paired with the 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine with a 6-speed manual gearbox. It’ll rival the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga S-CNG in India, offering a more premium alternative to the Maruti MPV. 

Earlier, a CNG-equipped Kia Sonet test mule was also spied testing. Together, the Kia sub-4m SUV and people mover could become the first turbo-petrol CNG vehicles offered in India. 

For the Carens, Kia has picked the most powerful engine of the bunch, the 1.4-litre T-GDI petrol engine, as the candidate for factory-fitted CNG. It has a more sophisticated gasoline direct injection (GDI) fuel delivery system than the base petrol engine, and is rated for 140PS and 242Nm in the petrol-only Carens. Expect a drop in the numbers in the CNG-equipped variant, since it’ll likely be tuned for fuel economy instead of performance. 

Another reason to pick the 1.4-litre engine might be the price since a factory-fitted, BS6-compliant CNG kit is expensive to integrate into an existing drivetrain. For reference, the CNG-powered Ertiga variants come at a premium of Rs 95,000 over their petrol-only counterparts. Kia only offers the base petrol engine in the lower-spec Premium and Prestige trim levels, but the 1.4-litre petrol engine and 6MT pairing is offered in all variants of the Carens. 

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Kia might be the first to pair a turbo petrol powertrain with CNG, but the combination isn’t so uncommon in other countries. For example, Skoda already offers the Octavia G-TEC in European markets with a 1.5-litre TSI engine. 

We expect the CNG-powered Kia Carens to be launched by mid-2022. Fuel prices are rapidly rising in India, so buyers are more likely to consider alternatives such as CNG vehicles or electrified powertrains than ever before. The Kia Carens CNG will likely come at a premium over the current MPV which is priced from Rs 9.60 lakh to Rs 17.70 lakh (ex-showroom). 

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